As with any large company, getting the details right is absolutely crucial. That's why the first 1-2 sessions of an EMDR treatment are meant simply to establish a history, discuss the problems and events that prompted a client to seek treatment, and discover the ways in which those problems manifest themselves in negative behaviors or symptoms. It is important to note that although many of a client's traumatic memories are touched upon, there is no need to go into specific details. An EMDR therapist only needs a general outline to build, and this helps prevent any unnecessary suffering.
The preparation phase is where the foundations for treatment are established and solidified. Here, greater trust is developed between the client and the therapist, and the therapist will share some specific techniques to properly manage emotional disturbances and fluctuations in the next few sessions. This trust is vital to the overall success of therapy. This stage is where the customer better understands the methodology involved and what they can expect during future sessions.
This way, they can accurately report their thoughts and emotions as treatment progresses. The desensitization phase focuses on negative emotions and sensations, and their measurements on the SUD score. The client will focus on a central memory of an objective event while the therapist guides them through a series of eye movements, physical touches, or quick sounds. In this process, they will also focus on interconnected memories and associations as needed, overcoming negative sentiments until the SUD score drops to an acceptable level.
Customers may start with central memory and move systematically through associates, to the point of going beyond their initial goals and expectations. Under the careful guidance of the therapist, they can achieve complete resolution. At this stage, the positive beliefs expressed in the Assessment are used to replace the original negative ones. As the effects of the desensitization phase help the client to process traumatic memories and regain a sense of power and control over their situation, these positive ideas are reinforced and used to overcome the past.
While it may not be possible to achieve a customer's highest confidence rating on the VOC scale of a positive belief (ie,. From here, self-confidence and healthier feelings can be developed and internalized. Each new session begins with a reassessment of customer needs. The phase 1 treatment plan is reviewed and used to guide not only that session, but also the overall goals of multiple sessions.
Over time, evaluations are expected to show a clear healing trend, in which the client will become increasingly independent and confident as therapy progresses. By the end of a full treatment, the client will have dealt with past trauma, gained tools to guide them through similar situations in the present, and have learned to navigate a future that seems more hopeful than ever. This is the middle point of therapy where you will work with your EMDR therapist to rationally assess the disruptive event that caused your trauma. As you do this, the therapist will work to help the brain change the way it associates trauma with its trigger.
Often, at this stage, patients are asked to focus on an image that invites a negative reaction, while simultaneously performing bilateral eye movements. This type of stimulation is usually performed in a series of sets that must be determined by the therapist, and each set lasts approximately 25 to 30 seconds. After completing each set of eye movements, you will be asked to take a deep breath and provide feedback on what you experienced during treatment. The intensity of your traumatic response will dictate the speed and duration of the next set of eye movement stimulation.
As this therapy is in the infantile stage compared to other basic psychotherapies, many more studies need to be done to understand the variety of areas in which EMDR can be used. . .
