EMDR for birth trauma and other traumatic events
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s an effective, research-backed treatment for trauma and other overwhelming events. EMDR is different than talk therapy. It’s a “bottom-up” approach that looks at how trauma gets stored in our bodies - and it uses our bodies to help us heal.
EMDR might be a good fit for you if…
You find yourself “stuck” in a memory from the past
You’re feeling flooded with reminders of a painful event - you feel as if it’s happening again
You’re experiencing anxiety, panic, intrusive thoughts, or nightmares
You’re feeling disconnected, checked out, or not as present as you’d like
You’re struggling with negative beliefs about yourself
Common issues I treat with EMDR:
Birth trauma
Perinatal grief and loss
Recent traumatic events, including sexual violence
Difficult experiences from your own childhood that are impacting your experience as a parent
Frequently Asked Questions about EMDR
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EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s an effective, research-backed therapy technique that helps people recover from trauma and other upsetting life experiences.
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I like to tell clients that EMDR can take the “charge” off traumatic memories so that you can hold them differently in your mind. While EMDR will never erase memories, it can help you feel less anxious, fearful, tense or overwhelmed when you remember the difficult things that have happened, so that you’re able to think about them differently. For example, you might shift from holding the belief “I’m not safe” to something like “I can handle this” or “It happened and it’s over; I’m okay now.”
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I completed my basic EMDR training through the EMDR Institute in 2017, and have used EMDR with many clients since that time on a range of issues including early childhood trauma, birth trauma, sexual violence, perinatal grief and loss, and other recent traumatic events. I am also trained in various specific EMDR protocols, including the administration of EMDR to groups, EMDR 2.0, and a protocol for recent trauma. I continue to engage in ongoing EMDR consultation/supervision to hone my skillset and to stay up-to-date on the most recent advances in the use of EMDR.
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It really depends. Many of my birth trauma clients – as well as clients with other single-incident, recent event trauma - experience significant relief within 3-6 sessions. For other clients, the work can take longer, especially if we’re working with older or more chronic memories. We can talk more about your specific case in a free phone consult.
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Yes, it can! My clients have had a lot of success doing EMDR both virtually and in-person. As long as you have a private space, a solid internet connection and ideally a pair of headphones that plug into your computer, either way will generally work well.
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Some of my favorite resources to explain EMDR to clients are the EMDRIA website and this podcast episode of Psychologists off the Clock. If you’d like to see what EMDR can look like in practice, my friend and colleague Rachel Stanton has shared a video of a real EMDR session, posted with client permission. There are various ways to use EMDR, so I’d be happy to talk with you about what it might look like in your situation in a free phone consult.