Your body is made to heal itself, and EMDR Therapy is a powerful tool to help it do just that!
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of short-term therapy designed to help you heal and move forward after trauma. While traditional talk therapy asks you to dive deep into difficult feelings and experiences, EMDR Therapy jump starts your body's innate healing ability, so you can effectively reprocess past events and get unstuck faster.
Or, put simply: EMDR Therapy helps you somatically reprocess trauma, freeing you to fully heal and thrive.
The Experience
How does EMDR work?
Just as no two people are alike, no two EMDR sessions are exactly alike. But the process itself is rather straightforward: I’ll ask you a series of purposeful questions related to the traumatic event as you hold it at the forefront of your mind. At the same time, you’ll go into a set of tapping. I'll ask you for simple feedback about what you experienced and that information guides our next steps.
It's really THAT simple.
You are simply noticing the event, not reliving it. When we bring awareness to an event, we hold it in our working memory. Performing a second task at the same time means both tasks must compete for the working memory’s resources. Unlike many EMDR providers, I incorporate somatic components into each session, allowing you to tap into a deeper knowledge of yourself, your grit, and your personal power.
I’ll send you a brief 5-10 minute questionnaire to complete prior to our call to make sure we’re a good fit and to see what questions we need to answer during our time together.
After our initial EMDR session, we will schedule our follow up calls and I'll provide you with all the care information you'll need for post reprocessing and integration.
If we’re a good fit, we’ll schedule your initial 3 hour session on our call. Then I’ll send you a link to a client portal, where you can complete your intake paperwork, pay invoices, reschedule appointments, etc.
Sounds great!
EMDR Therapy is typically a good fit for those experiencing emotional distress such as PTSD, vicarious
trauma, generalized anxiety, grief, depression. Here’s what you can expect each step of the way:
Read about EMDR’s history, current techniques, and success stories on my blog.
The answers you need to move forward with confidence:
Therapy is a deeply personal experience. In our fast-paced society, life can sometimes become too much. Therapy gives you a space of your own and allows you to address a number of concerns including: feeling sad or unmotivated, excessive worry, trauma, difficult life transitions, and relationship problems.
I use a personal growth model in my practice and am an active participant in the process. Nobody understands your life more than you and I respect that each individual has unique life experiences. The goal is not simply to feel better; the goal is to improve, transform, and enrich your quality of life.
You get out of therapy what you put into it. Clients who have been successful in therapy with me are those who are motivated to make healthy, supportive changes in their lives, are engaged in session, and open to feedback and reflection. To put it in perspective, an hour session is less than 1% of your week. In order to meet your goals, you must also be willing to set your self up for success the other 99% of the time.
Each EMDR Therapy session is unique to each individual and where they are at in the process. Throughout our initial 6 hours together, we will spend time connecting to the nervous system and re-building its flexibility. This work is essential in caring for and aiding your nervous system.
A typical reprocessing session will require you to be in a comfortable setting where you are free of distractions. The tapping we do in session involves the use of bilateral stimulation - don't worry, I'll show you how to in our appointment - which engages both the left and right hemisphere of the brain. Here we are replicating the eye movements of REM (dream) sleep, and allow the brain to reduce the emotional response associated with the event we are reprocessing.
Ultimately, all you need to do in session is show up and be open to the process.
I understand that therapy is a financial commitment. It's also a place for you to experience tremendous personal growth and healing that can change your life in many significant ways.
A number of my clients have been to therapy before seeing me and have voiced their frustrations with talk therapy as they find themselves talking in circles, ending up back where they started with no significant improvement. While treatment length varies per client, EMDR is proven to be successful for managing symptoms of trauma and cost effective when compared to standard talk therapy.
The investment for your initial EMDR therapy package, which includes an initial six hour reprocessing appointment and three, weekly 60 minute follow ups is $1750.00. Additional follows up after the initial package are billed at $375.00 for 90 minute follow ups and $250.00 for 60 minute follow ups. If you would like to continue your work in community, I do offer group reprocessing experiences and retreats that vary in cost ($45.00-$575.00).
Insurance companies often limit the number of sessions you can attend, try to dictate certain aspects of your treatment, request private clinical information, and require that you be given a psychiatric diagnosis in order to pay for treatment, meaning a diagnosis becomes part of your medical record.
Having a diagnosis on your medical record may cause problems for you later. For example, health, life and automobile insurance companies often ask, "Have you been diagnosed with a mental illness?". Answering these questions affirmatively may have an effect on your ability to obtain coverage, etc.
I chose not to accept insurance, in part, to ensure that any diagnosis and/or other private, personal information is not divulged to an insurance company (unless you choose to submit to them for reimbursement). By not accepting insurance, I also ensure that you are not subject to any insurance review of your treatment or progress, and treatment focus (including number of sessions) is collaboratively decided between you and I.
If you choose to submit to your insurance for reimbursement, I am happy to provide you with the required documentation. As insurance plans vary, please contact your insurance directly for reimbursement rates and protocol.