- 1457 Jordan Ave, Crofton, MD 21114
EMDR Counseling In Crofton, MD
What Is EMDR Counseling?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a well-researched, evidence-based approach to counseling and therapy that treats a variety of mental health issues. EMDR is most well-known for treating PTSD, but it is effective in treating a wide range of disorders, including depression, anxiety, OCD, dissociation, substance abuse, eating disorders, and even chronic illness/pain and other medical issues.
In the late 1980s, Francine Shapiro, PhD, noticed that eye movement could help with upsetting memories, and started to research the phenomenon. She first published her research in the Journal of Traumatic Stress in 1989. Her approach, which she initially called Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD), evolved into Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
How Effective Is EMDR?
EMDR therapy (which is often mistakenly called “EDMR” therapy, possibly because of the popularity of electronic dance music!), uses what is called bilateral stimulation (BLS) to help the brain process distressing memories and experiences that may be “stuck” in your nervous system. Once a memory is processed with EMDR, it no longer has the emotional charge that it had before.
Many organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the United States Department of Defense, among others, have recognized EMDR as an effective therapy. Many randomized clinical trials and case studies have confirmed its efficacy.[1]
[1] https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/recent-research-about-emdr/
How Does EMDR Work?
I use EMDR therapy to treat adults with trauma, PTSD, C-PTSD, depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, dissociation, substance use disorders, chronic pain, and more.
The EMDR protocol has eight phases, which start with history-taking and resourcing; we don’t immediately dive into the processing phase. It’s important for us to have some time to get to know each other a bit, and it’s also important to make sure we’ve laid a solid foundation for the processing.
How Is EMDR Different From Other Types Of Therapy?
One of the things many of my clients like about EMDR is that it is more structured than talk therapy. After you’ve done some EMDR processing sessions, you’ll have a good idea of what to expect, because EMDR sessions generally follow some version of what is called the “standard protocol.” We also have specific criteria we use to determine if we have fully processed a memory, which gives us measurable goals.
Many types of talk therapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) take a “top down” approach. This means that they use thinking to try to change feelings. This does work, to a point, but it is limited. EMDR is a “bottom up” approach that works directly with the deeper parts of the brain, which is where traumatic memories are stored. EMDR helps all of the parts of the brain, not just the prefrontal cortex, to get the message that the trauma is over.
I often tell clients that EMDR resets the brain to factory specifications, because it reverses the effects of both “big T” and “little t” traumas. When we have fully processed a memory, you will still remember the facts of what happened, but you will no longer experience the distressing feelings that the event created.
EMDR "Plays Well With Others"
My EMDR counseling work is informed by IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy, which focuses on the interactions among all of the various parts of ourselves. When we’re addressing difficult issues with EMDR, there’s a good chance that parts of you will try to jump in and interfere with the work we’re doing. I follow IFS principles to help those parts to feel safe enough to allow the work to happen.
I also sometimes use sandtray therapy in conjunction with EMDR. For instance, I might have you choose miniatures to represent some of the resources we install, or I might have you create a scene in the sandtray that represents the memory we’re working on.
I have practiced EMDR counseling for years, and I have witnessed its transformative effects over and over again. I never get tired of seeing the moment when a critical piece falls into place and a client’s thinking is transformed.
My Experience With EMDR Counseling
I completed my 50-hour EMDR basic training in 2018. I specifically chose a training that was approved by EMDRIA (the EMDR International Association) because I knew that the training would be thorough. EMDR is a powerful modality, and a therapist who isn’t adequately trained can do serious harm to clients. I then completed the required additional hours of training and consultation for EMDRIA certification, which I obtained in 2020. I became an EMDR Consultant in Training (CIT) in 2024.
Why Did I Choose To Become An EMDR Therapist?
I first considered being trained in EMDR when I read Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps the Score. Later, I started recommending Karyl McBride’s book Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers to clients. In that book, Dr. McBride recommended EMDR therapy. I felt a little strange using that book with my clients when I wasn’t trained in EMDR! I was also becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that client after client of mine would (with the help of CBT) change their negative thoughts, but still not truly believe the changed messages deep down. All of these things contributed to my decision to be trained in EMDR.
For years, I had attended trainings led by therapists who said that learning particular therapy modalities had completely changed their lives as therapists; with EMDR, I had finally experienced that for myself.