EMDR Therapy: A Research-Based Approach for Resolving Distressing or Traumatic Events

A Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant in Winnipeg with Advanced Training in EMDR

What is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based approach to therapy for people with a wide range of emotional and psychological problems that are related to distressing or traumatic experiences. It is frequently used to treat depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

EMDR was developed in the late 1980s and has been extensively researched, showing positive results. It has helped millions of people heal worldwide.

EMDR Therapy is a Recommended Therapy By Several National and International Organizations

EMDR is a recommended treatment by the American Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other international health agencies. EMDR is often the therapy of choice for many therapists.

EMDR is Based on the Latest Brain Research on How Your Brain Processes and Heals Trauma and Distressing Events

EMDR is based on the premise that people’s problems and their symptoms are the result of the incomplete processing of disturbing or traumatic experiences in the brain.

When you become severely upset due to a distressing incident, the brain has difficulty processing your emotions. As a result, when you are reminded of that event in the future, you often re-experience the symptoms you had at the time of the original event. For example, if you often felt rejected as a child, you may be highly sensitive to rejection as an adult. Or, if you often felt unloved and not good enough as a child, you may be highly sensitive to these feelings as an adult.

In other words, the brain can’t tell the difference between the original event and the memory of the event. The emotional experience is the same. As you may know from your experience, this can dramatically interfere with your life, causing a great deal of pain and turmoil.

EMDR helps the brain reprocess the emotional memory of the event, thus alleviating the troublesome symptoms. When you are reminded of the event in the future, it will be less upsetting, or not upsetting at all.

EMDR Therapy is Backed by Extensive Research Showing its Effectiveness

EMDR is backed by research showing its effectiveness. In fact, it is one of the most researched types of therapy in existence today.

Because of its extensive research, many therapists use EMDR to help their clients overcome traumatic and disturbing experiences.

What Types of Problems Can EMDR Therapy Successfully Treat?

EMDR has been successfully used to help individuals who have experienced:

Childhood abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual abuse)
An accident (motor vehicle accident or other)
A natural disaster
A fire
An unexpected death; grief that causes ongoing problems
Ongoing trauma due to working as military personnel, first responder – firefighter, paramedic, police officer, nurse, or coroner
Been victimized by a crime such as an assault or robbery
Depression
Chronic stress
Anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of any of the above
Chronic pain, including chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia
Birth trauma
Trauma related to surgery or other medical treatment
Generational trauma as seen in First Nations populations
Personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder

What You Can Expect from an EMDR Counselling Session with Me

EMDR therapy begins with several initial sessions. If your symptoms are moderate, you may feel relieved by the end of these sessions.

If your trauma was intense or prolonged, a longer period of therapy may be required. Even so, you will often feel increasing relief as treatment progresses.

I take a gentle approach, which may include other therapy methods.

As part of the EMDR process, I will begin therapy by teaching you calming, self-nurturing, and relaxation strategies. This will help build your emotional strength, so you’re better able to handle difficult memories later in therapy. With relaxation strategies in your toolkit, you can navigate the world with more ease.

You will not have to focus on any memory until you feel strong enough to do so.

We can move slowly at a pace that suits you. We can begin by focusing on your fear around the memory and only move into the memory itself once you are no longer experiencing fear.

When you feel ready, we will focus attention on an image of the painful incident(s). I will ask you to notice your emotions and body sensations while you think of this image. I will use my fingers for you to follow, tracking your eye movement back and forth, facilitating your brain’s natural healing process.

Eventually, through the course of treatment, you will be able to think of the event without the disturbing symptoms.

The event will become like a memory hanging on the wall. You will no longer experience an intense emotional response to it.

I Have Extensive Training in EMDR Therapy in Addition to Traditional Counsellor Training

Certified in EMDR by EMDRIA, the International Association of EMDR Therapists
EMDRIA Approved Consultant
I have advanced EMDR training for the following problems:
- Complex trauma (resulting from childhood neglect, rejection, and/or physical/sexual abuse)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation
- Borderline personality and related disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders, phobias – fear of flying, fear of dentists, social phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Medical problems – somatic symptom disorders (symptoms with no medical cause), chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia
- Vicarious trauma for first responders and health care professionals
- Intensive care unit trauma as a result of medical treatment.
My therapeutic success in treating individuals with these problems has been assessed using psychological measures (pre- and post-treatment), the individuals’ reporting, and their in-session clinical response.
MA in Counselling Psychology from the University of British Columbia
BA in Psychology from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario
Diploma in Social Work from Confederation College in Thunder Bay

You can read more about me here.

If you want to find out more about how EMDR can help resolve your distress, contact me for a no-charge, 10-minute phone consult or to book a therapy appointment via video conference.

* I provide EMDR therapy online via video conference to residents of Winnipeg, across Canada, and the rest of the world.