Our world can be challenging. Life contains many ups and downs and sometimes, whether we like it or not, we feel stuck in ‘not so good’ thoughts, behaviors, emotions, or thinking about past events. Feeling temporarily stuck may be a natural part of life, as in grief. Other times, our actions, thoughts, and memories can keep us from enjoying life. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in Kenosha might help you move through and heal from those things that bar you from loving life.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is a bottom-up form of psychotherapy created by Dr. Shapiro in the late 1980s. The ‘bottom-up’ approach informs how EMDR therapy heals the body and is the opposite of ‘talk therapy’ or top-down approaches.
Bottom-up psychotherapy works by first learning self-regulation skills. These skills help someone move from activation (fight, flight, freeze, and appease) to deactivation (calm safe, and open) in the nervous system. Once someone can self-regulate, they can begin engaging in EMDR reprocessing.
EMDR reprocessing stimulates the body’s innate ability to heal through Bilateral Stimulation (BLS). This can include tapping, eye movements, or drawing from side to side (this works well for kids). BLS allows past dysfunctional material to integrate so it no longer influences mental health symptoms. This often creates a decrease in stress, positive changes in someone’s cognition, and internal calm.
EMDR Therapy Effectiveness
Therapists and professors constantly conduct EMDR research. Currently, EMDR therapy has been shown to help alleviate symptoms of trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), self-harm urges, depression, and anxiety. Future EMDR research focuses on eating disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
Furthermore, EMDR helps to heal the dysfunctional material our nervous system stores after/during stressful events. Thus, EMDR can target unpleasant, persistent emotions such as guilt, shame, anger, rage, numbness, and grief and loss.
EMDR Therapist in Kenosha
Finding an EMDR therapist you can relate to and connect with can be a challenge. Most therapists offer a free consultation and I encourage you to use these to ask questions and get to know your new potential therapist.
At Revitalize Mental Health PLLC we provide EMDR therapy and have current openings for new clients. If you or someone you know could benefit from working with an EMDR therapist, submit an online form here or give us a call 720.295.6703. We look forward to hearing from you!
