Does it Work?
I can remember the first time I heard about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR. It sounded kind of kooky to me. I didn’t get it. How could it work? Up until that point in my career I was a “talk therapist”. I hadn’t yet begun to incorporate neurology or how our emotions are embodied (or not as can be the case with a traumatized person) into my work with my psychotherapy clients.
At the time I really didn’t know that much about trauma, especially how prevalent it is. I didn’t understand the basic neurological processes involved when people are psychologically traumatized, much less how to heal it. I definitely didn’t understand the healing power of bilateral stimulation when used with the EMDR protocol. Honestly, I can now see that many of the clients that I had worked with early in my career were dealing with the effects of trauma. I just didn’t recognize it.
Thankfully, I knew other clinicians who were trained in EMDR and having remarkable results so I decided to attend a 3-day Level1 training in 2007. Wow! It blew me away! On the second day of the training we had a practicum in which we practiced EMDR on each other. I was “the client” and had the most amazing healing experience in just that 45-minute session. I couldn’t wait to get back into my office so I could start using it with my clients. Fortunately, one of my first EMDR clients also had a shockingly fast healing experience that resulted in resolution in PTSD symptoms that he had been dealing with for over 10 years. He and I were both astounded. I was SOLD!
I had to learn more. Since that 2007 training, I’ve gone on to become certified in EMDR and have attended every EMDR training that I could get to. I’ve helped many clients heal symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD with EMDR. Now, I am not just a talk therapist but an EMDR therapist and I view my clients through the lens of the trauma model. As a result, I have become a much more effective therapist. There is no question, EMDR works! For information about EMDR research see www.emdria.org.
About Barbara Edelman, MSW, LCSW
I am a Licensed Psychotherapist in Saint Louis, MO.
I am certified in EMDR and specialize in treating Anxiety, Depression, PTSD and Trauma in adults and adolescents and helping my clients develop a sense of peace, comfort and connection in their lives and relationships.
If you have anxiety or depression or think you may have unresolved trauma and would like to work with a Saint Louis area therapist who specializes in anxiety and trauma, please contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation at 314-780-4906 or email me now to schedule a time barbedelmantherapist@gmail.com or visit my website at www.barbaraedelmanmsw.com.
