Coherence Associates Inc. is a California Professional Counseling Corporation. We provide EMDR therapy and are driven to help get the word out about EMDR.

Feb 11, 2016

Why are so many people talking about EMDR Therapy?: How does EMDR Therapy work?

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy that allows people to heal from the symptoms of experiencing disturbing life events. One of the reasons people talk a lot about their experience with EMDR therapy is because it produces such significant results, and in a much shorter period of timethan traditional talk therapy does. EMDR therapy has shown, time and time again, that the mind can heal from significant pain, just as the body heals from injury. EMDR Therapy is thought to activate the natural healing process in the brain, and jump start healing, reducing symptoms such as irritability, startling, flashbacks, anxiety, and nightmares. After a few processing sessions, many of my clients say things like, “I slept through the night for the first time in a year,” or “I feel so much lighter, I can breathe easier,” and “Wow, I can think about that situation and it just doesn’t bother me.”

Think of it this way, our brain and nervous system are like a Super-Computer. It downloads data from life (sights, sounds, physical sensations, feelings, thoughts) all the time. The brain’s information processing system (innate operating system) naturally moves toward mental health, storing all of this data in the best place possible. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers, and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes, and the system continues to file the information in a place that enhances meaning and brings relief to the taxed system. When the Super-Computer is running efficiently, it is easier to be our best selves, happier, sleeping well, and easily productive. We are not ‘buffering,’ struggling to find peace and calm. Life is easier! People who have been through significant life events and have posttraumatic stress symptoms are not broken or weak, they are just stuck. EMDR therapy helps to get things moving again in a healthier way.

A trained EMDR Therapist knows how to help clients activate their natural healing processes. The well-known “eye-movements,” of EMDR Therapy are thought to replicate ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ (REM Sleep) patterns, as if we were asleep and processing this information. With EMDR Therapy, we are awake and jump starting this process.

The founder of EMDR, Dr. Francine Shapiro, started the EMDR Institute. You can learn a lot more about it on their web site, www.EMDR.com. On this site EMDR processing describes healing this way; “Processing” does not mean talking about it. “Processing,” means setting up a learning state that will allow experiences that are causing problems to be “digested” and stored appropriately in your brain. That means that what is useful to you from an experience will be learned, and stored with appropriate emotions in your brain, and be able to guide you in positive ways in the future. The inappropriate emotions, beliefs, and body sensations will be discarded. Negative emotions, feelings and behaviors are generally caused by unresolved earlier experiences that are pushing you in the wrong directions. The goal of EMDR therapy is to leave you with the emotions, understanding, and perspectives that will lead to healthy and useful behaviors and interactions.”

I was trained in EMDR Therapy in 1994. Yes, decades ago now. I remember asking Dr. Shapiro, “How the heck does this work so well? I have not seen results like this in 10 years of clinical work.” She smiled at me and said, “I know, neither have I, so let’s keep going and figure it out a long the way.” So I did. I continued to utilize what appeared to be a magical way of helping people heal and grow. Over 2 decades later, the fields of Psychology and Neuroscience have radically expanded. Brain imaging and research studies have shown that EMDR Therapy changes the brain’s ability to process information, to restore balance, and improve peak performance for people.

After decades of scrutiny and rigorous research, EMDR Therapy has been designated in the top 3 evidence-based treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Today, the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), along with other approved training organizations, have trained over 100,000 therapists, and helped over 3 million people around the world. There are over 70 worldwide professional EMDR organizations, which ensure the ongoing proper training and professionalism of EMDR Therapists. EMDR Humanitarian efforts, where trained EMDR clinicians volunteer their time to travel to areas following natural disasters, and war torn communities, have brought healing to those who suffer and training to local therapists.

After being elected to the EMDRIA board of directors, I served as President in 2010. I was humbled and honored to get first hand experience of the global impact of healing that EMDR Therapy has been to so many people. While I knew the results my colleagues and I were getting with our clients, to hear the same stories from around the world ignited my passion for helping people even more. There is no denying this therapy works! Whether it is a child experiencing anxiety, a 1stResponder unable to get rid of horrible flashbacks, an athlete in a slump, a person shook up after a car accident, an addict who continues to relapse, or someone who is depressed and can’t find his or her way out, EMDR Therapy provides a comprehensive and efficient way to help people heal, grow, and be their best selves. It is also a therapy model that easily integrates into other models.

One of the things that hold a deep meaning for me as an EMDR Therapist, is that when I help the person in front of me heal, it is helping the next generation to grow up in a happier and healthier environment, to be the best they can be. The rippling effect of this work fuels me for the next day, the next month, the next year, and then I find myself over 25 years later…just as excited as I was at the beginning of this EMDR journey. You will see this in many EMDR Therapists. Our work is rewarding and meaningful because the results are undeniable.

At Coherence Associates, all of our therapists are EMDR trained, and continue to study and grow in their own lives. If you think we can help you or your family, or you have additional questions, just call. We are happy to speak with you and help you find the healing you have been searching for. 760.942.8663

– Sara Gilman, LMFT