EMDR Therapy in NYC
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a type of therapy that is designed to help you recover from traumatic memories, or PTSD. While you may have heard the idea that “trauma only takes time to heal”, EMDR is a way to accelerate this process, sort of like how your body recovers from a physical injury.
How does EMDR therapy work?
Continuing with the physical injury analogy above, EMDR works by removing your mental barriers, which is needed to recover from traumatic experiences. Think about the scab that forms after scraping your leg, for example. If you keep picking at the scab, recovery is going to be slow. Similarly, EMDR is like a tool to protect and prevent your wound from being irritated or worsened.
Ultimately, EMDR will help you reduce symptoms related to your traumatic experiences. Patients with depression, anxiety, addictions, and other emotional problems can benefit from EMDR as well.
What are the 8 phases in EMDR therapy?
Phase 1 - Patient History: Your therapist will explore your trauma history, which may include identifying distressing memories or current situations that may cause you emotional distress. Talking about childhood events or memories may be an important point of focus during this initial phase.
Phase 2 - Preparation: Here, your therapist will evaluate the ways you handle emotional distress. Additionally, they may teach you methods for handling stress to use during and in between sessions.
Phases 3-6 - Assessment Stages: During these phases, which include 3) Assessment, 4) Desensitization, 5) Installation, and 6) Body Scan, you and your therapist will undergo the EMDR procedure on a specific trauma target.
- You will be given sets of stimulation, which include images related to your trauma target.
- After the stimulation, you will be instructed to let your mind go free, and identify what thoughts or feelings immediately come to mind.
- In response to what you say, your therapist will choose a new focus of attention.
At any point, if you are having trouble moving forward, your therapist will help you reassess and get back on track.
During these stimulation sets, if you feel no negative emotions towards the trauma target, you will be asked to form a positive belief about yourself or the memory. For example, “The trauma is over… I am good enough now.”
Phase 7 - Debriefing and Closure: You will be asked to keep a log during the week after the session. During the week, write about traumatic memories and feelings that may arise, and how anything else you learned during the session affected your week. By logging these thoughts, you are learning and retaining the information you obtained during the session.
Phase 8 - Reevaluation: The next session starts with this phase. You will review and debrief the previous session and the week leading up to this session.
How do we know that EMDR therapy is effective?
There are many studies that show positive outcomes from EMDR therapy. The success rate of EMDR is over 80% for those with single trauma after just three different 90-minute sessions. EMDR therapy is a very effective and specialized option compared to CBT, which can also be used to treat trauma and other related conditions.
Find an NYC EMDR therapist at Integrative Psych
Integrative Psych is an NYC-based private practice which specializes in treating trauma and PTSD with EMDR. Our clients are based in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan (Chelsea, Village, Lower East Side, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Tribeca, SoHo), Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, but our clinicians are licensed to treat anyone in the state of New York.
We take a compassionate, comprehensive and holistic approach to PTSD and trauma diagnosis and EMDR treatment at Integrative Psych. Leading up to your EMDR treatment, we will carefully examine all aspects of your trauma history and presentation in your current day-to-day life.
Once you have begun care with us, we will see you regularly to monitor your progress and make any adjustments necessary to ensure that you benefit fully from your EMDR treatment at Integrative Psych.
Obtain EMDR therapy for your trauma and PTSD today, if you are ready to:
- Develop an effective EMDR therapy plan
- Learn and develop skills to overcome your traumatic experiences
- Have the support of a trusted expert with extensive experience with EMDR therapy
At Integrative Psych, we are your premier destination for integrative and evidence-based therapy in New York City. Our team of experienced and compassionate therapists specializes in a wide range of mental health services, tailored to meet your unique needs. Whether you are seeking assistance with psychodynamic therapy nyc, bipolar disorder nyc, high-functioning anxiety nyc, complex PTSD nyc, or any other mental health concerns, we are here to support you on your healing journey.
At Integrative Psych, we firmly believe in the power of mindfulness-based therapy nyc to promote emotional well-being and personal growth. Our therapists are adept at integrating mindfulness-based techniques into their practice to help individuals cultivate present-moment awareness and develop healthier coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
If you’re seeking EMDR therapy and are interested in working with one of our EMDR therapists, book an appointment here.
