For those who live with anxiety, feelings of apprehension, fear, and isolation can be overwhelming, making it feel as though anxiety has taken control of their lives. When even simple tasks like leaving the house or interacting with others become difficult, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy offers a path toward relief.
At Suffolk DBT on Long Island, we provide EMDR treatment for anxiety, offering an alternative for those who find that traditional talk therapy or medications aren’t the right fit for their needs.
How does EMDR therapy work?
EMDR works with your brain’s natural adaptive information-processing capabilities to change the impact and emotional intensity of anxiety-inducing, distressing experiences and memories. By remembering and simulating your distressing experiences and pairing them with a calm bodily state, EMDR helps you to effectively re-process and remove the charged emotional experience associated with past mental states.
EMDR therapy for anxiety at Suffolk DBT can help when you’re ready to manage and overcome panic attacks and other debilitating anxiety symptoms. You will receive guidance from our clinicians in exploring and processing the roots of anxiety in a way that doesn’t harm you. In anxiety treatment, you’ll find the encouragement you need to listen to your body and embrace healthy coping mechanisms.
What happens in EMDR therapy for anxiety?
EMDR was developed in 1987 by California psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro, who discovered its potential during a walk when she noticed her anxiety lessened as her eyes followed a moving branch from side to side. Intrigued, Dr. Shapiro began researching how eye movements and bilateral stimulation, such as tapping from right to left, could help reduce anxiety. Her work ultimately led to the creation of EMDR therapy as we know it today.
While there are a number of different adaptations of bilateral stimulation, EMDR therapy is most well-known for directed eye movements from side to side to enter into this grounded state. Rhythmic taps on the arms or knees from right to left are also popular adaptions of EMDR therapy.
An important, but sometimes overlooked, part of EMDR therapy is all the preparation that comes before actually diving into the difficult beliefs or memories. Before any of that work can begin, your therapist will thoroughly prepare you for the process ahead, and ensure that you have strengthened your coping skills to avoid any instances of retraumatization. These coping skills will be called on throughout the EMDR process to help you engage from a calm and centered state.
Once the work of EMDR treatment has begun, clinicians invite clients to:
- Imagine a negative belief or stressful situation
- Notice body sensations, emotions, images, and beliefs that may arise
- Process the intensity of their emotions
- Shift their attention to adaptive, more positive beliefs
Throughout the EMDR process, clients are instructed to allow the mind and body to experience the sensations, emotions, images, and insights and ride through whatever comes up without judgment. There is no right or wrong way of participating in this intensive anxiety treatment. Our clinicians understand that it takes time and practice to get into the swing of healing and that clients deserve to be easy on themselves and progress with what they can per session.
Each session will conclude with a grounding or containment exercise, to keep the work of reprocessing old hurts just in session, vs throughout the week. It’s important for clients searching for EMDR therapy to do the work when a licensed professional is present to help them process and make meaning out of the experience.
How does EMDR therapy work in facilitating healing?
The mechanism of this therapy form activates Adaptive Information Processing (AIP), meaning that the brain processes and transforms negative thoughts, cognitions, and experiences into more adaptive ones during EMDR sessions.
This process results in clients having:
- Newfound insight and awareness of their experiences, emotions, and cognition
- A reduction in anxiety and body tension
- An overall sense of ease and clearheadedness
- Naturally reduced anxiety levels
EMDR therapy for anxiety offers hope to clients who struggle with fears and uncomfortable symptoms and haven’t received lasting relief from traditional treatment.
Why does EMDR therapy work for anxiety?
So what makes EMDR therapy effective? One of the reasons people love EMDR therapy for anxiety is that EMDR involves less talking than traditional therapy methods. This is largely due to the activation of the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which EMDR uses to help reprocess distressing memories without the need for lengthy discussion or analysis. In fact, too much verbalization during a session can sometimes block the brain’s natural healing processes and may even risk re-traumatizing the client, especially if the experience being processed is particularly triggering.
This is why clients with complex trauma or dissociative tendencies often undergo preparation before starting EMDR, focusing on grounding and reducing dissociation. The mind and body can’t fully benefit from the relief EMDR offers when dissociation or fragmentation is still present.
EMDR is successful in part because clinicians carefully pace each session, allowing clients time to mindfully digest what they’ve processed. Throughout the session, therapists check in with clients between processing sets to ensure they are moving forward safely and effectively.
Why choose EMDR for Anxiety Treatment
With its structured, non-invasive approach, EMDR helps individuals experience relief more quickly than traditional therapies, empowering them to regain control over their emotions and daily life. Below are the top reasons you should consider EMDR to help you (or your teen) deal with anxiety.
- EMDR Targets the Root Cause: EMDR doesn’t just manage symptoms, it targets the root cause of anxiety by reprocessing traumatic memories stored in the brain, allowing the individual to detach from the emotional charge associated with the memory.
- Neuroscientific Basis: EMDR leverages the brain’s natural ability to heal through bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping) to reduce the intensity of distressing memories.
- Empowering Clients: EMDR empowers clients to take control of their healing by helping them reframe their memories and perceptions, promoting lasting change.
- Efficiency of Treatment: EMDR is often more time-efficient than traditional talk therapy, as it can achieve results in fewer sessions for certain conditions like anxiety and trauma.
- Research Support: EMDR is backed by substantial research and is recognized by major health organizations (such as the American Psychological Association and the World Health Organization) as an effective treatment for trauma and anxiety disorders.
Harm-free healing in Anxiety Treatment on Long Island
Receiving EMDR therapy for anxiety at Suffolk DBT on Long Island offers a safe and supportive environment to help you navigate and process anxiety-provoking events in your life. EMDR therapy not only empowers you to understand your own healing process but also restores the sense of control that anxiety may have taken away. This approach allows you to confidently and unapologetically guide your own reprocessing of anxiety, trauma, stress, and the negative thoughts that come with these challenges.
Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with Suffolk DBT today for support in dulling the painful impact of anxiety and the isolation, avoidance, panic attacks, phobias, fears, and more attached to it.