Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

Resolving Distressing Thoughts, Feelings, Sensations or Memories

WHAT EMDR THERAPY IS

EMDR Therapy is an evidence-based psychotherapy modality that aims at helping clients heal from symptoms caused by disturbing and distressing life experiences.

EMDR therapy can be used alone, or combined with other therapy modalities to create the best treatment outcome based on clients’ needs.

To learn more about EMDR therapy, please visit EMDR Institute.

HOW EMDR WORKS

Joy Gillespie - Certified EMDR Therapist serving adult residents in MO and AR

Have you ever heard of REM sleep?

REM sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, is a unique sleep phase where dreams occur. During REM sleep, our eyes move rapidly back and forth behind closed eyelids. This movement is a form of bilateral stimulation and it indicates that our brain is processing information.

EMDR simulates the bilateral stimulation process to help your brain process information in a more adaptive manner so that certain beliefs, emotions, body sensations are no longer stuck in the mind.

WHAT EMDR HELPS

As a certified EMDR therapist, I feel honored to be able to witness the amazing things EMDR does for my clients every day. EMDR is best known for its clinical effectiveness in treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but has also been proven highly effective in treating the following conditions:

  • anxiety and panic attacks

  • phobias

  • depression and bipolar disorders

  • dissociative disorders

  • eating disorders

  • grief and loss

  • performance anxiety

  • sleep disturbance

  • stress reduction

  • disturbing memories

  • sexual and/or physical abuse

  • emotional neglect

FAQs on EMDR THERAPY

  • Absolutely yes! Learn more about EMDR and its effectiveness here.

  • No. During hypnosis, the clinician will deliberately induce you into a state of trance. However, during EMDR therapy, you are awake, conscious, and fully in control throughout the whole process.

  • Since EMDR is one of the most heavily researched psychotherapy modality, it is very safe when administered by a licensed mental health professional who is well trained in it.

  • Absolutely yes! It is very common not to have clear memory about previous disturbing life experiences.

    The good news is that you don’t need to fully remember everything to process it. Even though you don’t remember it consciously, all the information related to the experiences are stored in your brain. EMDR activates your brain’s natural ability to access the unconscious information to process it.

  • Thankfully yes, thanks to technology! I use a safe, confidential and HIPAA compliant platform for virtual EMDR therapy. It allows visual as well as audio bilateral stimulation. I have been doing EMDR virtually since COVID started, and have seen lots of amazing results.

  • It varies depending on the individual and the presenting issues.

    A single event will likely take fewer sessions than chronic childhood trauma. However, since memories tend to cluster based on themes or negative beliefs, working on one memory can positively influence similar memories, making EMDR much more effective than regular talk therapy.

Interested in EMDR therapy?

Schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation meeting today to ask questions about EMDR therapy and to determine if this therapy modality can help you with your situation.