EMDR Therapy
in Newport Beach, CA
EMDR: A Safe And Gentle Way To Address Core Wounds
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—commonly known as EMDR—is a highly effective therapy that helps clients process stored trauma so they can live with more peace and clarity.
EMDR is a gentle and relatively nonverbal approach despite its rather clinical name, and unlike many other forms of talk therapy, it taps into the brain’s natural mechanisms for healing. For many people who’ve spent years in treatment trying to manage stress, anxiety, relational issues, and low self-esteem, EMDR is the first intervention that has truly offered them long-term relief.
If you’re a young adult or parent of a teen who’s struggling with big changes and transitions, EMDR may be the key to a happier, healthier existence.
Questions About EMDR Therapy? Contact Us
How Does EMDR Work?
EMDR is not usually a client’s first stop in therapy. Typically, they’ve already been in counseling to address ongoing issues, only to find that they need to go deeper than conventional talk therapy.
After all, trauma is stored in the body, and as a “bottom-up” (as opposed to “top-down”) therapeutic approach, EMDR addresses the root of each symptom and not just the symptoms themselves. Not only does this allow clients to experience increased mental and emotional resilience—it facilitates calm within the body, reducing physical discomfort.
Taking an 8-phase treatment approach, EMDR maintains a particularly strong emphasis on the reprocessing phase. A therapist using EMDR will initiate this process by gathering a client’s history, goals for therapy, and a sense of their existing coping skills. It’s important to move at a pace that feels safe and comfortable, so grounding techniques and other body-based skills can be taught to facilitate a “calm place” and reduce the potential for emotional flooding before moving on to each new phase.
Bilateral Stimulation Is The Essential Tool Of EMDR
Once the client is ready for reprocessing, bilateral stimulation is implemented. This involves using handheld pulsers to stimulate both sides of the brain. As the client focuses on a troubling memory or sensation simultaneously alongside the implementation of bilateral stimulation, they will notice their distress decrease in real-time. The reprocessing phase is repeated until the client reports little to no adverse reaction when thinking about a particular memory, belief, feeling, or event.
This therapy does not erase a memory—it just neutralizes it in a way that won’t trigger an intense, uncomfortable, or disproportionate stress response. Through this process, clients develop a more realistic understanding of how their past has positively and negatively impacted them. By reprogramming the way traumatic memories are stored, they can install more updated and positive beliefs about themselves in a way that ultimately enhances their lives and relationships.
EMDR Through Care Concepts Therapy
As a practice specializing in effective, evidence-based therapy for young adults and teens, we work with a lot of individuals who feel stuck and overwhelmed in their lives. Some of the common issues we see in the clients we work with are:
Symptoms of anxiety and depression
Relational issues and trouble connecting with others
Challenges with basic functioning (including ADHD)
Trauma and aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a death, divorce, assault, bullying, and/or other adverse experience from childhood
We find that our clients respond very positively to the highly structured therapeutic approach of EMDR, allowing them to experience tangible progress with each reprocessing session. EMDR quite literally changes the way that our brains understand past events, paving the way for a more balanced and hopeful future.
A Treatment Approach We Swear By In Both Our Personal & Professional Lives
All of our therapists are trained in EMDR and know that this approach works! Some of our clinicians have personally utilized this therapy in their own lives, with a few of us becoming inspired to receive training in EMDR after witnessing its effectiveness firsthand.
While processing trauma is no doubt intense at times, our therapists are here to help you or your child every step of the way. We are confident that with every session, the past will feel less heavy and intimidating. And eventually, you can get to a place where you don’t feel so triggered all the time. Reaching out to get started is usually the hardest part, so let us take it from here as we begin the healing journey together.
A Brighter, More Healed Future Starts Here
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the most powerful tools we use at Care Concepts Therapy, where treatment is centered around our young adult and teen clients.
For more information about how we implement EMDR into counseling for teens, visit the FAQ section of our Therapy for Teens page or contact us to schedule a free consultation. We also suggest checking out Miley Cyrus’s interview about how EMDR saved her life.
Recent Posts
Building Internal and External Safety With EMDR
EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a popular therapy model that is most commonly used to treat PTSD. It can also be extremely effective in supporting teens and young adults with anxiety, depression and other mental health struggles.
What Can EMDR Therapy Be Used For?
Over recent years, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has become widely recognized in the therapy realm as an effective approach to treating a variety of mental health conditions.