Dee Wright, LCSW
THERAPIST
Through EMDR Therapy and clinically proven counseling techniques, Dee guides clients into unlocking past traumas and ultimately rediscovering their true selves, redefining their current circumstances, and recreating their future lives. Below are some commonly reported benefits of counseling with Dee:
Practical, Expected Results:
- Emotional Results--increased control over unwanted, negative emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety,/panic attacks and depression.
- Physical Results--stomach pains, increased heart-rate, and other physical symptoms of anxiety and depression resolve as well as restless, interrupted sleep patterns are alleviated.
- Psychological Results--self perspective becomes more positive as evidenced by not only how one feels but also by decreased negative self-talk and negative, self-destructive behaviors in addition to a more positive, realistic outlook on circumstances, people, and relationships
WHAT'S EMDR THERAPY?
EMDR stands for “Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” and is a way of unlocking emotional memories within the brain and "re-configuring" how traumatic memories are stored, breaking the power of negative emotions . EMDR has been researched and practiced for the past 20 years and has become a highly effective method for helping people who have experienced any range of disturbing or traumatic events.
EMDR Therapy couples bilateral stimulation (eye-movements, tapping, or sound) with a person's memory of a traumatic event which allows the brain to essentially re-route emotional memories from the deep recesses of the limbic system to the cerebral cortex. Thus, the emotions associated with the traumatic event are no longer triggered by seemingly random, unknown circumstances, people, sounds, smells, etc. but rather actively recognized, processed, and controlled by the individual. Subsequently, thoughts and behaviors become based on the facts of a given situation as opposed to underlying negative emotions linked to a past event.
Why Choose EMDR Therapy?
To understand why EMDR Therapy is essential to fully processing and overcoming past traumas and their residual effects on our lives, one must first have a general understanding of how our brains work. The brain is constantly working whether we are aware of what is being processed or not. Most of the information the brain processes and stores is in the cerebral cortex and is consciously accessible.
However, many emotionally charged experiences are processed differently and are stored in the lymbic system--a structure pertinent to survival and automatic. Thus, much of our emotional memories especially traumatic ones are stored outside our own consciousness and affect how we interpret and respond to our current environment.
When the brain attempts to process traumatic experiences, it acts as if survival is threatened and normal processing channels are shut down so the brain can speed up processing and activate response quickly; our "fight, flight, or freeze" or survival mode takes charge and subdues our logical, conscious portions of our brain. Moreover, the memories our brain has processed and stored throughout our lives are "associative" which means the brain groups memories based on their similarity and creates neurological pathways for efficient access, creating "adaptive neuro-pathways" for positive memories and "maladaptive neuro-pathways" for negative memories. Thus, when any current circumstance triggers a negative memory, the brain activates other negative memories starting a downward spiral of not only thoughts but physical responses in our bodies which in turn direct our behaviors.
Therefore, the brain preserves and activates the emotions and bodily responses associated with trauma long after the actual event, and these negative memories are triggered, seemingly for no apparent reason, throughout a person's life, and when these feelings are triggered, the person has little to no conscious awareness of what is happening or why he/she is feeling or responding in a certain way. Thus, a person becomes essentially trapped by memories he/she has no conscious control over. EMDR refers to this unfortunate paradigm as "the past that lives in the present" and was created and is effectively practiced to unlock the past so people can take charge of the present.
Without EMDR Therapy, a person can live his/her entire life without resolving the past which results in a multitude of negative emotions and behaviors that adversely affect not only one's own well-being but also sabotages relationships, goals, and dreams, creating a cycle of negativity and unrest. While discussing experiences through common forms of counseling helps, it is not always enough to fully resolve past traumas because the emotions and triggers are stored outside one's consciousness. Thus, one may attempt to change how he/she thinks or acts only to be met with short-term success followed by frustration, relapses, and ultimately disappointment and guilt. Moreover, while medications will help a person cope and manage symptoms, the source of the problem is left uncovered, unresolved and manifests in all facets of one's life. Some may attempt to "self-medicate" to mask or numb recurrent effects of past trauma. Such attempts may seem to help but they actually intensify the cycle of negative memories and unwanted, uncontrolled thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. EMDR Therapy, however, allows you to unlock maladaptive neuro-pathways and process traumas so that these hurtful past events stop controlling your present and limiting your future.