Helping you feel calmer, stronger, more free.
EMDR Therapy... you may have heard about it. A lot has been written about it. You may be curious what it is, and whether it can help you. Because it’s a little different from conventional talk therapy, it’s natural to want to know more.
First what is EMDR? It’s a form of therapy that allows you to heal from emotional distress, and other symptoms resulting from anything traumatic or disturbing that’s happened to you. In other words, not only “trauma,” but adverse experiences in general.
Got questions about emdr? You’ve got options!
Scroll down for the Top 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW;
check out the faq below;
click on the blog page for “WHAT IS EMDR THERAPY: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EMDR.”
Got EVEN MORE?
feel free to ask!
andrew@andrewkushnick.com.
Top 5 Things You Need To Know:
1. Loads of evidence of its effectiveness. The American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have all deemed EMDR therapy to be effective. Check out the many meta-analyses and randomized clinical trials here. Did you know that brain scans have shown visible changes in the brain after several sessions? Pretty cool!
2. It can help with way more than you think. You might be thinking, “I haven’t had trauma.” But it’s not just about catastrophes, accidents or physical abuse. When you feel humiliated at work or in school... when there’s been a long history of arguing in your relationship... when you don’t get your emotional needs met… when a parent repeatedly criticizes you as a child or adolescent, the brain experiences these things as traumatic. This can impact how you view yourself, your life, the world, etc. You might think of EMDR therapy as a psychological cleanse.
3. You don’t have to go into detail about disturbing memories. The way it works, you’re queueing up a memory, quietly holding it in mind as a starting place. Your brain then does the healing, and unlike some other forms of therapy EMDR doesn’t require you to talk all about what happened. You might be able to skip the most painful areas. That’s a relief to hear, right?
Hey San Francisco: I’m now a Certified EMDR Therapist!
This is a higher level of training and experience, beyond the basic training for therapists.
I was trained in EMDR Therapy and Attachment-Focused EMDR Therapy by the Parnell Institute in San Francisco.
This was followed by hours of extensive consultation with certified E.M.D.R. consultants, and further specialized trainings.
In January 2020, I was then certified by EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association.
4. It’s all about helping you feel stronger. EMDR therapy is not only about healing past trauma; it also includes “resourcing.” Helping you access qualities that you want more of. Want to feel more confident at work? Want to feel less anxious before a major presentation? Want to feel better about yourself and your life? You can build and reinforce neural pathways in the brain that provide access to it. Sounds weird, I know.
5. Results may happen more quickly than in conventional talk therapy. I’m not here to make any magical claims. But because EMDR therapy is believed to unfreeze your brain’s ability to process memories effectively, for some clients, change comes more quickly than just talking forever about it. My EMDR therapy clients and I continue to be amazed by this, again and again, as we see it work.
Testimonials
“I’ve been seeing Andrew for the past 7 months or so for EMDR treatment. I love Andrew’s excitement and expertise in EMDR therapy, it not only helped me trust him in the very beginning but made me excited for my future sessions (definitely a first for me). . . I’m so happy with the improvements I’ve made thanks to Andrew’s help, patience, kindness, and expertise. ”
“As someone who for a long time had not considered therapy, I was curious to learn more about EMDR treatment and its relatively quick impact. I feel I grew significantly over the 3 months i saw [Andrew].”
FAQ
You must have more questions about EMDR therapy… am I right? Check out my blog post, “What Is EMDR Therapy: Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR,” which describes what it can help with, the neuroscience behind it, and how it works. But because EMDR Therapy is so new to many of us, I’ve added some more FAQ. Here goes:
+ What does it mean that you're certified in EMDR?
In order to be certified by EMDRIA, an EMDR therapist needs to have completed over 50 hours of EMDR therapy with at least 25 clients, at least 20 hours of consultation, at least 12 hours of continuing education related to EMDR therapy, and other requirements. I have been certified for several years and receive ongoing consultation and training.
+ How long does EMDR take to help me?
Like most forms of therapy EMDR varies by client, as to how quickly the trauma will heal. This may depend on what you’re looking to work on, your life circumstances, the extent of past trauma, and your current psychological resources.
+ What makes EMDR different from just talking through my trauma?
Unlike other forms of therapy EMDR operates on a physiological level. We’re technically rewriting neural pathways, to lessen the effects of disturbing or upsetting things from your life. Many clients report that after minimal results from conventional talk therapy EMDR is the first thing to help them feel better.
+ Can EMDR be used in couples therapy?
Given that conflict within a relationship may be experienced as psychological trauma, and that past trauma often influences relationship dynamics, it may help to supplement couples therapy with EMDR therapy.
+ Is EMDR your main specialty?
After advanced training and consultation, and after utilizing it extensively with clients, I consider EMDR therapy to be one of a few specialties / areas that pique my clinical interest and continue to define my practice in San Francisco.
+ What's important in choosing who I work with? There are so many of you.
Yup! There are plenty of quality EMDR therapists in San Francisco. But because the goal is to heal trauma, you'll want to feel comfortable sitting with them. As with any therapy, you'll want to sense that they get you. Besides being trained and experienced in EMDR therapy, they should receive ongoing clinical consultation, to keep skills fresh and benefit from the expertise of others.
+ This sounds promising. How do we get started?
Email me at andrew@andrewkushnick.com, or call my direct line at 415-496-5321. We’ll do a complimentary 15-minute consultation phone call, to discuss whether you might benefit from EMDR Therapy, as well as next steps. I offer EMDR Therapy and Attachment-Focused EMDR Therapy in San Francisco.
