EMDR & Trauma Therapy in New York City
EMDR is a trauma therapy modality which has been around for more than 20 years. It is one of the first mind/body therapies which changed the therapy field from a cognitive and analytical approach to an experiential one. In the last 20 or so years thousands of therapists had rigorous training and personal EMDR to develop the skills. EMDR is based on the idea that bilateral stimulation of the brain, alternating tapping or sounds from left to right or right to left while holding a critical moment of a traumatic event, allows nervous system to release trauma from the body and brain. Trauma therapists know that talking about a traumatic incident does not heal trauma but, in fact, can make it worse by re-traumatizing their clients. The aim of a good trauma therapy is to process and release trauma from the nervous system so our clients can feel safe in their bodies.
Past traumatic events live in our nervous system even if we don’t think about them and don’t explicitly remember them, but get activated if and when something happens that in any way triggers the memory of the traumatic event. These traumas guide our choices, reactions and behaviors unconsciously.
Life in NYC can be stressful. Just in the recent years, the pandemic and its effects on our daily lives, loss of those close to us due to COVID, our own fears of getting infected, crime in the city and stories of crime put our nervous systems on high alert especially if there has been a trauma history. As a New York City trauma therapist, many of my clients who are familiar with EMDR, seek it in their therapy.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a form of therapy that enables people to heal from distressing symptoms and reactions to triggers caused by disturbing experiences or traumatic events. EMDR works much faster than traditional therapies and has long lasting effects because new neuro pathways in the brain are created by the reprocessing and desensitization of traumatic material.
I use EMDR or some form of it in most of the sessions with individual clients. It has become an overwhelming view of many clinicians that all pain and most symptoms people experience are trauma based, whether it be catastrophic traumas or more ordinary life trauma or painful memories and experiences.
EMDR Therapy is used to help clients come to terms with a variety of troubling conditions and symptoms. Through EMDR, the mind and nervous system can release painful memories, neutralize traumatic or disturbing experiences, create spontaneous reactions and responses to situations that otherwise are stuck in rigid trauma responses.
EMDR helps unlock painful, negative memories, and helps the brain reprocess and reintegrate old information so that it becomes less debilitating. Through the use of bilateral stimulation of the brain via eye movements, tappers or sound, more adaptive integration of past events occurs. As a result of reprocessing of old memories, images, sounds, thoughts, and feelings they can be experienced without causing the client to become distressed.
EMDR can also be used for recent traumatic experience and can help move clients through it to a more realistic, adaptive, less disturbing and distressing reality.
To learn more about EMDR and its practice, please visit www.EMDR.com.
Reasons to Consider EMDR in New York
If you’re considering EMDR therapy in New York, here are some of the challenges it can help address:
- Anxiety and Depression
- Performance Issues
- Accidents
- Feelings stuck
- Any traumatic or disturbing events which cause persistent symptoms, flashbacks, dreams
- Relationship traumas or disappointments
- Interpersonal conflict
If you have suffered a trauma of any sort, call (212) 953-1388 or email irinafirstein@aol.com to make an appointment with the best individual therapist in NYC. Take the first step and let Irina Firstein, LCSW help you.
FROM OUR CONNECTIONS BLOG
Couples Therapy
- Relationship Tips and Ideas from Well-Known Couples Therapy Expert
- How Couples Can Open The Flow Of Communication
- How Do You Know When Your Relationship Needs Counseling?
Marriage Counseling
- When Is It Too Late For Marriage Counseling?
- 5 Things You Can Not Expect From Marriage Counseling
- 5 Damaging Things You Should Never Say to Your Spouse
Individual Therapy
Who Can Benefit from EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy may be a beneficial approach for individuals dealing with a wide range of challenges, including traumatic experiences, emotional distress, and chronic conditions. Here are some specific issues that EMDR therapy can help address:
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
- Anxiety, phobias, and panic
- Sexual assault
- Eating Disorders
- Violence and abuse
- Grief /Complicated Grief
- Dissociative disorders
- Sleep disturbance
- Performance anxiety
- Pain relief
- Relationship issues
- Phobias and fears
- Childhood neglect or abuse
- Chronic pain
- Environmental disasters
Living in New York, life can be fast-paced and demanding, and past experiences can sometimes make it harder to keep up. EMDR therapy offers a way to process and release the impact of traumatic memories, helping reduce emotional stress and improve overall mental well-being. By working with the brain’s natural healing process, EMDR can relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and phobias, often linked to unresolved experiences. Over time, many people find a renewed sense of calm.
