What is EMDR?

The root of much suffering and feelings of disconnection can be linked to unprocessed emotions. These unprocessed situations and internal experiences are then stored in our limbic system as ‘raw emotions’ outside of our verbal and lingual abilities.

These emotions being triggered then creates a cascade effect that manifests as any number of negative states that can have far reaching effects in our lives and relationships. Sometimes these triggers are easily attributed to a past events but a majority of the time it can seem impossible to connect our suffering to any one past event.

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EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - uses bilateral stimulation through eye movements (following the tip of a pen back and forth) or tapping (alternately tapping either your shoulders or legs) to increase our capacity to safely access stored emotions by dampening our usually protective fear/anxiety response.

A therapist will then facilitate your exploration of these memories or feeling states, alternating between bilateral stimulation and you noticing what comes up in your subjective experience. Using this method and other supportive interventions clients are fully engaged in healing from their past and decreasing the intensity and impact of previously difficult experiences and memories.

By putting unconscious or semi-conscious emotions back into our awareness we can begin to grow to safely connect with all of our parts.