EMDR is available at The Counseling Collective. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapist-guided eye movement therapy primarily used to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As trauma research broadens, we’ve realized it isn’t limited to a major life event, but rather can show up as a negative or untrue belief you’ve adopted due to ongoing hardship. If you’re feeling stuck in a traumatic experience or negative belief system, it might manifest in a variety of ways: A struggle to throw off certain beliefs about yourself or others, intrusive/looping thoughts or nightmares, or physical, bodily responses that you can’t think your way out of. If any of these symptoms sound familiar, EMDR may be right for you.
EMDR is extremely effective for one-time traumatic experiences, such as a car accident, a physical assault, natural disaster, etc. The sooner after the event that EMDR sessions are done, the better. However, it is also effective for ongoing trauma or stress, whether experienced in childhood or later in life. Ongoing trauma cases can be more complicated and require significant work to prepare for an EMDR session, so cases must be assessed individually. Each person will have a unique experience as their brain does the work to heal, but typically people will report memories feeling much more vague or blurry in contrast to a memory being vivid and disturbing. Common comments after completion sound something like this: “It’s unfortunate that had to happen to me, but I realize now it wasn’t my fault. I am safe now.” Or, “The incident was beyond my control, I realize now I did everything I could possibly do.” Usually, reprocessing is fairly simple and straightforward, “common sense” if you will. Since trauma often doesn’t present “logically”, EMDR helps link the head with the body to form a congruent interpretation of what happened.
Here are the therapists who are trained in EMDR at The Counseling Collective:
Michelle is an EMDR Certified Therapist. She works with clients at both of our locations, as well as online.
Becca sees clients at our East Petersburg location, as well as online.
Michele sees clients at our East Petersburg location, as well as online.
If you’d like to have a conversation about whether or not EMDR is a good fit for you, please contact us to schedule an appointment. You can do so by filling out our Request Appointment form on our website or call 717-723-8040 extension 100 to schedule with our Client Coordinators. Additionally, you can view the insurances we participate with, and you can read more on self paying for therapy.