EMDR Counseling for Trauma and PTSD
Do I have trauma?
Trauma is not just the catastrophic moments that happen to a select few. Let’s start by redefining what trauma is and what it isn’t. Trauma is anything that causes a significant disruption in healthy functioning. Trauma is not only war, assault, or abuse though those are indeed traumatic.
Sometimes it is mentally “easier” to disqualify yourself from having trauma because to admit it is scary and confusing. Unfortunately, avoiding the trauma label does not make it less traumatic in your life. In fact, naming the trauma can be very healing and validating. If it’s affecting you then let’s call it what it is. Trauma is devastating and bewildering.
One effect of trauma is it changes the way we view life. It is like using a camera with a cracked lens. You can still look through the viewfinder and see the world, but you end up with a damaged and fractured picture in the end. Maybe the trauma has even caused you to doubt your ability to show up in the world in a healthy way.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not isolated to veterans alone. PTSD put simply is the overwhelming reaction to trauma months after the incident happened. You can’t think about the trauma without physical and emotional symptoms like being ultra-alert to your surroundings, avoiding triggers, nightmares or disruptive sleep, and coping through risky behavior (substances, sex, gambling, adrenaline-seeking). You may isolate yourself and avoid being in social settings because it feels too uncontrollable or the guilt makes you feel unworthy of community support. PTSD can also increase suicidal thoughts and the desire to end your life so that you don’t have to deal with the effects of the trauma anymore.
(If you’re having suicidal thoughts or have a plan to hurt yourself, reach out for help. Call 988 for The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 866-488-7386 for The Trevor Project, or Text "HELLO" to 741741 for the local crisis line in Kansas City, Missouri.)
How would counseling help my trauma?
When you ignore the trauma, it can cause increased stress and unhealthy coping. You have spent the time trying to dismiss, disregard, and forget, but it isn’t working anymore. The trauma is causing a ripple effect in all the areas of your life, and nothing seems to be untouched at this point. If you continue to avoid the past, you’ll end up robbing your present life and short cutting your future.
Counseling for trauma starts with establishing a safe place to exist. As we work together, we will take it at your pace and comfort level. You will learn tools and strategies to cope with the memories, flashbacks, anxiety, and depression. The goal of trauma counseling is not to make the traumatic incident “good or okay.” The trauma may always be bad and terrible, but it does not have to overshadow and overpower your life anymore.
You can have margin again and have joy that lingers. Your trauma no longer has you in a chokehold and you aren’t waiting for the next shoe to drop. You have your hope back and have vision for the future.
What is EMDR therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective and superior treatment for PTSD and trauma. The human brain is inherently wired to know how to heal from stress, but when trauma occurs it can overwhelm the natural processes and short circuit them. When this happens, the brain cannot keep up with processing and the memories “frozen in time” or get “stuck”, which is why reminders or triggers make the trauma feel like it is happening again in real time.
EMDR treatment for trauma uses something called bilateral stimulation or a left/right movement. With a trained clinician, bilateral stimulation can signal the brain to process traumatic memories and help it become dislodged.
Think of it this way… Imagine having a stressful day and so you decide to go for a walk to unwind. During the walk, you think about the day and maybe even talk it through with a trusted friend. By the end of the walk, you start to feel that the stress went from level 10 to level 6. Why did this happen? Sure, your friend may have provided empathy, or the sunshine was pleasant on your skin, but most of all, you had moved your body in a bilateral way. The left-right movement communicated to your brain to start working through those hard moments. EMDR works in a similar, but more effective way because it is targeting mental processing directly at the source.
Through decades of research, EMDR has been proven to help with anxiety, depression, OCD, addiction, and grief. Because of how the brain is wired to heal, EMDR is effective in treating multiple mental health symptoms and can provide the relief you have been longing for. EMDR can be used during telehealth/virtual counseling as well as in-person at the office so don’t let location be a barrier to your healing.
How long will it take to heal?
Healing is such a nuanced journey for each individual person. For some people dealing with a singular trauma (meaning only one terrible thing has happened), they can go through a few sessions of EMDR and experience significant change. For others who have a complex background of trauma or multiple traumas, it can be a longer process to unpack all those “stuck” places. Regardless of how long it may take, many people feel lighter and unburdened throughout the session of EMDR.
You may be wondering if EMDR will keep you in therapy for years. That doesn’t have to be your story. The effectiveness of EMDR generally expedites the healing and can help you get further, faster if you’re willing to commit the time and attention needed.
The trauma and PTSD you have endured deserves intentional space and grace. Sometimes people have shame and guilt associated with what happened, which makes them want to hide. However, if you let someone in to help, the dark won’t feel so shadowy and the heaviness won’t weigh you down any longer.