Could EMDR help me?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy and utilizes bilateral movements (movements across the body’s midline, like your eyes going back and forth or tapping alternately on each leg or arm) to move information from the emotional part of the brain to the rational part of the brain. It makes past experiences less distressing and allows you to think about situations differently. Here’s a case example to explain how it makes a difference:

A mom comes into therapy, reporting she has been feeling burned out and angry all the time. She is snapping at her children more, her and her husband are fighting constantly, and she finds herself crying alone in her room at the end of every day. She finds it difficult to take care of herself and has isolated herself from her friends because “they don’t get what I’m feeling.” Upon further exploration, we realize that her mom parented very similarly. Her mom was quick to anger and, when the client was growing up, she always felt like she was walking on eggshells with her. Her mom was rarely vulnerable and the client rarely shared how she was feeling with her mom because she was afraid her mom would get angry with her.

We decide to target some of her early childhood memories where she felt worthless, as well as memories from her postpartum period with her husband, and incidents where her children aren’t listening to her. Over the course of these sessions and the reprocessing, she notices that she feels worthy of connection and love, leans on her husband more for support and comfort, and is less angry with her kids when they’re being, well, kids. Occasionally, she still gets angry with them, but she always apologizes, and she has been opening up to her friends more about daily stressors.

Now, this work isn’t easy. It requires her to think about memories where she felt worthless, not good enough, scared, and ashamed of herself. By following a ball across her computer screen while thinking about these, and subsequent, memories, she feels highly emotional, as she experiences feelings that she had suppressed and blocked out with her anger. Her body feels hot, her heart is pounding, she cries throughout the sessions. But when she is done, her body feels calm and she has a different perspective on herself, her mom, her husband, and her kids. She no longer views vulnerability as weak and has more space to handle the curve balls life throws at her.

If you think you could benefit from EMDR, reach out for a free 15-minute consultation call to learn more!