The brain is a lot like an Etch-A-Sketch board. Life creates drawings, scribbles, and other surface lines, filling up the empty space. Most of us are able to “shake away” the clutter through a good night’s sleep, an hour at the gym, a therapy session, or perhaps a mindless Netflix binge session. Yes, there may be a faint remnant leftover from yesterday’s high stress event, but generally speaking, our brains are resilient and can shake out the clutter so we can start fresh on a new day.
Every once in a while though, something so powerful happens that instead of those surface lines, the event creates a deep, dark imprint on our brain; something that a couple good shakes can’t erase. Those deep dark lines remain, marring and altering every new sketch of life experience from that moment on.
We see the intrusion of these deep, dark lines most often as a result of a traumatic event. Trauma is a pretty broad term, and it looks different for each of us. It may be a car accident, an abusive relationship, a racial aggression, a public humiliation or the loss of a loved one.
You see, our brains process traumatic events very differently from day-to-day occurrences. These events seep into our canvas and become “sealed in”. We try everything we can think of to shake off the stains but end up only exhausting ourselves. The bottom line is that sometimes we need outside help to lessen the stain of our past trauma.
Shakes do not treat trauma. EMDR Therapy treats trauma.
EMDR is the abbreviation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. It is the shake-of-all-shakes and it effectively changes the way our brain stores our trauma. It resets the metaphorical Etch-A-Sketch and lifts the dark lines that marred and altered each experience that came after the trauma.
EMDR is empirically-validated, and has been recognized for its efficacy by the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization to manage trauma, anxiety, PTSD, and more.
Who can benefit from EMDR therapy?
If you’ve been repeatedly thinking about or re-experiencing a past pain or trauma, EMDR may be for you. EMDR should only ever be implemented by a therapist with specific training in this area. If you need that shake-of-all-shakes that finally clears the board, reach out today.
EMDR is just one of many treatments in the Newport Beach Family toolbox and may not necessarily be your solution. Our clinicians will help you discover the right individual adult therapy plan for you, keeping the approach to your healing as unique as you are.
Newport Beach Family Development Center
At Newport Beach Family Development Center, we offer treatment that moves beyond symptom relief by establishing a resilient foundation. All treatments are personalized and fluid, meaning as your life changes, so will your approach to strengthening your unique connection to yourself. Contact Us today to schedule an intake session and learn if EMDR therapy is right for you.