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If you’re considering Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a treatment option to help manage your PTSD symptoms, you’re in good company! EMDR is a widely researched and evidence-based trauma-focused therapy that effectively treats PTSD symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, physical reactions to triggers, avoidance, hyperarousal, irritability, etc.
If you have been diagnosed with PTSD and are worried that EMDR might make your symptoms worse, rest assured, this is a completely normal concern. A well-trained and experienced EMDR therapist will take the time to understand who you are, your history, traumas, including the core memories and experiences that may have contributed to your PTSD symptoms. Knowing this information will help your therapist to develop a roadmap of how to ensure that you are mentally, physically, and holistically prepared for EMDR before you begin processing the traumatic memories. On the other hand, if one jumps into processing traumatic memories too soon without being prepared, one can feel re-triggered. Even if this does happen, a skilled EMDR therapist can help the client stabilize and resume processing memories once they feel the client is fully ready.
With my PTSD clients, I don’t rush through this roadmap process. It is important for me to get to know my client’s history, and particularly what triggers them. For example, if an adult client was traumatized as a child by a caregiver, their adult self might be eager to find relief through EMDR. This adult self might have already spoken with mental health professionals about the benefits of EMDR, they might have spoken with others who have benefitted from the treatment, and have completed their own research on how EMDR could help them.
But deep inside, this client may have inner child parts that are terrified of bringing up the past. Perhaps these inner child parts would prefer to avoid the past altogether to avoid the feeling of the traumatic past happening all over again. For the process of EMDR to be successful, we take the time to gently and patiently help your inner child parts to understand why we’re doing this treatment. We do not proceed until they feel understood, secure, nurtured, and ready to process their traumas.
Taking the extra steps to get all parts on board is essential to an EMDR experience that is as least distressful as possible. I wouldn’t say that EMDR is a cake walk, but it does not have to be a terrifying experience. The last thing an EMDR therapist wants to do is re-traumatize a client. It’s important to find a skilled and patient EMDR therapist that will be sensitive to your needs, while helping you progress through the EMDR process to experience relief from your symptoms.
If you are interested in EMDR, and reside in the state of Illinois, please feel free to reach out to book a free 15-minute consultation with me on my website at trueselfinprogress.com. Good luck in your journey to heal from your traumas, discover your strengths, and evolve into who you’re meant to be!
