EMDR Therapy in Boone
Are You A Trauma Survivor Who’s Looking To Heal From The Pain Of The Past?
Have you experienced a traumatic event that’s left you feeling scared, vulnerable, and stuck? Do you struggle with:
Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and painful flashbacks?
Unhealthy coping mechanisms like drinking, drug use, or extreme isolation?
A deep sense of guilt, shame, and low self-esteem?
Maybe you experienced a car wreck, a sexual assault, a natural disaster such has Hurricane Helene, or a violent incident while in the military. Or perhaps your trauma arose slowly, growing over a long period as a result of a mentally, emotionally, or physically abusive relationship.
Regardless of your circumstances, one thing is clear: you’re not living your best life, and the pain of the past is still holding you back from being your most confident and beautiful self.
If This Sounds Like Your Life, Then EMDR May Be Right For You
This time-tested, evidence-based approach to healing trauma is revolutionary for its ability to dispel the power of traumatic memories. The beauty of EMDR therapy—which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—is that although it doesn’t erase the memory of what happened to you, it allows you to remember the experience without feeling overwhelmed or distressed.
For example, let’s say that you were in a bad sailing accident years ago. Now, every time that you get on a boat, you experience painful flashbacks and feel like you’re reliving the event. EMDR reduces that visceral reaction so that you can go sailing in peace again. It allows you to keep one foot in the present and one in the past, able to differentiate between the danger of what happened and the safety of the present moment.
Reach Out
How Effective Is EMDR Therapy?
Originally developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in 1987 after she discovered that certain eye movements had the power to reduce emotional pain, EMDR has quickly grown into a global phenomenon. It’s used by thousands of therapists all over the world and is considered first-line trauma therapy by the WHO (World Health Organization), APA (American Psychiatric Association), and DoD (Department of Defense).
At Surf Ridge Counseling, I use EMDR to help people recover from a wide range of traumatic experiences, including:
Sexual abuse
Toxic relationships
Military combat
Grief and loss
Natural disasters
Car accidents
Traumatic hospital event
Chronic illness
What makes EMDR so effective is that it cuts straight to the heart of your emotional pain, and it does so in a way that’s remarkably safe and non-invasive. Unlike most cognitive approaches to therapy, EMDR doesn’t necessarily require going into detail about traumatic experiences. This is hugely advantageous for trauma survivors, as many of my clients with sexual trauma aren’t comfortable discussing what happened. Others, such as military veterans, can’t share what happened because of security clearances.
EMDR allows both of these groups—and anyone else hesitant to talk about their trauma—to process and resolve their emotional pain in a way that’s safe, gradual, and empowering.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
We will build rapport between ourselves, and I will let you tell me as much or as little about your event as you choose. Once you have talked about the event or simply remembered it, I will ask you to rate your stress response on a 0-10 scale with 10 being the worst. Next, I will let you choose between two bilateral stimulation exercises while you process your traumatic memories: 1) watching my raised finger go back and forth, or 2) holding paddles which vibrate alternately.
When done repeatedly, these side-to-side exercises stimulate both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. They allow memories that were once held in the brain’s emotional alarm center to move into the calmer, more grounded side of the brain. In other words, memories that were once incredibly painful and jarring can recede into the periphery of your mind, becoming less immediate and troublesome.
During each EMDR session, we will measure your level of emotional distress on a scale of zero to ten. Although it’s normal for that level to fluctuate somewhat throughout treatment, you can expect your trauma to slowly lose its power as EMDR sessions progress. The goal is to get you to a place where your trauma no longer actively triggers you or makes you feel like you’re reliving the past.
What Are The Practical Benefits Of EMDR Therapy?
When you’re suffering from trauma or PTSD, your brain is repeatedly firing off signals for “fight, flight, or freeze,” the same way a prey animal responds when a dangerous predator is present. Your body is constantly flooded with stress hormones, which makes you jumpy, stressed out, and easily agitated.
By processing your trauma through the bilateral stimulation techniques of EMDR, you can live in a calmer, more balanced state. That’s the true beauty of EMDR—it doesn’t just eliminate the emotional charge of trauma, it also empowers you to bring joy, purpose, and fulfillment back into your life. This unique, trauma-informed approach can help you:
Increase your mindful self-awareness
Boost your mood, energy level, and self-esteem
Build healthier, happier relationships
Reengage with your hobbies and passions
In the end, maybe the most powerful aspect of EMDR is the way that it can reframe negative beliefs that have been with you for years. In the wake of abuse, for example, it’s very common to think “It was my fault” or “This is just the way my life has to be.” These beliefs are a coping mechanism for trauma, because they give you an illusory sense of control of the future.
EMDR helps you challenge the idea that your trauma was within your control, but it reaffirms the fact that you can control your own healing destiny. You are capable of healing and transformation, and that’s what EMDR is all about.
The Past Does Not Define You
I’ve been using EMDR therapy with my clients since 2017, when I took an advanced training with the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, North Carolina. I was inspired to utilize this unique approach after experiencing life-changing results as an EMDR client myself. EMDR therapy helped me move forward in my life with less suffering.
If you want to experience the same transformative healing power, I encourage you to fill out the contact form and connect with me. I believe that the past doesn’t have to control the present, and EMDR is the first step toward making that a reality!