Sessions available in person, by phone or on Skype.
How is EMDR Different from Other Therapies?
EMDR therapy is different from other therapies as it is experiential rather than talking about whatever the client’s experience may be. The Client is not talking about a trauma but is rather guided to experience the most emotionally charged moment(s) of the event. We focus on emotion, body sensations and negative self-belief as the worst part of the incident is reexperienced here and now. The Therapist then adds bilateral stimulation and the client reports what they are experiencing. We place major importance on body sensations rather than cognitive experiences or interpretations. This process continues until the incident is no longer feeling traumatic and there is no body sensation or feelings associated with the trauma.
EMDR is expected to be a relatively short process though it depends on number and severity of traumas as well as client’s ability to do the work. Collaboration and food fit with a therapist are crucial.
What to Expect in an EMDR Therapy Session in New York City
As with any therapeutic intervention, there is history taking, but the focus is history of traumatic events in a client’s life. These can be little T or big T traumas. Usually, the next phase of therapy is resource installation which means the client has a felt sense of their internal strengths they can employ in daily life or during EMDR processing in case of extreme distress.
Typically, the treatment starts with less emotionally charged events so the client gets the feel of the process and result. The Client and therapist choose the events to be processed together.
The actual process involves client choosing the most charged moment of the traumatic event, visualizing this moment with all the senses, names feelings that are felt, body sensations and negative self-belief. Then they either tap themselves or use special pulsers in their hands to induce bilateral stimulation. They report their experience and therapist guides them until trauma does not feel as trauma, feels neutral and the negative self-belief turns into positive, like “I am ok now”, or “I survived”, or “I am in control.”
It is not uncommon for clients to feel scared of EMDR. The fear is that it is emotionally disturbing, they can lose control or have a breakdown. Working very closely with a therapist assures us that this does not occur. A skills therapist will know how to manage clients experience and reactions.
Questions to Ask Potential EMDR Therapists
Consider these key questions when evaluating an EMDR therapist:
- How is this therapy going to work?
- How do I know if this is going well?
- Is this going to be emotionally upsetting?
- Can it make me worse?
- How do I know what are my traumas?
- How many sessions this will take?
- Can I go back to my normal life after an EMDR session?
Schedule a Virtual or In-Person Appointment Today
Ready to break free from the grip of past trauma? EMDR and Trauma Therapy in New York offers a path towards healing and reclaiming your life. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and begin your journey to a brighter, more empowered future. Call (212) 953-1388 or get in touch online here.
FAQs
What counts as trauma?
Trauma is a very stressful, frightening event difficult to cope with or feels out of control. It can be a single incident or ongoing. Trauma has symptoms such as avoidance of the stimuli in any way associated with the trauma, reactivity, rigid reactions or responses. There is usually an element of shock and feelings of aloneness and/or helplessness during a traumatic event which gets deeply lodged into a person’s nervous system.
Will bringing up bad memories just make me feel worse?
The idea is not to make you feel worse though it can happen temporarily.
Is EMDR only for people who have experienced “big T” traumas?
Absolutely not. It works very well with small T traumas such as relationship breakup, getting fired from a job, etc.
Who is EMDR not appropriate for?
EMDR is not appropriate for people who are dealing with substance abuse, experience delusions or psychosis, exhibit some significant emotional instability, have no support system, or have physical medical problems.
Can EMDR help with physical symptoms?
Yes, absolutely, EMDR can help with some physical symptoms as it is thought that many physical symptoms are caused by traumas being held in the body.
How long does EMDR therapy take?
It is hard to tell though EMDR is a time limited therapy because normally it works fast. It does very much depend on a client’s state of functioning, the nature of the trauma and the nature of collaboration between client and therapist.
Does EMDR involve talking a lot about the trauma?
No, EMDR is not about talking a lot about trauma. We do need to make a list of traumatic events that will be targeted but no talking ABOUT it.
Are there any side effects of EMDR therapy?
Sometimes a client may feel tired after an EMDR session. There may be dreams and body sensations after the sessions.
Can EMDR help with anxiety?
EMDR can help with anxiety if a root cause can be identified and processed. Sometimes the symptom of the anxiety can be targeted.
Can EMDR help with depression?
EMDR can help with depression if a root cause can be identified and processed.
Can EMDR help with grief and loss?
Grief and loss are traumas and are very well helped by EMDR. The actual loss can be targeted and when processed, the grief will subside.
Can I do EMDR therapy online?
EMDR works well online. It works as well as in person.