“We work little by little because
little by little becomes a lot.”

-Delores Mosquero

What is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.  It is a form of therapy that helps people heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences.  EMDR therapy has been extensively researched and has demonstrated effectiveness for trauma.

How can EMDR therapy help?

Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion).  While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, they may not be processed without help. Stress responses are part of our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts.  When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create feelings of overwhelm, of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.”

EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.

How does EMDR therapy differ from other therapies?

EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or homework between sessions. Rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors resulting from the distressing issues, EMDR allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. Part of the therapy includes alternating eye movements, sounds, or taps. For many clients, EMDR therapy can be complete in fewer sessions than other psychotherapists.