Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, also known as EMDR therapy, is a form of psychotherapy designed to help people heal from extremely traumatic life events. EMDR therapy will help reduce the emotional distress, panic attacks, anxiety and other serious symptoms that most people experience after undergoing a disturbing experience in their life. EMDR therapy combines several different popular treatment approaches into one extremely effective technique to remove as much psychological stress as possible.

While you will never forget what happened, EMDR therapy can help remove the upsetting symptoms you experience every time the event is brought up. This will stop you from constantly reliving the sights and sounds of the event. EMDR therapy uses eight treatment phases to provide effective results.

The first phase of EMDR therapy will have you reveal as much information about your past history as possible. You will have to be prepared to discuss the disturbing event that brought you to seek therapy. This information will help the therapist develop the right treatment plan for you. The first phase of EMDR therapy can usually be completed in one or two sessions depending on how many traumatic events you have experienced.

The second phase of EMDR therapy is called preparation. You will be taught several specific techniques to help you deal with your emotional stress. This will help you prepare for the upcoming treatment sessions while also making it easier to cope between treatment sessions. This phase of the therapy can usually be completely in one to three sessions.

Phases three to six of EMDR therapy will have you directly deal with the traumatic event, the negative thoughts this event brings up and the body sensations felt throughout the trauma. While you are visualizing a distinct image from the traumatic event, you will use eye movements, taps on the body and audible tones to help you cope with this image. This will help you desensitize your brain to the disturbing event.

After completing the eye movements, taps and tones, you will be instructed to let your mind go blank. This process will be repeated until you no longer have problematic symptoms associated with this image. Once you are no longer experiencing emotional distress when thinking of the traumatic event, you will be asked to think of a positive time in your life. This will help train the brain to start to associate something positive with the disturbing event. The goal is to complete these four phases of treatment in one therapy session, but that is not possible with everyone.

The entire process of phase three to six of EMDR therapy will be repeated if you have multiple traumatic events that need to be addressed. Phase seven of EMDR therapy is called closure, and it will be how you end each session. You will undergo a self-calming technique to ensure that you are ready to return to your normal life. You will come back for one more sessions during phase eight of treatment, which is called reevaluation. This session will consist of examining the progress you made throughout your previous sessions.

If you have experienced a traumatic life event and the aftereffects are interfering with your everyday life, we strongly encourage you to visit Cady Wellness Institute in Newburgh, IN to learn more information about EMDR therapy. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.