EMDR Therapy in Port Moody and Vancouver
EMDR IN PORT MOODY
Our Co-Founder/Co-Clinical Director/Counsellor-Extraordinaire, Nina Sheere RCC-ACS candidate, will be completing the EMDRIA Basic Training in the new year. Hooray! EMDR is a fascinating, evidenced-based treatment. In light of her upcoming training, we want to share some info about what EMDR is and how we use EMDR therapy in Port Moody and Vancouver. Let’s get into it!
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a form of psychotherapy that is primarily designed to help individuals with treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. This approach was first developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s as a way for clients to process traumatic memories and experiences.
EMDR therapy involves a structured eight-phase approach where the therapist helps the client recall distressing memories while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, typically through guided eye movements. The goal of EMDR is to reduce the emotional charge and cognitive distortions associated with these memories.
Over time, with EMDR, the individual’s brain begins to process the memories more fully, leading to a decrease in their emotional intensity and the distress they cause. EMDR has been particularly effective for individuals with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), but it is also used to treat anxiety, depression, compulsive behaviours and addictions, phobias, and complex trauma.
What to Expect from EMDR Therapy in Port Moody and Vancouver?
Expect a course of treatment that consists of 6 to 12 sessions, typically delivered one or two times a week, although some people may need fewer sessions and others may need more. Length, cadence and path of treatment depends on many factors and is ultimately unique to each client. However, studies suggest that, for some, a single distressing memory can be processed within three sessions using EMDR.
How does EMDR therapy work?
Most folks are familiar with EMDR’s use of bilateral stimulation or eye movements. It’s the most kooky part of the process and really sticks out. What clients don’t often realize is that the eye movements (or tapping or buzzers) is only one phase in an eight-phase approach.
EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation, which involves engaging both sides of the brain through alternating sensory inputs, like guided eye movements, taps, or sounds. This is believed to help the brain process and integrate traumatic memories by supporting the necessary communication between brain hemispheres and structures. Additionally, thinking about a traumatic experience while focusing on bilateral stimulation enables dual awareness. This is a fancy way of saying, clients can step into their past while maintaining one foot in the present. This is so important when (re)processing trauma memories.
Anyways… Over the course of EMDR therapy, experiences are resorted and filed away, in the brain, more appropriately. Experiences are also time-stamped which enables our brains to identify the experience as happening IN THE PAST vs happening today. Wahoo! Clients often report less activation and reactivity, a greater sense of presence and regulation, and a more balanced perspective.
EMDR Therapy in Port Moody and Vancouver
How EMDR works quick notes:
1. Process Traumatic Memories: EMDR targets memories that are causing emotional distress, such as those related to trauma, abuse, accidents, or other significant life events.
2. Reduce Emotional Intensity: By using bilateral stimulation (usually in the form of guided eye movements), EMDR helps the brain process and "desensitize" the emotional reactions tied to the memory, leading to a reduction in the emotional intensity of the trauma.
3. Facilitate Reprocessing: The therapy helps shift the way the brain stores traumatic memories, making them less distressing and allowing the person to think about or recall the event without feeling overwhelmed by negative emotions like fear, sadness, or shame.
4. Improve Cognitive Beliefs: EMDR also helps individuals shift negative beliefs about themselves (e.g., "I'm not safe" or "I'm unworthy") that are tied to past trauma, replacing them with healthier, more adaptive thoughts.
5. Enhance Psychological Resilience: Over time, as the brain processes these memories, it can lead to improved emotional well-being, reduced anxiety, better coping skills, and a greater sense of control and empowerment.
For more information about EMDR therapy in Port Moody or EMDR therapy in Vancouver, send us an email: info@scottsheere.com. Heather and Nina are currently taking new clients and offer free 20-minutes consultations.
Wait! One more thing…
Big shout out to Amy, our SJP Intern! She put the bulk of this post together. Amy is a masters student at Adler University in Vancouver, studying counselling psychology. Over the next few months, Amy is helping us create and distribute mental health resources and information to our community and we are so grateful for her help. THANK YOU AMY!