Treatment for Stressful Life Events with EMDR
Following several years of training at the VA Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic in San Francisco, I began to realize that some traumatic events can lead to Post Traumatic Stress – which can become Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when the trauma is continuous over time, when the trauma is out of our ordinary experience, or when the stressful event is allowed to become a permanent part of oneself.
One of the most useful (and research supported) tools to “clear” the lasting effects of trauma goes by the acronym of EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a short-term treatment that is extremely effective in resolving painful life patterns. EMDR uses a combination of re-membering the event, its emotional aspects, the way the event affects ones current self-concept, plus some form of bilateral stimulation. (I use small hand-held disks that vibrate the left and right hands alternatively.) The combination of cognitive processing and bilateral stimulation results in resolution of traumatic memories that are “incorrectly” stored in the brain. In addition, my clients report that their treatment is very effective both because of the trust we establish and the way that I sensitively guide the EMDR process.
Clients are amazed that a 1.5 hour EMDR session can be so effective that lifetime issues lose their emotional hold on them, even though they are able to remember what the issues were (one client labels EMDR as Extraordinary Magical Drastic Recovery!). It has helped clients not only cope with on-going problems but to overcome them. Issues that are helped include upcoming medical treatments, past medical traumas, long-term work issues, unexplained health problems, depression, grief and loss, nightmares, sleep problems, anxiety over numerous issues, recurring traumatic memories, and more.
I am highly trained and experienced in the use of EMDR, and have successfully used the technique with scores of clients. As a member of the international EMDR association (EMDRIA), I continually receive significant education on this process which I believe may one day be used as the major tool to not only treat trauma but to ensure that PTSD does not occur in millions of people.
You can find extensive information on this process on-line, including videos and explanations on EMDRinAction.com.
For more information about the services I offer and how they can help, please contact me or call (415) 215-2877.
My training as a Psychologist has been multi-faceted with specializations in education, breast cancer research, brain and behavior relationships and functioning, trauma research and treatment, end of life issues, and stress and trauma treatment, including a technique known as EMDR. I am interested in what our dreams have to tell us about our waking experiences, from a Jungian perspective, and am a long-time believer in the power of meditation, in its many forms.