EMDR therapy in WA and ID

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps to reduce the intensity of bad memories. We do this by having you focus on the problem memory, thought, or image, and then your eyes follow a dot as it moves rapidly back and forth across a screen or while listening to a beep sound going back and forth from one ear to the other. The idea is that, over time, this will help reduce the intense emotional reactions that this memory has been causing within you. It will not make you forget the memory; rather, it should reduce the intensity of the negative emotions it brings up for you. When we ignore the things that make us anxious, this “stuffing down” or masking can cause the anxiety or fear to build up in us like a pressure cooker until something gives. This can lead to meltdowns, shutdowns, or even burnout. EMDR could help process some of that anxiety and fear and try to reduce your reactivity to those situations that can cause the pressure to increase.