EMDR & TRAUMA RECOVERY COUNSELING LOCATED IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY & VENTURA, CA
Change from feeling trapped in your past memories to new possibilities for your present.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based trauma treatment that uses rapid, alternating movements to help the brain process painful memories and feelings.
Trauma happens when we experience anything that is emotionally hurtful and that leaves lasting wounds. Trauma can be very subtle injuries that occur over many years (“death by a thousand cuts”), or it can be sudden, tragic events like a sexual assault or car accident. Traditional talk therapy can take a very long time to resolve these wounds at best and can, at worst, be ineffective.
EMDR is a groundbreaking, integrative therapy that has been widely studied and proven to be effective for psychological trauma. Since its development in the late 1980s, therapists have helped thousands upon thousands of people transform their lives by using this brief, cost-effective therapy.
EMDR can help with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and much more. EMDR can help you target and resolve past memories, as well as currently difficult feelings and experiences.
How does EMDR work?
The precise mechanism that makes EMDR so effective is unclear because researchers are just beginning to understand how the brain processes and stores intense, traumatic memories. However, what is clear is that trauma causes disruptions in how the brain is able to process memories associated with the traumatic event.
Everyday experiences that are not traumatic are fully processed and stored in the brain’s memory networks in the neocortex, the part of the brain associated with higher brain functions. Fully processed, everyday experiences can be recalled and are integrated into the individual’s felt sense of who he or she is. These memories become a part of the person’s story.
Trauma, however, causes disruptions in processing experiences into memories. Such disruptions mean that the brain cannot process the traumatic memories and feelings associated with them. Nightmares, intrusive thoughts, feeling “triggered,” and flashbacks are the mind’s way of “reliving” the event in order to try to process those memories that are being dysfunctionally stored.
EMDR uses eye movements or other forms of stimulation delivered on both sides of the body (bilateral stimulation) to help the brain process traumatic memories more adaptively. With EMDR treatment, one can stop “reliving” the traumatic event and integrate it into normal memories, so that it no longer disturbs the person as it once did. The memory that used to flood the individual with anxiety, shame, or other overwhelming feelings loses its power to disconnect him from himself and others.
EMDR Therapy for Compulsive Sexual Behaviors
If you’re struggling with out-of-control sexual behaviors or you are the partner of someone who is, you have almost certainly experienced some kind of trauma. For sex addicts, a staggering 97% have been emotionally abused, 81% have been sexually abused, and 72% have been physically abused. For partners, simply learning about your loved one’s sexual behaviors is deeply traumatizing.
For these reasons, EMDR therapy is an invaluable treatment for those seeking healing from problematic sexual behaviors and their partners alike. Full recovery must include healing from the trauma that contributed to it. For partners of sex or porn addicts, EMDR can help to get symptoms of the trauma of learning about your loved one’s betrayal under control.
I Need Help—What Should I Do Now?
Starting counseling can be tough because trauma can be difficult to talk about. Reaching out for help is nothing to be ashamed about and can lead to a fuller life. We applaud your courage in seeking the support you need. And trust us, we know how you’re feeling and can journey with you through the discomfort and awkwardness.
Get Started With A Free Call
EMDR and trauma counseling can be difficult to start, usually because you might be afraid of sharing painful experiences with someone new. We applaud your courage in seeking the support you need. No matter what your circumstances may be, no matter how desperate your situation, change is possible.