Trauma Therapy & EMDR
Healing from your past IS possible!
Understanding Trauma ~ and Finding a Path to Healing
“Trauma” is defined by any life experience that is perceived as life-threatening and/or that changes how you feel about yourself in the world. Sometimes, trauma is a single, dramatic event, such as a major car accident, a natural disaster, or an assault. Sometimes, trauma is an accumulation of hurtful experiences that occur over time, such as bullying, emotional abuse or neglect, or persistent shaming by a loved one.
Trauma can leave a deep imprint on your mind and body, affecting how you feel about yourself, how you see the world, and how you connect with others. You may find yourself:
- Feeling on edge or easily triggered
- Avoiding reminders of what happened
- Stuck in patterns of shame, guilt, self-blame, or self-sabotage
- Numb or disconnected from your own feelings
- Reliving past memories or nightmares that feel as real as today
- Struggling with persistent depression and/or anxiety
- Using substances or self-destructive behaviors to cope
Trauma creates a painful gap between who you know you are and how you’re able to show up in the world. And it can make you feel like you’re frozen in the past, no matter how much time has passed since the traumatic event(s). Unfortunately, when it comes to trauma, time does not heal all wounds.
Thankfully, therapy CAN heal these wounds. You do NOT have to be a prisoner of your past!
One of the tools our team at A New Beginning uses to help our clients fully heal from their traumatic past is EMDR.
What is EMDR Treatment?
Trauma can leave a deep imprint on your mind and body, affecting how you feel about yourself, how you see the world, and how you connect with others. You may find yourself:
- Feeling on edge or easily triggered
- Avoiding reminders of what happened
- Stuck in patterns of shame, guilt, self-blame, or self-sabotage
- Numb or disconnected from your own feelings
- Reliving past memories or nightmares that feel as real as today
- Struggling with persistent depression and/or anxiety
- Using substances or self-destructive behaviors to cope
Trauma creates a painful gap between who you know you are and how you’re able to show up in the world. And it can make you feel like you’re frozen in the past, no matter how much time has passed since the traumatic event(s). Unfortunately, when it comes to trauma, time does not heal all wounds.
One of the tools our team at A New Beginning uses to help our clients fully heal from their traumatic past is EMDR.
What is EMDR Treatment?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), is a research-backed form of psychotherapy for Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). EMDR helps people process and heal from traumatic memories in a safe, structured way. Instead of talking about the trauma over and over, EMDR uses gentle bilateral stimulation (like back-and-forth eye movements or tapping) to help your brain “digest” what happened ~ so it no longer feels stuck in the present. In EMDR, you don’t have to relive every detail of your trauma. Instead, you’ll be gently guided to process memories in a way that’s safe and empowering. Over time, the emotional charge of those memories fades, and you can begin to feel more like yourself again.
EMDR may also be used as a treatment technique to address a wide variety of issues such as:
- Depression
- Trauma / Abuse
- Anxiety
- Performance Issues
- Eating Disorders
- Attachment Issues
- Panic Attacks
- Addictive Behaviors
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
During an after a traumatic experience, the brain may get “stuck” in the processing of this experience. EMDR helps the brain resume normal information processing which allows the disturbing memories to shift to an adaptive resolution. The mechanism by which this works seems to be similar to what occurs naturally during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, in which the eyes move rapidly back and forth as a means to process unresolved emotional material.
Classic EMDR & Attachment-Focused EMDR Therapy
Always on the cutting edge of both new and innovative treatments, our EMDR clinicians at At A New Beginning have received training in both traditional EMDR, as well as newer models such as Dr. Laurel Parnell’s “Attachment-Focused EMDR.” Clinicians who utilize EMDR in their treatment approach at A New Beginning, include:
You don’t have to live in the shadows of painful past experiences. There is a way through all of this. And we’re here to walk this journey to Full Recovery with you! To learn more, please contact our friendly Client Care Coordinator, Lauren, at (480) 941-4247 or contact@anewbeginning.com.