What to Expect for the Length of Treatment in EMDR Therapy
“How long does it take?” Is one of the most frequently asked questions when individuals inquire about EMDR Therapy. This video helps to address that question and give more information about the EMDR Process.
It Depends
The short answer to this question is roughly, "I really don't know."
Everyone's experience with EMDR Therapy is wonderfully unique and different. The length of treatment varies from person to person, especially since there are so many different factors that decide the length of treatment.
For a single incident trauma...
This means there's one isolated incident that you've experienced, such as a car accident or sexual assault, treatment can be between 8 to 12 sessions (each session being 90 minutes).
That being said, I rarely encounter individuals who have only have ONE terrible thing happen to them in their lives. More often than not, a stressful experience can trigger other earlier life experiences that had a lasting effect on us, but it wasn't in our conscious mind.
For Complex/Developmental Trauma...
In cases of more complex trauma, the process can take longer, and for good reason.
Developmental Trauma includes persistent and pervasive experiences from childhood, including emotional abuse and emotional neglect, to name just a few. This can often cause symptoms of dissociation, which is why it's so important to understand the structural dissociation model.
In these cases, it's so very important to go slowly with the EMDR process. I always say (a lot of my consultees hear me saying this all the time)
don't skimp on the resourcing and the history taking!
These early stages of EMDR are so important to make sure you get a comprehensive history of a clients background and understand how it's impacting the client's current level of functioning. This is the basis of the AIP Model (Adaptive Information Processing).
There's so much more on dissociation and trauma that I will explain in a future post about...
As a client, you want to be sure to ask questions about the EMDR process and address any concerns you may have about proceeding. It's important for you, as the client, to understand that it's not q "quick fix" therapy, especially in cases of complex trauma. While it is a highly effective treatment method, it's so important to go slower so you can experience the real benefit of how effective it really is.
You don't have to be moving your eyes to be doing EMDR!
Phase 4 of EMDR is known as the Desensitization/Reprocessing Phase. This is the part of EMDR Therapy were you move your eyes. Keep in mind that EMDR is an 8 phase therapy, and phase 4 is only one part of that.
If we rush into phase 4, it can actually make things worse. As the therapist, if you talk about something in detail or jump into phase 4 without the right resourcing in place,
you can either re-traumatize a client, or, if they have dissociation or some dissociative phobia, you may actually grow the phobia and make it worse.
This is why it's really important to know the full history of your clients and lay very strong ground work of resourcing and stabilization. EMDR is meant to be effective,
but it's only effective when it's done when a client can maintain dual awareness.
This means the ability to have one foot in the [therapy] room and one foot in a memory.
As a client, you really want to be able to conceptualize,”Okay, I'm aware of my presence in the therapists office, but I also I can think about the memory while staying grounded."
Dual awareness is when a client is able to stay in the window of Tolerance.
This is the ability to talk about something, while feeling the emotions and sensations connected to the experience, while staying grounded and observant to the process.
So How Long Does it Take?
Short answer is: we don't know. The length of treatment varies for each client. A single incident trauma can be as little as eight to twelve (90 minute) sessions. For complex and developmental trauma, the process is longer and depends on so many factors (previous experiences in therapy, level of resiliency, symptoms of dissociation, etc.)
The bottom line is, slower is always better. It not good to rush anything, especially when it comes to mental health.
About the Author
Dana Carretta-Stein is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and founder of Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, and Carretta Consulting in Scarsdale, NY. She specializes in clinical psychotherapy to treat children, adolescents and adults with anxiety, behavior and trauma difficulties.
She is a certified EMDR therapist and EMDR Approved Consultant. Dana is also a business coach for wellness practitioners who are looking to build and grow their private practice.
For more information, visit dana.carretta.com
#EMDRTherapy #VirtualEMDR #EMDR #Telehealth #mentalhealth #Counseling #MentalHealthCounseling #TraumaTherapy #Anxiety #PTSD #Wellness #Scarsdale #Eastchester #Westchester #WestchesterTherapists
Comments