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Neurofeedback is a wonderful technology that accelerates healing in the brain. There are about 100 symptoms Neurofeedback improves in 20 to 30 sessions on average. Neurofeedback is simply providing the brain a reflection of its own activity by capturing brain information, incorporating it into sound and visual stimulation, and showing it to the brain. As you listen to the music and watch the screen, your brain activity information is incorporated into the sound and visuals. Your brain is then able to recognize its own activity and make corrections. We have hundreds of people who have had significant improvements in anxiety, depression, panic attacks, sleep disorders, attention deficit issues and it even significantly improves digestion. Neurofeedback is truly a gift to the sometimes challenging world we live in.

EMDR is an eight-step process. We will start by listing the most profound experiences in your life that you feel have negatively shaped your belief system, and then we will begin to reprocess according to the 8-step protocol. When we begin to target a memory, I will ask you “On a scale from 0 – 10, how disturbing is that memory?” Let’s say the memory is a 10. We will then reprocess the memory until you report that the emotional/physical disturbance is at a zero when you bring the memory to mind. Many clients call the process the “magic eraser” because they are astounded that these once extremely disturbing memories no longer cause such emotional distress. It is impossible to list all of the benefits of reconstructing your belief system. Believing truth and positive cognitions as opposed to lies and negative cognitions can produce changes that clients never thought possible. It is important to note that the process of EMDR can be very destabilizing while going through it, and is not without difficulty. A strong support system is necessary as a client is going through the process. However, if a client is willing to make therapy a #1 priority and is really ready to confront the events in their life that shaped them in a negative way, EMDR can be one of the most rapid healing processes available.

EMDR therapy combines different elements to maximize treatment effects. EMDR therapy involves attention to three time periods: the past, present, and future. Focus is given to past disturbing memories and related events. Also, it is given to current situations that cause distress, and to developing the skills and attitudes needed for positive future actions. With EMDR therapy, these items are addressed using the eight phases of EMDR Phase 1 The first phase is a history-taking session(s). The therapist assesses the client’s readiness and develops a treatment plan. Client and therapist identify possible targets for EMDR processing. These include distressing memories and current situations that cause emotional distress. Other targets may include related incidents in the past. Emphasis is placed on the development of specific skills and behaviors that will be needed by the client in future situations. Initial EMDR processing may be directed to childhood events rather than to adult onset stressors or the identified critical incident if the client had a problematic childhood. Clients generally gain insight on their situations, the emotional distress resolves and they start to change their behaviors. The length of treatment depends upon the number of traumas and the age of PTSD onset. Generally, those with single event adult onset trauma can be successfully treated in under 5 hours. Multiple trauma victims may require a longer treatment time. Phase 2 During the second phase of treatment, the therapist ensures that the client has several different ways of handling emotional distress. The therapist may teach the client a variety of imagery and stress reduction techniques the client can use during and between sessions. A goal of EMDR therapy is to produce rapid and effective change while the client maintains equilibrium during and between sessions. Phase 3–6 In phases three to six, a target is identified and processed using EMDR therapy procedures. These involve the client identifying three things: 1. The vivid visual image related to the memory 2. A negative belief about self 3. Related emotions and body sensations. In addition, the client identifies a positive belief. The therapist helps the client rate the positive belief as well as the intensity of the negative emotions. After this, the client is instructed to focus on the image, negative thought, and body sensations while simultaneously engaging in EMDR processing using sets of bilateral stimulation ( learn more about bi-lateral stimulation here ). These sets may include eye movements, taps, or tones. The type and length of these sets is different for each client. At this point, the EMDR client is instructed to just notice whatever spontaneously happens. After each set of stimulation, the clinician instructs the client to let his/her mind go blank and to notice whatever thought, feeling, image, memory, or sensation comes to mind. Depending upon the client’s report, the clinician will choose the next focus of attention. These repeated sets with directed focused attention occur numerous times throughout the session. If the client becomes distressed or has difficulty in progressing, the therapist follows established procedures to help the client get back on track. When the client reports no distress related to the targeted memory, (s)he is asked to think of the preferred positive belief that was identified at the beginning of the session. At this time, the client may adjust the positive belief if necessary, and then focus on it during the next set of distressing events. Phase 7 In phase seven, closure, the therapist asks the client to keep a log during the week. The log should document any related material that may arise. It serves to remind the client of the self-calming activities that were mastered in phase two. Phase 8 The next session begins with phase eight. Phase eight consists of examining the progress made thus far. The EMDR treatment processes all related historical events, current incidents that elicit distress, and future events that will require different responses

Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used during one part of the session. After the clinician has determined which memory to target first, she asks the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and then stimulates the right and left brain lobes rapidly. This stimulation can be administered by vibrating tappers in the palms of each hand, headphones with left and right sound pulses, a light bar with a left/right moving light, a therapists’ hands moving back and fourth while the client follows with his eyes, or a combination of these. As this happens, for reasons believed by a Harvard researcher to be connected with the biological mechanisms involved in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, internal associations arise and the clients begin to process the memory and disturbing feelings. In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level. For instance, a rape victim shifts from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, “I survived it, and I am strong.” Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes. The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them. The wounds they suffered during trauma have not just closed, they have transformed. As a natural outcome of the EMDR therapeutic process, the clients’ thoughts, feelings and behavior are all robust indicators of emotional health and resolution—all without speaking in detail or doing homework used in other therapies.

Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes. Some of the studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions . Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions. In another study, 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions. There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, you can easily see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the “everyday” memories that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and all the myriad problems that bring them in for therapy. Over 100,000 clinicians throughout the world use the therapy. Millions of people have been treated successfully over the past 25 years

Beginning in third grade, Jane was bullied at school on a daily basis. In those humiliating moments, Jane translated that bullying into a false belief system about herself that “I am not good enough” and “I’m worthless.” Eventually she had enough experiences with people who treated her like she was worthless to really solidified her poor self-worth belief system. It became incorporated into her deep-rooted insecurities and she felt a  generalized sense of ‘ not being good enough ‘ in many situations throughout life. She began gravitating toward individuals who treated her like she was less than them, and who often belittled her. She tolerated it because she agreed with the lie that she is worthless. Jane rarely felt comfortable in relationships with uplifting people because she couldn’t really understand why anyone would treat her with kindness and worth. Their behaviors toward her were in opposition to her beliefs about herself and it caused her a low level of anxiety. Jane oddly felt most comfortable with individuals who pressed into her worthless feelings and beliefs until… Jane began working with an EMDR therapist and went back to those profound experiences of being bullied in childhood where the false beliefs were planted. Jane held a tactile stimulating paddle in each hand while thinking back to the events. This kept both the left and right sides of her brain engaged, much like the dream state of REM sleep. The therapist instructed Jane to try as hard as she could to believe that she is worthless. As the paddles vibrated, Jane became more and more aware of all the people throughout her life who had treated her the same and she began to cry. Jane checked in with the therapist and insisted, “No, I really am worthless. Everyone I have ever known has treated me like this.” The therapist encouraged Jane to keep going and to keep trying to believe that she is worthless. Eventually, in between processing, Jane began to realize that the bullies in school had major issues in adulthood as well. She began to tell the therapist, “I think they must have been experiencing bad things at home.” The therapist agreed and said, “So, it may not have been because you are worthless?” Yes! Jane exclaimed. and she became angry. “I did not deserve that. It didn’t have anything to do with me. I was just an easy target!” As Jane continued to process the experiences, she grew more and more aware that the belief system was wrong, and quickly began to tell a different story. “I deserve love and kindness, and I don’t have to stay in relationships with people who bully me.” In just a few sessions, Jane was able to realize that she is not worthless and eventually began gravitating toward healthy people. She could no longer tolerate individuals in her life who constantly put her down and she began to stand up for herself. She started choosing people who were kind and loving toward her, and she was no longer blaming herself for the actions of people who weren’t! Jane’s life dramatically changed and so can yours! EMDR is an amplified, brain-based approach that rapidly and radically stabilizes emotionally-destabilized individuals. By stimulating the left and right lobes of the brain rapidly, EMDR replicates the body’s own God-given design for reprocessing and desensitizing memories (much like brain’s) activity during REM sleep. As a result, negative belief systems get re-structured with positive beliefs about self and others. When an experience or relationship is profoundly disturbing enough to get us to believe a lie about ourselves and/or others, these negative beliefs systems can dramatically impact our behaviors going forward and ultimately lead to emotional distress and insecurities throughout life. Sometimes when someone abandons us, especially in childhood, we can internalize the belief, “I’m worthless” and live a life acting as if we are worthless. These beliefs can result in choosing individuals who treat us according to that belief of worthlessness and can promote ongoing complex traumas and abuse. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy approach designed for working with distressing memories and trauma. EMDR is recommended for individuals who: Are in abusive relationships and struggle to break free Have phobias Have relationship trauma Have low self-esteem Suffer with anxiety and depression Have witnessed traumatic events War or combat trauma Have emotional destabilization of any kind Are victims of narcissistic abuse EMDR is an eight-step process. First we list the most profound experiences in your life that you feel have negatively shaped your belief system, and then we will begin to reprocess according to the 8-step protocol. When we begin to target a memory, I will ask you “On a scale from 0 – 10, how disturbing is that memory?” Let’s say the memory is a 10. We will then reprocess the memory until you report that the emotional/physical disturbance is at a zero when you bring the memory to mind. Many clients call the process the “magic eraser” because they are astounded that these once extremely disturbing memories no longer cause such emotional distress. It is impossible to list all of the benefits of reconstructing your belief system. Believing truth and positive cognitions as opposed to lies and negative cognitions can produce changes that clients never thought possible. It is important to note that the process of EMDR can be very destabilizing while going through it, and is not without difficulty. A strong support system is necessary as a client is going through the process. However, if a client is willing to make therapy a #1 priority and is really ready to confront the events in their life that shaped them in a negative way, EMDR can be one of the most rapid healing processes available.