Treatment Methods

EMDR Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is the treatment choice for PTSD and other trauma related conditions. EMDR is used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, and addiction triggers.

EMDR stimulates the psyche's natural healing process and changes the way traumatic memories are stored in the brain. When a trauma occurs, it becomes stored in the nervous system in its original disturbing form. EMDR shifts how trauma is stored in the brain and speeds up the processing of traumatic events and reduces the disturbing emotions, symptoms, and negative beliefs associated with those experiences. My clients are often amazed at how issues they've worked on for years in talk therapy are no longer problematic.

Traumatic memories are stored in the brain differently than other kinds of memories.

Research has shown that traumatic memories are primarily stored in the right hemisphere of the brain, where they do not have access to networks in the left hemisphere. The left hemisphere, however, contains important thoughts and awareness that could relieve the distress if a connection can be made between the hemispheres.
EMDR therapy creates this connection by stimulating both hemispheres simultaneously restoring the brain's natural healing processes. EMDR helps people become unstuck and renders traumatic memories manageable.

Unresolved trauma is often re-triggered by environmental cues and reminders that lead a person to re-experience the emotional, physical, psychological effects of the past in the present. Through the use of eye movements, audio and or tactile, EMDR stimulates memory processing and fundamentally changes the way the memory is stored

With EMDR therapy, your past experiences may no longer intrude on your ability to fully engage with the present.

EMDR can aid people and experiencing less fear, panic, stress, anger and shame and access more curiosity, joy, love, gratitude, and other life enhancing effects. In addition to the effects of trauma, EMDR is used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, addiction triggers, and performance enhancement for artists athletes and performers.
My EMDR therapeutic program also integrates a wide range of evidence-based approaches, including:

• Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, which helps people identify their strengths and build on them, while also identifying the thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions that make life more difficult
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, in order to modify patterns of thinking to improve the coping skills of the client.
• Seeking Safety, Develop skills for anxiety, trauma and addiction in Seeking Safety Therapy. I help my clients to develop skills and create support for anxiety and trauma as well as addiction. Seeking Safety Therapy is an evidence-based model that will explore such topics as setting boundaries in relationships, asking for help, trauma, taking good care of oneself, detaching from emotional pain, compassion, mindfulness and developing confidence. This is a present-focused therapy to help members attain safety from trauma/PTSD, addictive behaviors, and substance abuse.

If you like what you have read, and you think I could help, please call or email me for a free consultation at 415-454-8931 or [email protected]