~Do you struggle with intense nightmares?
~Do you have times of feeling fearful or jittery that are not directly related to present circumstances ?
~ Are their moments in your life you just feel stuck and cannot get traction to move forward?
~Do you feel overwhelmed by grief and struggle to get life back to normal?
If so, E.M.D.R. trauma counseling may be exactly what you need to move forward with your life and experience freedom and joy through healing.
What Is E.M.D.R. Counseling?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy is a treatment method aimed to resolve emotional difficulties caused by disturbing or frightening life experiences. It was originally founded by psychologist Francine Shapiro in 1989 and has only grown with the help of therapists and researchers across the globe. EMDR is considered a recommended treatment of choice by several international mental health organizations for healing PTSD and has been expanded to work with clients experiencing addiction, depression, chronic pain, grief, phobias and performance anxiety.
EMDR Therapy helps facilitated the activation of the brain’s inherent system to process and integrate the information. EMDR Therapy will not erase the memory; rather a person will be able to remember the story without all the emotional charge that was distressing before treatment. EMDR not only changes the relationship to the memory, it also turns maladaptive information into an adaptive, healthy, and useful resolution.
For more information, go to https://www.emdria.org
My Approach
As an EMDR trained therapist, I tend to emphasize safety and compassion while working with my clients who are processing past trauma or life disturbing events. I am non-judgmental, gentle and curious when it comes to areas in my client’s life in which they feel stuck and I stay engaged throughout the entire process. I teach clients mindfulness, breathing, and coping skills to help them stay grounded while processing difficult thoughts and memories. I also emphasize staying in touch with the body and physical sensations where a client may be holding some of the disturbing memory.
What To Expect
EMDR is an eight phase model designed to help clients safely process. You can expect that I start EMDR therapy with a thorough history and work on creating trust and safety in our therapeutic relationship. I work on building up my client’s internal and external resources through mindfulness, grounding, breathing, and coping skills so that they have support while processing difficult information. Once a client feels ready, I start identifying specific targets and assessing connections between memories. Stage 4, is when I start to utilize the dual attention stimulation such as eye movement, tactile stimulation, and/or audio to help a client reprocess life disturbing or traumatic memories. I do not start stage 4 reprocessing unless a client feels safe and comfortable. It is important to note that it is your own brain that does the healing and that you are the one in control at all times.
If you are interested or have more questions, please contact me at (720) 606-3202 or at joyful.living.counseling@gmail.com
Heather Young, M.A., L.P.C. is licensed therapist who is conveniently located for clients from Greenwood Village, Denver Tech Center, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Denver, and Englewood.