How to Get the Most out of EMDR Trauma Counseling
We specialize in helping people thrive in their lives by providing evidence-backed therapy to the Lancaster community with a team of Fully Trained EMDR Therapists.
Sun Point Wellness Counseling is deeply committed to providing premier EMDR with advanced and cutting edge protocols to help our clients live thriving lives. From our founding, all of our trainings have been evidence-based and we continue to attend advanced trainings as many of these interventions evolve and we show up with the most effective clinical interventions.
Laura Morse is a Certified EMDR Therapist and CIT consultant with EMDRIA, the accrediting board for EMDR counseling. Morse explains she always investigates the end of therapy during the first session with each client by asking “Tell me what your life looks like when you’re done with counseling.” Morse explains that this question helps structure EMDR trauma therapy to better understand the road map forward. The first few intake sessions include the therapist learning about your strengths, community resources, and family history, including making a genogram of all family members.
Starting with EMDR Treatment Planning
Bringing SPECIFIC life goals and changes you hope to see from therapy will help your EMDR therapist provide a tailored approach. Once you have a rapport with your therapist, they will begin looking at schemas (a fancy way of saying core beliefs) that may get in the way of you finding what you want. Let’s say you want to find a job that you are passionate about and earn a 20% increase in income...the therapist will start by better understanding obstacles to applying to other jobs (ex: I’m not worthy, I’m not sure I’ll be safe at a new job, etc.). Starting with the first example of ‘I’m not worthy’, your EMDR therapist will help make a timeline of specific memories, specifically focusing on early childhood where you may have internalized not feeling worthy.
Incorporating EMDR Resourcing into your Life
The second step of EMDR will be your therapist teaching you skills to feel calm - these may include butterfly hugs, gorilla beats, leg tapping, or watching a light move back and forth. These slow movements will begin to help you feel calm as you pair both peaceful feelings along with positive beliefs with them. As you begin to notice human behavior, you’ll see that many of us already use these techniques without evening realizing it when we’re stressed. The next time you leave our Lancaster office, take note of people standing in line for coffee who may be swaying back and forth, or people waiting for the parking garage elevator who may be twiddling their thumbs mimicking the same left/right motion. The more that you integrate these calming strategies in your life, the easier it will be to access them when you begin feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed.
Reprocessing EMDR Traumas at Our Lancaster Office or Virtually
Both virtual and in office treatment options are available for our clients. When you arrive to your counseling session, you will know which trauma or event you will be reprocessing. You and your therapist will have already selected the ‘way’ that you will be processing through this event. By ‘way’ we mean using light bar, audio, tappers, as just a few of the many options available. You will always be able to stop reprocessing at any time that it’s too overwhelming for you. Many people report feeling relief from just one single EMDR reprocessing session. After you finish your session, your therapist will make sure you’re at a good place. Your therapist will recommend that you get a good night’s sleep, and refrain from any substance or alcohol use in order to allow your brain to go into full rem sleep to continue to process the event(s) that occurred.
It takes courage to reach out for help - every journey begins with a single step - and we applaud you for doing your research on how to maximize your therapeutic treatment. Email us anytime: getstarted@sunpointwellness.com
