EMDR Therapy Dallas

Serving people in the Dallas, Texas area and remotely in Texas, California, and Florida.

How Can EMDR Help Me?

More than 100 randomized clinical trials have been done to test the efficacy of EMDR therapy. Some of the studies show that in about 84-90% of victims who have been through a single-incident trauma no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions. As a result, extensive research on EMDR therapy has led organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the WHO, and the Department of Defense to recognize it as an effective treatment for trauma and other adverse experiences. Hence, you can see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the unpleasant memories and unhelpful or negative beliefs that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and all the myriad problems that bring them in for therapy. 

Is EMDR Only For Treating Trauma?

Not at all! EMDR started as a treatment for with with PTSD but has since been utilized and studied on a variety of people and mental health diagnosis. For example, A large meta-analysis of Randomized Control Trials evaluated the effectiveness of EMDR. The review found that EMDR can successfully treat several disorders beyond PTSD and Trauma. Furthermore, In 17 trials with 647 patients (Yunitri et al., 2020), results demonstrated that EMDR is successful in the reduction of anxiety, panic, phobia, behavioral, and somatic symptoms. In our practice, we have utilized it for all of the mental health challenges listed above as well as heartbreak, grief, OCD, attachment issues and negative beliefs about the self (e.g. I’m not good enough, I’m a failure) and others.

What Does EMDR Therapy Entail? How Does EMDR Work?

EMDR Therapy has 8 phases of treatment: history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. Firstly, we gather your history and information needed for treatment. This can include your current symptoms, positive and negative experiences, identifying unhelpful core beliefs that impact your life today. Notably, we utilize your positive life experiences, influencers, and other tools to increase your ability to feel supported and empowered. Secondly, we create a toolbox of coping skills, we move on to the EMDR desensitizing phase. Then, we use bilateral stimulation (a side to side activation of the brain with eye movements, sound, or tapping) to weaken the negative memories, unpleasant emotions and beliefs we identified. Next, disturbing memories are reprocessed in the brain, resulting in painful feelings being exchanged for resolved, peaceful feelings. Many clients see dramatic results in just a few EMDR sessions.

Will EMDR or Trauma Therapy Be Overwhelming?

Some clients who have already experienced trauma therapy or who have not addressed their traumas yet, are weary that the therapy will cause intense emotions. This is rarely the case with our unique EMDR treatment approach. We utilize a lot of supportive and uplifting EMDR therapy tools to avoid re-experiencing so that you leave your sessions feeling lighter and contained.

Is EMDR Therapy Effective When Done Online or Via Video?

Our practice has seen that EMDR treatment sessions are just as effective as in person sessions. In addition, many people report preferring their home for EMDR treatment. Firstly, remote EMDR sessions are done in a familiar and safe place to process traumatic memories. Secondly, with video sessions, not having to drive allows for more time to decompress and prevents the stress from driving. Finally, online sessions allows you the ability to schedule a treatment session into a busy life schedule.