EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, helps patients heal from traumatic or distressing events. JoAnne Singh, LMHC, and the experienced therapy team at Fully Integrated Psychotherapy & Consultation offer telehealth EMDR sessions to help you move past emotions that trigger traumatic responses, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Call the office in Scarsdale, New York, or use the online booking tool to schedule your private and discreet appointment today.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy designed to reset your brain’s response to trauma.
EMDR is an evidence-based treatment during which you focus on a triggering memory while your therapist moves your eyes from side to side. The action causes your brain to reduce the vividness of your emotions.
EMDR may be just one tool in your treatment plan, but it’s an effective one. EMDR has helped millions of people overcome the long-term effects of trauma.
EMDR therapy helps patients overcome trauma and the symptoms associated with reliving a traumatic event. EMDR also helps you manage the symptoms of:
EMDR can help people who have trouble talking about a traumatic experience or don’t want to verbalize their pain. During an EMDR session, you don’t have to talk a lot about your trauma — you focus on it in your own mind.
Your EMDR therapy session is held virtually. You find a comfortable seat in your home or another location and communicate with your therapist using video technology.
Your therapist asks you to focus on a triggering event, your emotion, and body sensations and, if you feel OK, briefly explain it. You then complete several sets of bilateral stimulation (eye moment, tapping, or tones).
The idea behind EMDR therapy is that you will have dual attention on the present and the past while reprocessing past events that negatively affect your present-day life. The bilateral stimulation regulates your nervous system while it keeps you present enough to integrate various aspects of the traumatic event. This helps your mind to properly store the event in your long-term memory in such a way that you will be able to recall the event, and it will have a reduced emotional intensity. This will help your overall ability to reduce the emotional disturbance caused by triggers that would normally leave you feeling flooded with emotions, intrusive thoughts, and nightmares.
This process makes it, so your triggering memories have less impact on your mental and emotional health.
You benefit from a series of EMDR sessions to enjoy optimal results of the therapy. Exactly how many you need depends on your specific case. Some people with a single traumatic event or issue feel better after 3-6 sessions. More complex problems may require a longer preparation period and more reprocessing sessions.
The goal of your customized treatment plan is to help you feel more in control of your thoughts and behavior.
Find out more about how you can benefit from EMDR. Call Fully Integrated Psychotherapy & Consultation today or use this website to set up an appointment.