EMDR Therapy for Trauma & PTSD in Stratford and Ontario
Have you done traditional talk therapy but still feel stuck? Are you still experiencing disturbing symptoms of anxiety, low mood, insomnia, flash backs, avoidance, negative self talk, or self blame? Does the past become present quickly when you feel triggered by something today? Work with a trained EMDR trained therapist for relief of your symptoms.
Sherri is an EMDRIA trained therapist who integrates EMDR into your individual therapy sessions in order to relieve symptoms of trauma and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Eight Phases of EMDR Treatment
History taking and treatment planning:
Your therapist will discuss your history, current symptoms, and treatment goals. When you're ready, you discuss any distressing experiences or memories you would like to target during the treatment. You describe the levels of stress related to each memory and this helps your therapist develop a treatment plan that addresses these specific memories.
Preparation
Your therapist will discuss your history, current symptoms, and treatment goals. When you're ready, you discuss any distressing experiences or memories you would like to target during the treatment. You describe the levels of stress related to each memory and this helps your therapist develop a treatment plan that addresses these specific memories.
Assessment:
In this stage, you are asked to recall the specific memory that you want to target. You will also be asked to identify any unpleasant feelings, body sensations, visual images, and beliefs you may about yourself that are associated with the memory. Your therapist will then ask you to think of a positive belief that you would prefer to have about yourself. This is important for a later stage.
Desensitization:
Desensitization focuses on weakening the relationship between a traumatic memory and the negative feelings, sensations, and thoughts it causes you. This is where bilateral stimulation comes in. While you recall the memory, your therapist will guide you through bilateral stimulation sets which include eye movements, auditory tones, blinking lights, or tapping. You will also be asked to identify any thoughts, images, and physical sensations that occur during this process. This is repeated until the traumatic thought no longer causes you distress.
Installation:
In this stage, your therapist will ask you to focus on the positive belief that you identified in the assessment stage. You will be guided through more bilateral stimulation sets to replace the unwanted belief with this positive belief.
Body Scan:
In this stage, your therapist will ask you to focus on the positive belief that you identified in the assessment stage. You will be guided through more bilateral stimulation sets to replace the unwanted belief with this positive belief.
Closure:
This stage marks the end of the EMDR session. Your therapist will discuss your progress and teach you how to maintain it. They might give you homework and teach you relaxation techniques to manage residual distress.
Reevaluation:
Reevaluation happens at the beginning of every session where your therapist reviews your progress. You will be asked about your level of progress related to the targeted memories. If the memory still causes you distress, your therapist will re-address them with EMDR. If not, you can move on to other memories you would like to address.