EMDR Therapy Online – How is it done?

When the pandemic hit, many people began to work with their therapists online. As the pandemic unfolded and more and more therapists began using EMDR therapy online, it became clear that this type of psychotherapy was just as effective virtually as it was in-person.

Scientific research how shown over and over the effectiveness of virtual or EMDR therapy online.

How does EMDR therapy online work?

If you know anything about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), you know that it requires some sort of bilateral stimulation. When EMDR was first developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, an EMDR therapist would have clients follow the movement of their fingers in a back and forth pattern close to the client’s face. However, this is not the only way to achieve bilateral stimulation. The client can tap their shoulders or knees in a rhythmic sequence or listen to alternating sounds from a set of headphones. In an EMDR online therapy session, a client watches a ball move horizontally across the screen or if wearing headphones, they will hear a tone in each ear that alternates left-right-left-right.

Thanks to platforms like remotEMDR and zoom, a therapist and client can have face-to-face sessions with visual and auditory bilateral stimulation.

Do You Need Help Overcoming Trauma?

EMDR is a highly effective tool for helping individuals heal from trauma. Sometimes a memory will get “stuck” in the brain after a traumatic event. The brain’s natural way of processing information and allowing you to move forward is interrupted, and the brain is unable to properly store and process a traumatic memory. Instead, the brain tries to catalogue memories as images, sensations, and sounds.

Do you experience intense emotions that are out of proportion to the situation?

If you struggle with symptoms of trauma or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), you know how easily you can be triggered by ordinary day to day events, and suddenly your past becomes you present. When information is not processed properly, it can lead to faulty negative beliefs. These negative beliefs (like I am bad, or it was my fault) begin to fuel distressing symptoms like anxiety or depression.

EMDR Therapy Online

EMDR therapy and EMDR therapy online help the brain effectively process information by using bilateral stimulation. Instead of past memories remaining a jumble of raw emotions, your brain is able to process them.  Past traumatic memories simply become memories without the overwhelming emotions, sensations, and negative beliefs.

Even though many people have returned to in-person therapy sessions again,  virtual or EMDR therapy online is extremely popular. Many choose it due to having the comfort and safety of EMDR therapy at home.

Hi, my name is Lisabeth and I help women just like you who have tried traditional talk therapy only to discover it made you feel worse. If you are ready to let go of the debilitating nightmares, the constant negative self-talk, or the intrusive thoughts, contact me for a free 15-minute consultation. Let’s talk about how EMDR therapy could be the way to putting your past behind you so you can live in the present.