EMDR therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps people effectively heal from emotional distress caused by traumatic memories.
Trauma can significantly reduce an individual’s mental and physical well-being. Trauma can be so difficult to heal from that some individuals may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means to cope with their negative trauma symptoms.
If you are struggling with trauma, you shouldn’t have to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with your trauma symptoms. EMDR therapy is one of several effective treatment options available to heal your trauma.
At Rise in Malibu, we are an innovative Malibu luxury drug rehab facility committed to providing the support and care essential to break free of addiction. If you are using drugs as a means to cope with trauma, contact us to learn how we can help treat your addiction and trauma symptoms.
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a therapy where a patient is encouraged to think back to a traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (i.e. eye movements) that help reduce the intensity of emotion linked to the traumatic event.
In other words, EMDR therapy helps to lessen the emotional distress linked to a traumatic memory by asking the patient to think of the memory while focusing on an external stimulus that triggers eye movements.
What is EMDR Used to Treat?
Because EMDR therapy helps decrease the emotional distress linked to traumatic memories, EMDR is most widely used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet, PTSD isn’t the only condition EMDR can be used to treat.
There are various other mental health conditions that EMDR therapy can be used to treat, including anxiety disorders, depression disorders, dissociative disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and personality disorders.
What Are the Benefits of EMDR?
EMDR can be an effective treatment option to lower stress and anxiety linked to traumatic memories. Reshaping a patient’s emotional response connected to past traumatic events can significantly improve their mental health.
Here are three top benefits of an EMDR treatment program:
- Helps Lessen Emotional Distress of Traumatic Memories: Trauma has the potential to forever stick with an individual and alter their quality of life for the worse. EMDR looks to lessen the emotional distress linked to traumatic memories so individuals can effectively take back control over their life.
- Reduce Stress and Anxiety: EMDR therapy helps lessen the stress and anxiety associated with thinking about traumatic events.
- Minimal Talking: It can be extremely difficult for anyone to talk about traumatic experiences. This makes people more likely to keep their trauma inside. EMDR therapy provides patients with a safe space to address their traumatic experiences with minimal talking required as the individual is encouraged to think about their traumatic memory.
What Does an EMDR Therapy Session Entail?
EMDR therapy involves eight phases, and patients will often undergo several sessions depending on the severity of the traumatic memory.
The eight phases patients can expect to include:
- Gathering patient history: Your provider will gather essential information about you and your past history. Gathering patient history helps determine if EMDR therapy may be right for you.
- Preparation: If you are determined to be a good candidate, your provider will talk you through what to expect during EMDR sessions.
- Assessment: This phase involves the provider helping to identify specific traumatic memories or overarching themes that could be treated.
- Desensitization and reprocessing: Your provider will then ask you to identify, think about, and feel how the negative memory was to essentially bring the traumatic memory to the forefront of the mind.
- Installation: Patients are then asked to think about a positive belief to help build and process the memory.
- Body Scan: Patients will be asked to recall the negative memory while undergoing a body scan. This helps track the EMDR therapy progress.
- Closure and stabilization: Your provider will talk about how to deal with potentially negative thoughts and feelings that may occur in between EMDR sessions.
- Revaluation and continuing care: The patient’s overall progress will be discussed, and additional sessions may be recommended depending on the patient’s progress.
How to Find EMDR in Southern California
There are a variety of treatment centers that offer patients an EMDR treatment program to effectively heal their trauma symptoms. To find EMDR dual diagnosis treatment centers that offer EMDR therapy and addiction treatment, research addiction treatment centers in your area and evaluate which offers the exact care you need.
Rise in Malibu is a treatment center that offers various drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs so clients can receive the exact care they need to break free of addiction for good. If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, contact us today to learn how we can help you overcome addiction and live a long-lasting life of sobriety.
