EMDR Therapy in Philadelphia

What is EMDR therapy?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an 8-phase treatment that facilitates adaptive processing in the brain. It involves bilateral stimulation in the form of tapping, eye movements, hand buzzers, or other techniques. It can be used as its own protocol or as an adjunct to talk therapy.

What is EMDR used for?

EMDR was originally created for PTSD, but has since been found to help with many other challenges, including depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and generally feeling “stuck.”

How many sessions does EMDR take?

This depends on each person’s symptoms and history. Most clients will spend a few weeks in preparation and have multiple reprocessing sessions with talk sessions in between. Some clients will meet their goals in just a few reprocessing sessions. Others may use EMDR in adjunct with talk therapy for many years. Due to the eight-phase nature of treatment, it is likely that complete treatment will be no shorter than 6-8 sessions.

What will EMDR therapy be like, in a nutshell?

We will start by taking a few sessions to gather a thorough history, identify significant memories or “stuck points,” and clarify the ways that trauma or negative experiences have impacted your life and relationship with yourself. We prepare for reprocessing sessions by practicing regulation skills and planning for a specific “target.” During a reprocessing session, you will be asked to focus on the target memory and engage in bilateral stimulation. I will check in with your experience, guide the session with simple questions, and ensure that you stay in your window of tolerance. Reprocessing sessions will take the full 60-90 minute session. We talk about your experience in the following session.

Please see below for more details about the eight phases of EMDR treatment.

Can EMDR be done virtually?

Yes. EMDR can be done both virtually and in person with similar benefit.

It sounds weird. Are you sure it can help?

EMDR is heavily supported by research as an effective therapy. Each person’s experience will be as unique as their story. I’ve personally worked with countless people who, through EMDR, release shame, see their experiences in a new light, improve their nervous system regulation, and shed the weight of trauma. I have seen EMDR cause profound shifts in both a person’s internal experience as well as how they relate to the world.

Please visit the EMDRIA website for more detailed information.

“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”

-Jack Kornfield

Eight Phases of EMDR

  • We start by taking a comprehensive history of your life. We will discuss your past, present and future. Dissociation symptoms will be assessed at this time.

  • This stage can also be called “resourcing.” Before we conduct reprocessing using bilateral stimulation, we want to make sure that you have emotion regulation skills so that you feel confident in your ability to tolerate thoughts and emotions that may be challenging, uncomfortable, or intense. We will always make sure you feel in control and are inside your “window of tolerance.” There are many ways to resource, and this may include relaxation techniques, visualization techniques, and/or compartmentalization techniques. We will find the combination of techniques that works for you.

  • Together, we will discuss memories, beliefs, emotions, body sensations, and/or other “stuck points” to “target” during reprocessing. This step is making a specific plan for an upcoming reprocessing session. A reprocessing session uses up the entirety of the session time so we do all of the prep beforehand.

  • Once Phases 1-3 are complete, we start reprocessing sessions. Reprocessing sessions use the entirety of the session so we start after a quick check-in. The target memory will be focused on, and I will guide you through bilateral stimulation in the form of tapping, hand buzzers, or eye movements. Reprocessing sessions are different than talk sessions. I will be checking in with you and your experience, but there is little talking that will be done. During reprocessing, you may feel shifts in your emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and/or body sensations. I will guide with gentle prompting as needed. You are always in control and we are keeping yo within your window of tolerance.

  • Through reprocessing, a person will face truths about the traumatic situation, which often include intense emotions as well as empowering positive, adaptive truths that help promote a feeling of closure. Installation happens when your brain gives you the realizations it needs for adaptive processing. Examples include: “It was not my fault,” “I am safe now,” or “I am not a bad person, I had to survive.” These realizations come from within and are unique to you and your situation.

  • After you begin to internalize adaptive truths and positive beliefs about yourself and your trauma, we check in with your body to see if you are experiencing residual body sensations or tension. We continue to focus reprocessing on body sensations until you feel “clear” in your body.

  • We always end every session with you feeling present and in control in your mind and body. We will not end a session until this is complete. I will never “leave you hanging.” Typically, a trauma is not completely reprocessed in one session, so we use our skills and resources to regulate and end session at a good stopping point.

  • We complete reevaluation the following session after a reprocessing session. We check in with how you are doing, feeling, and what shifts happened or continued after the prior reprocessing session. My hope is that you will feel some sort of empowerment and/or relief after every reprocessing session, whether it was complete or not. No matter what happens, we are here to figure it out together. As we reevaluate, we make a plan together to continue reprocessing the same target, a different target, or continue building resources. We will collaborate and make all decisions jointly. I care very much about your experience.