EMDR Therapy in Fresno, and online for all of California
What if you could experience relief?
Connect to your inner wisdom
You tried traditional therapy but did not experience the results you wanted. You still struggle with intrusive thoughts, overwhelming emotions, and irritability. You are someone who:
Works hard on taking care of yourself and what is important to you.
Notices that it is hard to put your needs before everyone else’s.
Doesn’t get why you react to situations the way that you do, feeling way too angry over your coworker’s comment, or being “too sensitive” and being unable to speak up when you need to set boundaries, you notice that you shut down.
Has negative beliefs about yourselves such as I’m not good enough or I am a failure.
Experiences distressing images and traumatic memories feel so deeply rooted that living without them feels almost impossible.
Is aware of the internal struggle and understands that doing the same thing over and over is not going to give you a different outcome but you haven’t figured out how or what you need to do differently.
Feels stuck in your unhelpful patterns of thoughts and emotional reactions.
You don’t have to stay stuck here.
Our symptoms are painful memories from the past that get activated in the here and now. They are our brain’s way of protecting us from the past.
If you have heard about EMDR, Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), chances are that you have heard how it is a great treatment modality and can help people get unstuck from their symptoms. EMDR is much more than that! It is a treatment modality that helps people access the traumatic material that keeps getting activated in the present, making you react in ways that feel out of sorts/control for you.
The difference between EMDR and regular talk therapy is that with EMDR you hold dual awareness in the past and in the present activating the brain’s natural healing qualities.
We bring up the painful material from the brain’s “filing cabinet'' activating the trauma material including all the components of the memory; images, feelings, and body sensations, and limiting beliefs about ourselves (bringing up the past), and then we use bilateral stimulation in the form of eye movements, tapping or sounds to activate the REM process ( the deep sleep cycle when people begin to move their eye side to side, which is the brain's natural way of processing information)
This eye movement helps your brain stay in the present. This process helps change the impact of the memory, the brain does not have to perceive this information as a threat and it does not have to respond the same way that it has before. EMDR helps the mind access the natural healing power that is within all of us. It changes the brain’s responses creating new information pathways in the brain.
EMDR is hard work and you are worth the investment
There are 8 phases in EMDR:
History and treatment planning
The first phase is to gather the history of your life and understand how things came to be, and what resources are needed to help you be successful in your EMDR journey.
Preparation and stabilization
Sometimes we need tools to help us regulate our emotions so we are not afraid of our feelings. EMDR does not magically give you tools. It is important that you are able to learn and use your tools to manage your emotions because when reprocessing with EMDR strong emotions can come up. We do this to help you prepare the same way that you would not run a marathon without training first.
Assessment
Once you are able to regulate your emotions we will pick a target that is related to your current symptoms to work on and identify the different components of this target memory to activate the traumatic material.Desensitization
We will work on taxing the working memory with bilateral stimulation (BLS). The most common ways of BLS are eye movements from side to side or tapping. We may use others as well. We will stay in this phase until the emotional distress related to this target goes all the way down to 0
Installation
Then we are going to choose a different belief that you want to connect to this memory that was once upsetting. We are going to check that this new positive belief feels strong and solid for you
Body Scan
Once the distress to the memory is down and you have a new positive belief associated with the memory we are going to scan the body for any disturbance that may be in the body and work in reducing that to a 0. This should complete the reprocessing of the memory.
Closure
We put away the material we worked on, and use grounding skills as needed to help you stay centered following the reprocessing session. We want you to be able to stay engaged in your life after your sessions. It is likely that you will feel more sensitive following an EMDR session and in-between visits. It is important that you use the tools provided to you to take care of your emotions.
Evaluation
We evaluate the memory and make sure that there is nothing else coming up related to the memory/target you worked on.
It’s important to keep in mind
EMDR is NOT a quick fix or magic cure. It involves preparation the same way that you would prepare for a marathon. In EMDR we will work on stabilization and getting you to a solid starting place as well as treating the trauma and or the challenges you are experiencing. For some people, stabilization can be fast and for others, it may take longer. There is no guarantee of how long this phase will be for each individual.
It is important that you practice the tools given to you to help you experience change outside the therapy room.
This process can bring up strong emotions and insights which can trigger strong emotional responses. You will not be going through this alone. I am here with you every step of the way to support you.
If you are someone who
Despite your struggles, does what it takes to keep going?
Is open to trying something new and out of the box
Is willing to take part in their own healing process?
EMDR can be a good fit for you.
You don’t have to fight with your brain’s responses all the time.
EMDR can help individuals who experience a range of challenges including:
Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
Chronic Illness and medical issues
Depression and bipolar disorders
Dissociative disorder
Personality disorders
PTSD and other trauma and stress-related issues
Sexual assault
Violence and abuse
The above information came from https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
What if you could let go of the:
Feelings of worthlessness
Irritability
Lack of motivation
Constant fear that the other shoe is going to drop at any time
Putting yourself last
Engaging numbing behaviors such as workaholism, and social media
Aversion to sexual intimacy
Irrational thoughts
Emotional over reactions
Chronic shame
What if you could respond rather than react?
Frequently asked questions about EMDR therapy
FAQs
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it depends on how long we have to stabilize symptoms and your ability to use the tools provided to you.
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Yep!. EMDR has been proven to be just as effective online compared to in person.
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Call/text me at 559-313-1398 or e-mail me at claudiaschroederlcsw@gmail.com to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.