EMDR is a therapeutic technique for overcoming past traumas that is quickly gaining popularity. EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. The Looking Glass Counseling Program currently employs 12 EMDR practitioners, and that list is growing. One of our therapists and EMDR practitioners, Aaron Porter, M.S, QMHP shared the following insights about the technique.
Can you explain what EMDR is, and how it works?
EMDR is a model of experiential therapy that helps people change the way they feel or have felt emotions in the past. It’s a way of healing past hardships . The technique helps us access our own innate healing ability. EMDR involves bilateral stimulation of both halves of your brain through rapid and rhythmic eye movement.
Often when trauma occurs we attach a belief about ourselves to the trauma, for example “I can’t tolerate that” or “the world is not safe”. EMDR allows people to go in and target a specific traumatic memory and reprocess the experience.
Who could benefit in particular from EMDR therapy? How would someone know this type of therapy could be a good fit for them?
Every person is unique, but anyone who is interested in overcoming a past traumatic event may benefit from the practice. It is one of many tools a therapist trained in the technique may use to help clients heal from root-cause experiences where they took on a negative belief about themselves.
If this is a therapy model that is of interest to you, please contact the Counseling Program at 541-484-4428.