EMDR
EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, is a modality that uses bilateral stimulation to calm the nervous system while a person processes a memory, a disturbing thought, or a disturbing emotion. Bilateral stimulation, which stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain, can be tactile (holding a vibrating device in each hand), auditory, or visual in nature. Similar to the way REM sleep helps our brains process learning and life events, EMDR allows a client to more calmly process traumatic events than in talk therapy alone. Unlike with REM sleep, during EMDR a client is guided to stop and start in intervals, which allows the person to process difficult moments at a comfortable pace and with therapeutic intervention as needed. This can lead more complete, adaptive processing of trauma.
I work primarily from an EMDR framework, which posits that many of our present difficulties come from unprocessed past events and connected beliefs about self. This framework explores one’s thoughts, emotions, and body sensations in a comprehensive way.
EFT
Emotionally Focused Therapy explores how our desire for connection and secure attachment is at the root of our experiences with others. Corrective emotional experiences can change a person’s way of relating to themselves and to their partner. By recognizing the deep emotional meaning that each individual makes of their various experiences, and particularly within their intimate relationships, couples can learn to understand themselves and each other more fully. Through corrective emotional experiences in the therapy room, clients can begin to feel differently in their relationships - sometimes in ways they never thought possible!
Couples often battle with content (who’s right? who’s wrong?) when the emotions underlying the specific content are what fuels the tension. By exploring relational cycles and experimenting with new behaviors, couples can experience growth and change. EFT encourages safe communication, even when discussing tense subject matters, and therapist involvement helps make this possible. EFT is my primary modality when working with couples.