EMDR for PTSD including emotional, physical and sexual abuse

EMDR

Allison offers EMDR to trauma victims.  When disturbing or traumatic events occur in our lives they can get locked in the nervous system along with the original picture, sounds, thoughts feelings and so on.  Since these experiences are locked in, when a stimulus in the environment occurs, it can trigger the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings.  This can happen whenever a reminder comes up. Because of this, we can experience a lot of unnecessary discomfort and negative emotions that have no basis in our current reality, but that seem to be out of our control.  In reality the emotions connected with the old experience are being triggered. The eye movements or other Dual Attention Stimulation (DAS) we use in EMDR Therapy seem to unlock the nervous system and allow the mind and body to process the experience. It causes the brain to naturally process the trigger naturally, and unlock the trauma that has been stuck there.  The Dual Attention Stimulus (DAS) helps process the unconscious material that has been locked. So, the brain has stored the disturbing event in a memory network in a way that isolates it and prevents it from connecting with more useful, adaptive information and when EMDR processing begins, the appropriate connections are made.  It is important to remember that it is your own brain that will be doing the healing and that you are the one in control.  

Process:

We begin the process by bringing up a memory, issue, or symptom you wish to overcome.  We will bring up the image, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations associated with it in order to stimulate the memory network. Then we will begin the Dual Attention Stimulation (DAS) and the brain will automatically do the work.  You just let whatever happens happen without censoring it. You simply let the mind go where it will to work towards its natural processing and healing.  At times I will stop you and ask you what is happening or what you are noticing and you simply tell me your experience at that moment. We will go through this process repetitively many times through the course of our session.  At times I will ask you to return to the memory you started with and to tell me your experience and to rate the level of disturbance on a scale from "0 to 10". It is most important that you not judge or censor your experience. There are no right or wrong responses in this process. Whatever is coming up for you is what’s right, so you don’t need to concern yourself or judge what is coming up or with what should be happening. We’ll keep doing Dual Attention Stimulation (DAS) and check-ins until the memory or issue you brought up is no longer disturbing to you.