What is EMDR therapy.
What Is EMDR Therapy and Who Can Benefit From It?
Sometimes, difficult experiences continue to affect us long after the event itself is over. You may find yourself feeling anxious, overwhelmed, on edge, disconnected, or triggered by situations that seem unrelated to what happened in the past.
EMDR therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a specialized, evidence-based form of psychotherapy that can help people process traumatic and distressing experiences and reduce the emotional intensity associated with them.
At DuPage Clinical Counseling, we offer EMDR therapy in our Lombard, Illinois office, as well as online counseling for clients throughout Illinois. EMDR may be incorporated into an individualized treatment plan based on your needs, goals, history, and readiness for this type of therapy.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured psychotherapy approach originally developed to help people recover from trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
EMDR uses a process called bilateral stimulation, which may involve guided eye movements, alternating sounds, or alternating tapping. During EMDR therapy, a therapist helps you focus on aspects of a distressing memory while using bilateral stimulation to support the brain's processing of the experience.
The goal is not to erase a memory or pretend that something did not happen. Instead, EMDR is intended to help the brain process distressing experiences in a way that allows the memory to become less emotionally overwhelming.
You may still remember what happened, but the memory may no longer create the same level of fear, shame, anxiety, anger, or physical distress.
How Does EMDR Work?
Our brains naturally process many everyday experiences. However, particularly overwhelming or traumatic experiences can sometimes feel as though they remain "stuck."
A person may understand intellectually that an event happened in the past while their body and nervous system continue to respond as though the danger is happening now.
For example, someone who experienced a car accident may continue to experience:
Anxiety while driving
Panic when riding in a vehicle
Intrusive memories
Difficulty sleeping
A heightened startle response
Fear when approaching an intersection
Physical tension or a racing heart
EMDR therapy focuses on helping the person process the experience and the thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs connected to it.
EMDRIA describes EMDR as an eight-phase psychotherapy approach that addresses past experiences, present-day triggers, and anticipated future situations.
What Happens During EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is more than simply moving your eyes from side to side.
A trained EMDR therapist first spends time getting to know you, understanding your history, identifying treatment goals, and helping you develop skills and resources for managing difficult emotions.
The EMDR process generally includes eight phases, including:
History and treatment planning
Preparation and stabilization
Identifying target memories and experiences
Processing distressing memories
Installing more adaptive beliefs
Processing related body sensations and emotions
Closing the session
Reevaluating progress and identifying additional treatment needs
You do not have to begin processing traumatic memories immediately. Preparation and feeling sufficiently supported are important parts of EMDR therapy. EMDRIA notes that therapists assess readiness and work at a pace appropriate for the individual client.
Who Can EMDR Therapy Help?
Although EMDR is particularly well known for trauma and PTSD treatment, EMDR therapists may use the approach with people experiencing a variety of concerns.
EMDRIA identifies applications involving trauma and PTSD as well as concerns such as anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, depression, grief and loss, sleep difficulties, chronic illness, addiction, and experiences involving abuse or violence.
EMDR for Trauma and PTSD
Trauma does not affect everyone in the same way.
Some people experience a single traumatic event, while others have experienced ongoing or repeated difficult experiences. Trauma may involve accidents, abuse, violence, medical experiences, loss, relationship experiences, childhood experiences, or other events that felt overwhelming.
EMDR therapy can help address traumatic memories and the emotional and physical responses associated with them.
EMDR for Anxiety
For some individuals, anxiety is connected to experiences that have not been fully processed.
EMDR may be incorporated into treatment when anxiety is associated with specific memories, experiences, fears, or triggers.
EMDR for Panic Attacks and Phobias
EMDR may also be used as part of treatment for certain phobias and panic-related concerns. The treatment can focus on memories, triggers, beliefs, and experiences associated with fear and anxiety.
EMDR for Grief and Loss
Loss can leave people experiencing sadness, guilt, anger, anxiety, intrusive memories, or a sense of being emotionally stuck.
EMDR may be considered when distressing experiences surrounding a loss continue to interfere with daily life or when particular memories or circumstances surrounding the loss remain especially painful.
EMDR for Childhood and Developmental Trauma
Difficult experiences during childhood can influence how people understand themselves, relationships, safety, and emotional responses later in life.
For adults who continue to experience the effects of childhood trauma or adverse experiences, EMDR-informed therapy may help address memories and patterns connected to those experiences.
EMDR can also be adapted for children and adolescents by appropriately trained clinicians. EMDRIA notes that EMDR therapy can be used with children and adults.
Do I Have to Talk in Detail About My Trauma?
One question many people have before starting EMDR therapy is:
"Do I have to tell my therapist every detail of what happened?"
Not necessarily.
EMDR is designed differently from some traditional approaches to trauma therapy. While you will discuss important aspects of your experiences with your therapist, EMDR does not necessarily require you to provide a detailed verbal description of everything that happened.
Your therapist will work collaboratively with you and help you determine what you are comfortable addressing and when you are ready to process it.
Is EMDR Right for Everyone?
EMDR can be an effective treatment approach, but it is not automatically the right treatment for every person or every concern.
A therapist will consider your current symptoms, history, goals, emotional stability, available support, and readiness when determining whether EMDR is appropriate.
In some cases, therapy may begin with stabilization, coping skills, emotional regulation, or other therapeutic approaches before beginning trauma processing.
At DuPage Clinical Counseling, treatment is individualized rather than one-size-fits-all.
What Can EMDR Help Me Change?
People seek EMDR therapy for many different reasons. Depending on the individual and the concerns being addressed, therapy may help with:
Feeling less overwhelmed by traumatic memories
Reducing the emotional intensity of certain memories
Managing anxiety and fear
Reducing reactions to specific triggers
Developing healthier beliefs about yourself
Improving emotional regulation
Processing painful past experiences
Reducing avoidance
Feeling safer and more grounded
Moving forward after difficult life experiences
The goal is not to change your history. The goal is to help change the way your past experiences continue to affect you in the present.
EMDR Therapy in Lombard, IL
If you are searching for EMDR therapy in Lombard, Illinois, DuPage Clinical Counseling provides counseling services from our Lombard office.
DuPage Clinical Counseling Services offers therapy for children, teens, young adults, and adults, with treatment tailored to each person's individual needs.
Our practice incorporates evidence-based approaches including EMDR, CBT, DBT, and trauma-informed care.
Lombard office:
450 E 22nd St, Suite 152
Lombard, IL 60148
Online EMDR Therapy Throughout Illinois
For clients who prefer the convenience of meeting from home, online therapy is available throughout Illinois.
Telehealth can make it easier to access counseling without commuting to an office and can provide continuity of care for people with busy schedules, transportation challenges, or other barriers to attending in person.
EMDR therapy can also be conducted remotely by appropriately trained clinicians when clinically appropriate.
You Don't Have to Stay Stuck in the Past
You may know that something from your past is affecting you, but that does not mean you have to continue feeling controlled by it.
Whether you are dealing with trauma, anxiety, difficult memories, grief, panic, or another distressing experience, therapy can provide a safe and supportive place to begin understanding what you are experiencing.
DuPage Clinical Counseling provides EMDR therapy in Lombard, IL, and online counseling throughout Illinois.
If you are wondering whether EMDR may be appropriate for you or your child, the first step is a conversation with a qualified mental health professional who can help determine what type of treatment best fits your needs.
Ready to Explore EMDR Therapy?
Contact DuPage Clinical Counseling to learn more about EMDR therapy and counseling options in Lombard, Illinois and throughout the state of Illinois through telehealth.
Phone: 630-447-0601