S.A.F.E. EMDR - To Reduce and Eliminate PTSD

S.A.F.E EMDR

What is EMDR?

EMDR was developed by Francine Shapiro, and is founded on the belief that our somatic (body or physical beings) and emotions are constantly working together. When our brains can’t finish the processing the high emotional feelings that are associated to a negative experience (trauma, pain, betrayal, grief, loss, pain, illness etc) that experience is stuck and constantly is triggered when certain stimuli are present keeping us in a dysfunctional cycle that bears a weight on our personhood, our relationships, our system. EMDR uses DAS (dual attention stimulus) with a trained therapist to guide the client through eye movements, or taps in order to allow the brain to process memories, experiences and reduce the heightened sense of emotion to a functional process, rather than the dysfunctional. In a sense it allows us to retain the memory but see it through different colored lens.

In trauma specifically, our brains can “think” that the trauma is happening now, or reoccurring now with related or unrelated triggers that we encounter in our daily life. EMDR allows the brain to correct the painful memories associated with the trauma to lose the heightened response. You do not forget, or lose any part of the memory. What you do lose is the heightened sense of emotion and bodily reactions that take place in you. EMDR has been proven effective for reducing and eliminating the symptoms of PTSD. There have been over 24 randomized studies that prove the success of EMDR in the populations stated above. EMDR can be applied in online therapy session using video and in-person.

Palm and Cedar uses the SAFE approach with EMDR. S.A.F.E stands for Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR) This is the best theory and technique for keeping clients safe through their trauma recovery journey.

It is also approved for EMDRIA.