EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was initially developed in 1987 for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing model. EMDR is an individual therapy typically delivered one to two times per week for a total of 6-12 sessions, although some people benefit from extended sessions. The Adaptive Information Processing model considers symptoms of PTSD and other disorders to result from past disturbing experiences that continue to cause distress because the memory was not adequately processed. These unprocessed memories are understood to contain the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and physical sensations that occurred at the time of the event. When the memories are triggered these stored disturbing elements are experienced and cause the symptoms of PTSD and/or other disorders.  

Unlike other treatments that focus on directly altering the emotions, thoughts and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory, and is intended to change the way that the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms. During EMDR therapy, clinical observations suggest that an accelerated learning process is stimulated by EMDR’s standardized procedures, which incorporate the use of eye movements and other forms of rhythmic left-right (bilateral) stimulation. While clients briefly focus on the trauma memory and simultaneously experience bilateral stimulation (BLS), the vividness and emotion of the memory are reduced.

Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing (SE) aims to resolve symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in our bodies and nervous systems. Trauma, from an SE lens, is focused on how it shows up in the nervous system and how that dysregulation impacts life. When we are stuck in patterns of fight, flight, or freeze, SE helps us release, recover, and become more resilient. It is a body-oriented therapeutic model applied in multiple professions and professional settings for healing trauma and other stress disorders from a nervous system lens within a practitioner’s scope of practice. It is based on a multidisciplinary intersection of physiology, psychology, ethology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics and has been clinically applied for more than four decades.

The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming patterns that get stuck and impact people’s daily lives. It can be used to support the resolution of PTSD and developmental attachment trauma. It offers a framework to assess where a person is “stuck” in the fight, flight, or freeze responses and provides clinical tools to resolve these fixated physiological states. SE provides effective skills appropriate to a variety of healing professions including mental health, medicine, physical and occupational therapies, bodywork, addiction treatment, first response, education, and others. These SE skills support healing professionals holistically apply their work in supporting individuals and groups.

Internal Family Systems:

IFS theory states that it is nature of the mind to be subdivided into an indeterminate number of subpersonalities or parts. From this lens, everyone has a Self, and the Self can and should lead the individual's internal system. Each part in a system has a positive intention and we can work to uncover where these intentions show up and how we can support each part. There are no "bad" parts, and the goal of therapy is not to eliminate parts but instead to help integrate these parts into a functional system. As we develop, our parts develop and form a complex system of interactions among themselves; therefore, systems theory can be applied to the internal system. When the system is reorganized, parts can change and integrate.

Parts are aspects of our personality that interact internally in sequences and styles that are similar to the ways in which people interact. Parts may be experienced in any number of ways- thoughts, feelings, sensations, images, and more. All parts want something positive for the individual and will use a variety of strategies to gain influence within the internal system. One important goal in IFS is to become “Self lead”. Individuals will notice more about their “Self part” and how to allow this part to be more secure, self-assured, relaxed, and able to listen and respond to feedback.