EMDR Therapy In Los Angeles
Trauma Treatment
Most people will experience at least one traumatic event in their lives, while many others will experience several. The effects of trauma can be debilitating and can include panic, fear, flashbacks of the traumatic event(s), nightmares, irritability, and hypervigilance. These symptoms do not fade over time, rather they tend to become more prominent and intrusive. Obtaining professional treatment after experiencing one or more traumas is highly recommended, as doing so can minimize the intensity of symptoms as well as prevent the development of additional symptoms. Today, one of the most highly regarded and effective treatments for trauma is EMDR.
Phases of EMDR
EMDR is certainly not the most traditional of therapeutic treatments, but it is capable of reducing distress related to trauma. This is able to occur when a therapist utilizes the phases of EMDR while treating patients. These phases include the following:
- Phase 1 – History and treatment planning: gathering information about the patient and their traumatic experiences
- Phase 2 – Preparation: Teaching the patient what an EMDR session entails, as well as providing them with relaxation skills to help them through the process
- Phase 3 – Assessment: The patient is to recall the trauma and identify a negative and a positive self-belief about themselves while rating their physical responses to both beliefs
- Phase 4 – Desensitization: Having the patient follow the therapist’s fingers, a light, or tapping while recalling the traumatic event in an effort to minimize its impact
- Phase 5 – Installation: Replacing negative self-beliefs with positive self-beliefs
- Phase 6 – Body scan: Analyzing the physical response to the trauma and seeing what types of effects it produces
- Phase 7 – Closure: The therapist will guide the patient out of the EMDR session by having them recall a less distressing memory as a way to ease out of the therapy
- Phase 8 – Re-evaluation: Going over what was done in the sessions before to determine the effectiveness of EMDR and to develop a plan going forward
EMDR can easily seem like a highly complex type of therapy that might be overwhelming rather than relieving. But, it is anything but. EMDR can help trauma patients heal faster and more effectively from their trauma than other therapies. Usually lasting around 10 sessions, EMDR can help take care of deeply rooted trauma so that it no longer controls your life.
