Orlando Therapist Explains What to Expect in EMDR Therapy
Orlando Therapist Explains What to Expect in EMDR Therapy
Written By: Lauran Hahn, LMHC
Are you curious about EMDR Therapy? You’d like to try it, but you want to understand exactly what’s happening in an EMDR Therapy session. You’ve heard people rave about the results, but you need a little more information before you’ll be ready to schedule a session.
My name is Lauran and I am a Certified EMDR therapist and an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Consultant. I’m also the owner of Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, a group therapy practice specializing in trauma, anxiety, and EMDR Therapy Orlando.
All of the therapists in our practice specialize in EMDR Therapy Orlando.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing. EMDR Therapy helps people that have experienced trauma or other difficult events process and desensitize those difficult moments. EMDR Therapy is based on the idea that when a distressing event overwhelms your system, aspects of the memory can get stored in your brain and body. These aspects can be thoughts, emotions, body sensations, images, and other sensory information.
When something comes along and consciously or unconsciously reminds you of that earlier situation, these unprocessed memory fragments can flood your system. This creates a plethora of symptoms like anxiety, depression, emotional hijacking, numbing, agitation, and negative thinking, just to name a few.
As an EMDR therapist, my goal is to help my clients process their memories in a way that reduces these symptoms and helps them feel better. So, how does EMDR Therapy actually work? Check out this two-minute video by VEN EMDR that further explains how EMDR Therapy works.
What should I expect in EMDR Therapy?
The first step is to develop resources or self-soothing techniques that will help you regulate intense feelings. These tools will help you cope with whatever symptoms brought you into therapy as well as be resources to lean into during EMDR processing should you experience strong feelings during therapy.
The next step is to identify the present symptoms and identify what in your history could have contributed to these symptoms. Together, we will create a list of memories that are related to the present-day symptoms. We will eventually use EMDR to process these memories.
Once we have identified the target memories, we move on to the processing part of EMDR Therapy. During processing, I’ll ask you to focus on the memory while also tracking my finger as I move it back and forth. This is called bilateral stimulation. I’ll discuss bilateral stimulation in more detail below.
While focusing on the memory and the bilateral stimulation, I will encourage you to notice any thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations that come up. This helps process aspects of the memory that are stuck, which often leads to a feeling of relief or resolution.
After several rounds of bilateral stimulation, I’ll check in to see how you are feeling. We’ll discuss shifts or changes you’re noticing in your body or when it comes to memory. New insights or understandings can emerge during the processing that can offer a profound shift that leads to overall healing and growth.
Over time, as we work through more and more memories using EMDR Therapy, there is a reduction in symptoms, such as having less anxiety and feeling more grounded and present. Clients often say that they feel more in control of their thoughts and feelings related to the traumatic event.
What is bilateral stimulation?
First of all, the term bilateral stimulation sounds scarier than it actually is. Bilateral stimulation simply means stimulating both sides of the brain at the same time in a non-invasive way. The original bilateral stimulation was done by having the client follow the therapist's finger in a back-and-forth motion. Over time, though, we’ve found there are many ways to do bilateral stimulation. We will explore the different methods of bilateral stimulation and decide what feels best for you. Other forms of bilateral stimulation include following a light bar with your eyes, holding onto tactile devices that buzz in alternating hands, tapping on your shoulders or another part of your body, alternating left and right, or listening to sounds that alternate between your ears.
How long does EMDR Therapy take?
The EMDR Therapists at my practice and I get asked this question almost daily and our answer is always the same. It depends. It depends on many different factors. First, what are your goals for EMDR Therapy? Have you recently been in a car accident and need to be able to drive without experiencing panic or anxiety? In that case, it usually takes between two and eight sessions. However, it could take longer if there is a complicated trauma history.
The more traumatic events in your history, the slower you need to go. There is a common phrase we trauma therapists use, “Slower is faster.” The reason we want to slow down when the client has a complex trauma history is that we don’t want to flood their system. We want to process slowly so the client does not get overwhelmed.
Final thoughts on EMDR Therapy Orlando
It's important to note that EMDR Therapy is not a quick fix or a magic bullet. It can take time and hard work to process difficult memories and heal from trauma. But for many people, EMDR Therapy can be a powerful tool for reclaiming their lives and finding a sense of peace and well-being.
Ready to Start EMDR Therapy Orlando?
At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, all of our therapists are trained in EMDR Therapy, as we specialize in trauma, anxiety, and healing toxic relationship patterns.
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Need More Time Before Starting EMDR Therapy Orlando?
We understand. Take the time you need and reach out when you’re ready! In the meantime, feel free to check out our blog page which is loaded with free resources.
Additional Resources for EMDR Therapy Orlando
EMDR Therapy: Healing the Unspoken
EMDR Therapy Orlando for a Recent Trauma
Orlando Therapist Explains How EMDR Therapy Works
Orlando Therapist Answers the Question - What is EMDR Therapy?
Types of Counseling: What is EMDR?
Is EMDR Therapy Right for You?
Additional Therapy Services Offered at Mindful Living Counseling Orlando
Mindful Living Counseling Orlando therapists understand that trauma isn’t the only thing you may be struggling with. We want you to know that we offer a variety of therapy services at Mindful Living Counseling which include Toxic Relationship Therapy, Eating Disorder Therapy, Anxiety Therapy, and Teen Therapy.
About the Owner of Mindful Living Counseling Orlando
As an Orlando Therapist, Lauran Hahn, LMHC, specializes in working with clients struggling with anxiety. Lauran is also a Certified EMDR therapist and an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Consultant. She also specializes in boundaries and supporting her clients in healing from toxic relationships. Lauran works to help her clients feel calm in their body, at peace in their mind, and connected in relationships.