EMDR Therapy in Pasadena, CA

Have you ever drawn a blank when someone asked you about your earliest memories from childhood because you can’t remember anything? Do you ever experience going into fight, flight or freeze mode without warning? Have you ever told a story from your past and become really emotional or triggered? Have you been in an accident and keep having flashbacks? You might be experiencing trauma. EMDR can help.

But first, what is trauma?

Types of Trauma:

Trauma can be broken down into “Big T Trauma” such as one catastrophic event like an accident and “Little T Trauma” which are numerous events occuring over time that are not necessarily life threatening such as being cheated on or emotional abuse by a parent or partner. Both can cause significant emotional distress and upset in manyt different areas in our lives.

Trauma can also be broken down into greater detail:

  • childhood trauma and complex PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) - frequent and ongoing instability, threats to attachment, needs being unmet by caregivers, neglect, and abuse.

  • single incident trauma and PTSD - an event that happens at a single point in time and is unexpected. It can be experienced by the individual or by witnessing it happen to someone else. Examples of single incident trauma include physical or sexual assault, a car or bike accident, a serious illness or injury causing hospitalization, the death of a loved one, a catastrophic weather event, and fighting or witnessing a war.

  • collective trauma - a psychological and emotional response to a traumatic event that affects a large group of people or an entire society. It can be caused by events such as mass shootings, natural disasters, pandemics, wars, racism, homophibia and widespread community violence.

  • intergenerational trauma - (also referred to as transgenerational or multigenerational trauma) is when negative experiences from a trauma survivor are passed down to their descendants and subsequent family members. These experiences can be cultural, historical, or familial, and can stem from personal trauma, such as child or domestic abuse, or from trauma that a specific cultural, racial, or ethnic group endured. It can also be caused by major events like wars, slavery, the Holocaust, and colonial violence against Native Americans, or even natural disasters.

Common Symptoms of Trauma:

What is considered traumatic to one person may not be to another. You decide what you consider to be trauma.

  • flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive negative thoughts      

  • relationship problems 

  • avoidance and fear

  • low self worth and low self esteem

  • nervous system dysregulation or being constantly stuck in fight, flight or freeze mode

  • alcohol and drug dependence/self medicating with substances

  • dissociating

  • difficulty using positive coping skills

  • isolating behaviors

  • insomnia and trouble sleeping

  • digestive issues and other physical ailments

  • mood swings 

  • hyperarousal and hypervigilance

EMDR therapy for trauma can help. But first, what is EMDR therapy and why is it so effective?

What is EMDR Therapy?

What can I expect in my EMDR sessions?

  • First I’ll take a comprehensive assessment and history of the issue you want to focus on. We’ll explore your personal history, history of the issue, how the traumatic event(s) is impacting you currently and how you would prefer to be able to respond to it in the future.

  • Then we will work on implementing resources (also known as resourcing). This can take a little time depending on where you’re starting from, but can be useful as a tool on its own. We’ll explore mindfulness exercises, bilateral tapping techniques, and specific exercises to use during our EMDR sessions.

  • Once you are feeling safe to move forward, we will begin with a traumatic memory and use bilateral stimulation while reprocessing traumatic memories for as many sessions as you need. I often suggest that we begin with something that is less traumatic while you’re getting the hang of how the sessions are formatted and feel a sense of safety to move forward. There is no rush in this work and I want you to feel safe.

  • We end each session with a grounding exercise and leave time to explore key themes and issues that came up while reprocessing as well as to review resources to use outside of therapy if symptoms should exacerbate.

  • This is just a general snapshot of what how typical EMDR treatment can be formatted. I also weave in other modalities in addition to EMDR such as IFS (Internal Family Systems) and meditation to explore blocks as needed.

Can symptoms worsen after starting EMDR? Sometimes you may notice symptoms resurface while reprocessing trauma. This is true in most forms of therapy and is often seen as a positive thing since it means you are getting to the root of the issue. And when you think about it, it makes sense. We might spend many years numbing ourselves and using negative coping skills to dissociate as a form of protection from the PTSD symptoms. This is why we focus heavily on resourcing at the start of treatment and throughout. If you notice severe symptoms resurfacing frequently, it might mean that we need to pull back a little, slow down or explore the blocks coming up for you through additional methods.

How long does EMDR take? That will really depend on the severity and type of the trauma. Complex PTSD typically takes a bit longer to feel the effects as there are more memories we are working with and more instances. Each person’s experience may differ as well based on personal blocks, openness to trying something new and different, comfort level, etc. Patience and self compassion are key on this journey of working through and healing trauma.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR is an evidenced-based, somatic therapy that helps individuals reprocess traumatic memories and experiences in a safe environment.

Traumatic memories causing emotional distress and disturbance are stored in the brain in a more adaptive way and the negative thoughts about ourselves or others that often accompany trauma or PTSD often shift to positive or neutral thoughts allowing clients to become “unstuck” or able to move forward with life.

While it might seem like trauma is a purely emotional or thought based experience, trauma has a profound impact on our bodies. It can cause physical symptoms, unhealthy habits (self medicating), chronic health conditions and alter our brain chemistry. We can even have difficulty distinguishing between the past and the present (flashbacks).

As a holistic EMDR therapist I believe that it’s key to use a somatic therapy in addition to talk therapy to effectively treat trauma. Why? Because EMDR and other somatic therapies work with the nervous system to help you feel safe in your body again. By reprocessing traumatic memories with an EMDR therapist in a safe environment you are re-teaching your body to be in control again.