EMDR
When you need more than just talk therapy…
Trauma can be like the side view mirror on your car: Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Sometimes things that happened years ago feel as though they happened just yesterday.
Talk therapy alone can be ineffective with this kind of trauma.
Talk therapy asks you to summon intricate details of one or multiple events that have been traumatic over your lifetime. And then, after you bare your soul… “That’s all we have time for today. Let’s schedule an appointment for next week?”
You then have the distinct opportunity to go home, raw and afraid, left to experience flashbacks of events, nightmares or night terrors, and possibly an unexplained irritability. You feel worse than you did before you started therapy!
The next week may go the exact same until you decide it’s not worth it and kick therapy to the curb.
You need more than just talking or venting to heal and move toward the life you want.
Putting distance between you and the trauma…
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy that puts distance between the present you and your past.
EMDR gives you the opportunity to see traumatic events and be detached from them. Sounds unreal, doesn’t it?
Through the process of learning skills and creating a supportive and nurturing environment, you are prepared to slowly go through traumatic events. Using what you’ve learned to that point, you’ll begin inviting insight and self-compassion to those events.
The combination of the skills, insight, and self-compassion allow you and the emotions attached to traumatic events to separate bringing you closer to the present.
The goal is not to ignore what happened…
…but be empowered to quiet the intensity of emotions that felt like they were managing you. I know it sounds like selling wolf tickets. It works.
Here’s an example. Nikki witnessed domestic violence between her parents for years. There’s one incident that left her with nightmares for seven years before she went to therapy. She wrote the event down, tried to remember pieces she forgot, and still had nightmares.
Fast forward several years later. Nikki was introduced to EMDR and in three days, with some dread and armed with good supports, she went through that awful night one more time. The guilt she felt for not ending the fight was released. Nikki no longer has yearly anniversary nightmares. And she’s able to tell her story to help other people thrive.
Separating your past from your present gives you a different perspective on the trauma.
If you’re thinking that this sounds heavy…
It can be.
You are on a journey to pull back what’s behind the curtain of years of pain, anxiety, and depression. It’s hard to talk about what you’ve seen, heard, or experienced. And to lay all this out to a stranger that you’re secretly wondering, “Is she judging me?” or “Does she even know what I’m talking about?” or my favorite, “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
I don’t judge you, least I be judged by the same measure. I know some of what you’re talking about because I’ve been there, and I’ve worked with others on a similar journey. And nope, don’t think you’re crazy.
We will work together to make sure you have an “emotional suit of armor” and an army of support before we wade into the deep end of your emotional pool.
Your determination to be your best self is your new battle cry.
Let’s suit up and work on the things that are holding you back.
Call (317) 395-3716 to schedule a free consultation, and we will start working on you being the best version of yourself.