EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – how this comprehensive therapy can help you
PTSD treatment using EMDR therapy - combat & overcome traumatic events, & regain control over your emotions with EMDR therapy techniques for PTSD
PTSD and trauma therapy explained
To understand PTSD we must first understand trauma.
Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event, whether experienced or witnessed. Everyone will respond to trauma in their own way.
Immediately after a traumatic event, you may experience shock and denial; these are typical initial responses. Longer term reactions may include unpredictable emotions, strained relationships, flashbacks, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.
Trauma can be described as experiencing an event or multiple events which overwhelm your ability to cope. Examples of trauma are the sudden death of a loved one, a distressing experience or humiliating occurrence. Trauma can often be the outcome of physical harm. However, any situation that limits your ability to cope can be traumatic. Some traumatic events are sudden, giving you no time to prepare yourself emotionally. This can leave you feeling powerless to regain control.
There are situations where a traumatic event that happens in your childhood can often be suppressed and problems arise later. Trauma therapy can help you combat these traumatic events and guide you towards regaining control of your emotions.
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What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event – either by experiencing it or witnessing it. Whilst it is not an inevitable response to trauma it can have a significant impact on your life.
PTSD is a longer-term condition where the person continues to have flashbacks and re-experiences the traumatic event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Trauma therapy is effective in overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
How to tell if you are suffering from PTSD
There are many symptoms that can be ascribed to trauma. These symptoms can be emotional, or physical and can determine the severity of the issues.
The most common emotional symptoms are feelings of anxiety and fear in situations that are neither scary or stressful. You may also suffer from mood swings or have difficulty concentrating on everyday tasks. The more common physical symptoms are the inability to sleep or erratic sleeping patterns, including feeling lethargic or fatigue.
If you notice any of these symptoms after a traumatic event you or someone you know has suffered, you may be in need of trauma counselling.
Our approach to PTSD therapy
Our approach is based around building a rapport with you. Your PTSD therapist will work with you to understand how you are feeling. We’ll give you the opportunity to express your emotions freely. We know that showing an accepting nature is vital to helping you overcome negative feelings and to come to terms with grief or trauma.
It is our goal to make sure that you receive the right approach to your PTSD trauma counselling. Our objective is that you see yourself as a person who has the power and ability to change your life.
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Using EMDR to treat PTSD
We know that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ and that each of our clients is different and has their own set of unique needs and circumstances. We use a combination of therapies for trauma and PTSD, one of the primary treatments is Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing or EMDR.[LINK]
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) therapy was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorders, including experiences of war. It is highly effective for trauma but has since been found to have far reaching applications for many different types of disorders.
How does trauma EMDR therapy for PTSD help?
Some people don’t want to talk about what is troubling them, particularly those suffering from severe trauma, it can be difficult to ’open up’ and explore why they are feeling this way. Some people don’t fully know. That’s not a problem with EMDR because it enables us to work blind to the actual issue: sometimes we work with people and treat them without needing to discuss any of the specifics.
Imagine watching a film back in your mind of an incident or trigger which made you anxious, and then pausing it at the worst moment: the part that really encapsulates the trauma you felt. That’s what we get our patients to do, replaying it in their mind. We ask them to notice something in the past, and then notice something in the present. We call it bilateral stimulation.
We do this because the part of our brain that processes that event, the reptilian part of our brain, doesn’t know how to handle the incident or trigger and can’t store it as a memory. EMDR helps to change that.
A trauma therapy case study
When Jane was 9, her mother was diagnosed with psychosis. One day, she had locked Jane in a room with her, brandishing knives, saying terrible things about Jane’s father and said that she didn’t love Jane anymore.
Although her mother said sorry later on, Jane never again believed her when she said “I love you”. Jane said that her sister had suffered much more emotionally from this trauma than she had, and Jane continually felt guilty about her sister’s emotional problems. Jane reported crying while watching a movie that mentioned childhood memories.
Jane undertook six sessions of Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) in an effort to resolve the effect of these experiences. At the end of the treatment, Jane reported no distress when thinking about the original memories. She also felt calmer and safer around her mother and in other everyday social interactions.
What actually happens in an EMDR therapy session?
The EMDR therapy stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain, using a range of techniques including hand movements, alternating lights or vibrating sensors, while the client recalls the event which is the cause of the anxiety.
The effect of EMDR is similar to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, during which the brain makes sense of the day’s events, reprocessing the memory and releasing negative emotions and associations. Our trained EMDR therapists will guide you through the process helping you to work through your particular experiences.
What can you expect from an EMDR therapy session?
“Through my work with Richard I have been able to identify and unlock trauma that has continued to present itself at the most painful times in my life, causing immense turmoil and suffering.
I am convinced that the EMDR process is creating immense healing and clarity for me to achieve the health and wellness that I have been seeking for years. I highly recommend this approach and the services of Pinnacle Wellbeing Plus.”
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