EMDR Therapy was developed in the late eighties in the States. It was first used with combat veterans with PTSD, but has quickly come to be useful in addressing any symptoms associated with stress and trauma (from PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and phobias, through the continuum to
depression, over-reactive anger, worrying, disturbed sleep and so on—anything we’re referring to when we say we’re ‘stressed out’).

EMDR Stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, but actually, it isn’t necessarily just about the eyes! It’s a therapy where you think about something that
bothers you (like a traumatic memory or issue) and I wave my hand in front of your eyes, back and forth. New studies have found, however, that we can get the same treatment effects with a headset and alternating beeps, or alternating taps or pulses on the hands (DAS). The eye movements, beeps or taps are a ‘back and forth’ or bilateral stimulation of the brain—you are dually (at the same time) thinking about a traumatic, internal memory while also attending to a benign external stimulation. The idea is that traumatic memories sometimes get ‘stuck’ in the information-processing system of the brain, along with the emotions and even the physical sensations that went with the original experience. When something bad happens, it happens first to the body, then the emotions kick in and then you start to ‘reprocess’ the event — you think about it, sleep on it, get support, and time passes. At the end of that reprocessing, you can still remember the bad event, but it no longer bothers you. Consider a time when something bad happened to you in your life, and you still remember it, but you have peace with the memory. This is an example of the brain working the way it should. Sometimes, however, this reprocessing gets stuck, and this is where EMDR comes in. It works to “desensitize and reprocess” the difficult memory or issue so that you have peace with it.

During an EMDR session, you will think about the issue or traumatic memory while we do a number of ‘sets’ of eye-movements, tones, or taps (DAS). It’s useful to use the idea of a train journey—like you’re sitting in the ‘carriage of a train’ (in my office) and if upsetting feelings come up, it’s just like the ‘scenery outside the train’. All you have to do is notice and let it go by. In EMDR, your brain is looking to take you wherever it needs to go along the associative networks. You may experience intense emotions, both
during an EMDR session and also perhaps between sessions. This can be difficult and tiring emotional work, and you will need to take good care of yourself during the
time you’re doing EMDR therapy.

(Horne, B. & Gauvreau, P.)

Are you experiencing extreme fatigue? Aches and pains in your body that seem to never go away? Our body is a storage unit for trauma, stress, grief, and depression; holding onto our worries and negative thoughts and presenting them in the form of headaches and shoulder tension. In this unique treatment, we will address this mind-body connection using a combination of talk therapy, mindfulness, and restorative yoga practice.