What You Need to Know About EMDR and Trauma Therapy
Going through trauma is not uncommon. Studies show about 6 of every 10 men (60%) and 5 of every 10 women (50%) experience at least one trauma in their lifetime. Trauma can stem from childhood abuse or neglect, grief and loss, physical or emotional abuse, and many other life incidents.
Know that you are not alone in having experienced trauma. There are many resources and experienced specialists available for you to have treatment. If you want proper support in your mental health journey, contact a licensed group of therapists today.
A trauma therapist is trained to help you understand the mechanisms of trauma and triggers that are unique to you. An experienced therapist can teach you coping strategies and help you deal with stressful situations. At Calm Again Counseling, our trauma therapy specialists serve those in Oakland and the Bay area. To learn more about our practice in the Oakland area, call (415) 480-5192.
What is Trauma Therapy?
How is trauma therapy different from trauma-focused therapy or trauma-informed care? These terms all mean the same thing. They all refer to a form of psychotherapy or talk therapy that helps people manage the lasting experiences of trauma that may follow those events throughout their lives. Trauma therapy can help if you have difficulty coping with the trauma, or if it’s affecting your ability to function on a day-to-day basis.
How Does Trauma Therapy Work?
Before starting treatment, it will help if people understand their objectives and goals for treatment. With the help of a licensed therapist, you can decide on what type of trauma therapy would help best for your particular needs.
Medical professionals can give you a highly tailored approach for the best chance of recovery. Different types of trauma therapy in treatment sessions include:
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
Anxiety therapy
Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
The type of trauma therapy that works best for you ultimately depends on your specific traumatic experience, the way the trauma has affected your daily functions, and the training of your therapist.
What Are the Benefits of EMDR For Trauma Therapy?
In recent years, EMDR has gained more and more attention. Specifically for how quickly people can experience relief. This method of trauma therapy involves moving your eyes in a specific way while you process traumatic memories.
Studies have shown that EMDR takes fewer sessions than other therapy modalities to see results, which is why it has piqued many people’s interest. Along with trauma and PTSD, EMDR also treats mood and anxiety issues such as depression, panic attacks, phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and more.
How Does EMDR Help With Trauma?
Retelling traumatic memories can be retriggering and difficult to do. EMDR focuses on processing and moving past your trauma while other therapy methods often involve having you describe and even relive those negative events.
The reprocessing stage in EMDR helps you to repair the mental “injury” from the traumatic memory. In due time, remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and related feelings will be much more manageable.
Calm Again Counseling offers EMDR near you in Oakland. Our trauma therapists use trusted, science-backed methods to treat the root cause of trauma. To learn more, call (415) 480-5192.