EMDR Therapy

A knot clenches your stomach. Tightness in your chest makes it difficult to breathe.

Your eyes scan for danger, checking who is nearby, noting exit routes, just in case.

Loud noises make you jump. Nerve endings tingle. Lashing out in anger when you are hurt or scared.

Sinking into shame when you fear you have done something wrong.

Deep down feeling that you will never be safe. Deep down believing you are unlovable or there is something wrong with you.

If these things are familiar to you, there’s a good chance you have experienced trauma. EMDR therapy can help you heal.

Being human means being vulnerable. Scary, upsetting, disturbing things can happen to anyone. When they do, whether it is something that feels routine or is a one time occurrence, it can leave an indelible mark. Trauma can affect the way you see yourself, the world and others. It can change the way you live and love. It can change the way you work and create. It can narrow your choices and confuse safety with being stuck. EMDR Therapy can help you heal wounds from the past so you can move forward in life with more freedom.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences. It is a process that uses the brain’s natural ability to

How does EMDR work?

EMDR works by accessing experiences that are stored in the brain and body and revisits them in the present moment. When you go through something that is overwhelming or disturbing your brain and nervous system will remember it to help keep you being harmed again. While it is part of the brain’s survival mechanism to remember upsetting events, this information can get stuck.

Distressing images, intrusive thoughts, painful body sensations and upsetting emotions may become repeatedly triggered long after the danger has passed. These can create distorted negative self beliefs, feeling overwhelmed, being on alert for danger or numbing. In the midst of a traumatic event occurring, whether it is a parent lashing out at you when you are a child or a car accident, your focus may narrow, like tunnel vision, so you are only paying attention to the thing you need to survive. When this incident is recorded in your memory, some information about what else may have been happening, including things that may have been helpful in that moment, may be forgotten.

EMDR, uses eye-movements or other stimuli, such as handheld pulses or tapping, to stimulate the brain while you are revisiting the traumatic event. Body sensations and thoughts about are also noticed. Looking at it in the safety of the present moment desensitizes the charge around the event or memory. In this more relaxed state, Information that might have been forgotten can be recalled or new pieces can be added to help make sense of what happened. Once the memory is fully reprocessed, it can be restored in the memory without the negative charge previously attached to it.

What does an EMDR session look like with me?

The first thing I want you to know is your safety is key. EMDR works with your brain’s natural ability to adapt and integrate new information. I will support and guide you, but most importantly, allow your healing process unfold in the way that is best for you. This is a collaborative process. Before we begin processing, I take the time to get to know you, what you have been through and what you want to work on. From deciding, setting the pace, and always having the option to stop or take a break, you are in control. As part of the preparation process, I will help you reconnect to strengths, positive experiences and relationships that have helped you in your life which you may have been forgotten, but are still stored in your memory networks and your body. Reconnecting with these resources is an important part of the healing process.

When processing begins, I will ask you to focus on a target memory, bring to mind an image, and notice your body sensations, emotions and thoughts. Then I will add tapping, pulses or eye movements in sets. At the end of each, I will ask you to notice what you are experiencing in that moment. I may ask you questions to help you keep moving through the process, work through any block as they arise. We will keep repeating the process until the disturbing material you were focusing on has lost its charge.

Why might EMDR be right for you?

Utilizing your innate ability to heal, EMDR can provide a life changing transformation. For many of my clients, it has provided relief after years of trying to address symptoms through traditional talk therapy. Some of challenges I have treated with EMDR include:

●     Stress, anxiety and PTSD

●      Childhood trauma, including sexual abuse

●      Attachment & developmental trauma, such as emotional abuse or neglect

●      Sexual trauma

●      Witnessing or experiencing violence, including combat

●      Relationship and intimacy issues

●      Intergenerational family trauma

●      Flashbacks, panic attacks and phobias

●      Depression and bipolar disorders

●      Dissociation

●      Grief and loss

●      Performance anxiety

●      Sleep issues

●      Substance abuse, addiction and other unhealthy behaviors

●      Suicidal thinking or behavior

Other Mental Health Services at Michele Conklin Therapy

In addition to treatment for trauma, I offer mental health services for depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and creative issues. I specialize in Creative Trauma Resolution using effective PTSD treatments, such as Art Therapy and Mindfulness and Somatic practices. Finally, I provide couples therapy in CT using marriage counseling methods that work.