EMDR Therapy
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured psychotherapy approach that helps people heal from the emotional distress and psychological symptoms linked to difficult or traumatic experiences. Rather than relying only on talk therapy, EMDR activates the brain’s natural healing processes to reprocess painful memories and reduce their emotional impact.
How EMDR Can Help
EMDR therapy is widely used and researched, especially for trauma and PTSD, but its benefits extend far beyond.
It can help with:
- Post-traumatic stress and complex trauma
- Anxiety, performance anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
- Grief, loss, and overwhelming life experiences
- Low self-esteem and limiting beliefs
- Chronic illness and medical issues
Clients often report feeling less reactive, more emotionally balanced, and more able to move forward in their lives.
Courtesy of EMDR International Association
What to Expect in EMDR Therapy
EMDR typically follows an eight-phase treatment process. While the pace is tailored to your readiness and comfort, here’s a general idea of what to expect:
- History Taking and Treatment Planning: In the initial phase of EMDR therapy, which usually lasts 1-2 sessions, your therapist will take a thorough history and will create a treatment plan. An interesting aspect of EMDR is that you don’t have to discuss your disturbing memories in detail.
- Preparation: In this phase, usually 1-4 sessions (more sessions may be necessary for clients with complex traumas or certain diagnoses), you will learn techniques to handle emotional disturbances. Your therapist will explain EMDR, what to expect, and teach you relaxation techniques to manage emotions during and after sessions. This phase aims to equip you with tools for self-care, helping you manage stress and support your well-being.
- Assessment: You will select an image or mental picture associated with the event or memory, identify a negative belief, and choose a positive belief to adopt. The goal is to decrease disturbance and strengthen positive beliefs through reprocessing.
- Desensitization: Your therapist will guide you through eye movements, sounds, or taps helping you achieve complete resolution of the target memory.
- Installation: In this phase, the focus is on strengthening your positive belief to replace the negative one. For instance, if you started with “I am powerless,” you’ll work to embrace “I have choices now”.
- Body Scan: In this phase, your therapist will ask you to recall the original event to check for any remaining body tension. If tension is present, these sensations are reprocessed.
- Closure: End each treatment session feeling better than when you started. If the traumatic event isn’t fully processed in one session, your therapist will help you use self-calming techniques to regain balance.
- Reevaluation: Each session will begin with a reevaluation. This phase is crucial for assessing long-term success. While you may feel immediate relief with EMDR, completing all eight phases is as important as finishing a full course of antibiotics.
EMDR sessions are always grounded in safety and consent, you are in control and can signal your therapist to stop at any time.
Our Approach to EMDR Therapy
At Maribel Ayala Psychotherapy and Consulting, EMDR therapy is a core part of our trauma-informed practice. Maribel is an EMDR Certified Therapist™ and EMDRIA Approved Consultant™ with advanced trainings in a wide range of EMDR protocols, in addition to EMDR 2.0 -an enhanced version of EMDR, EMDR for First Responders and Military, the Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP), Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (G-TEP), and EMDR with Ego State Therapy, among others. This depth of expertise allows us to adapt EMDR to suit a variety of client needs and presenting concerns.
Our approach is relational, culturally responsive, and body-aware. We integrate EMDR with somatic, narrative, and attachment-based therapies to support healing on both a neurological and emotional level. Whether you’re processing a single traumatic event or working through layers of complex trauma, we offer a grounded and collaborative environment where your experience is respected and your pace is honoured.
