Therapists in Calgary, AB
If you're struggling with mental health, relationship, or addiction challenges, it can feel like your life is out of control and falling apart. It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed, scared, hopeless, helpless and alone. Or to feel numb. We all experience occasional difficulties in response to life’s challenges, but there are times when we feel particularly stuck or discouraged and we need some extra support. It can be difficult to share your most private experiences with someone new, especially if those experiences have caused you shame, and we have a deep respect for those who are willing to pursue counselling.
If you're struggling with mental health, relationship, or addiction challenges, it can feel like your life is out of control and falling apart. It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed, scared, hopeless, helpless and alone. Or to feel numb. We all experience occasional difficulties in response to life’s challenges, but there are times when we feel particularly stuck or discouraged and we need some extra support. It can be difficult to share your most private experiences with someone new, especially if those experiences have caused you shame, and we have a deep respect for those who are willing to pursue counselling.
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Nearby EMDR Counsellors Searches for Calgary
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Who is EMDR for?
EMDR was initially developed as a treatment for individuals with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for whom memories of a deeply distressing experience can be inadvertently triggered by random everyday events. The procedure has since been applied in the treatment of many other conditions. For example, it is used by some therapists to treat anxiety disorders including panic and phobias, depression, dissociative disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and some personality disorders. It is suitable for adolescents and adults.
Why do people need EMDR?
People need EMDR as a way to manage distressing memories that in some way hamper the ability to function in the present. The procedure is believed to target the way memories are stored in the brain. Evidence indicates that past disturbing experiences cause ongoing distress because they were not adequately processed, and when such memories are triggered in the present, they are accompanied by all the emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations as the initial experience.
What problems does EMDR treat?
First and foremost, EMDR is intended as a treatment for PTSD, to defuse distressing memories that intrude on and impair everyday functioning. It is also often used to help those who are subject to panic attacks, phobias, and other forms of anxiety. In addition, EMDR has been used to treat individuals with depression, eating disorders, and personality disorders.
What happens in EMDR therapy?
First the therapist takes an individual’s history, and then the therapist and client decide which distressing experience(s) will be the target(s) of the exercise, delivered via a side-to-side visual stimulus requiring lateral eye movements. The client will be asked to activate thoughts, feelings, and any body sensations related to the troubling experience. The eye movements are said to reduce the emotional charge of the memory, so that the experience can then be safely discussed with the therapist and digested, minimising its ability to trigger anxiety.