Where can I do EMDR in Cape Town?
I am trained in EMDR (Richman EMDR Training, approved by EMDRIA and EMDR Europe, 2017). I offer EMDR in-person at my rooms in Wynberg, Cape Town, and online, as part of my integrative trauma work. Each session is 50 minutes and costs R2,000 for clients in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, or US$250 for clients outside Africa. To book a session, contact me.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
We are designed to deal with and recover from stress and trauma.
Just as our body has a natural system for healing physical wounds, it also has a natural system for healing emotional wounds.
That said, sometimes for various reasons our natural healing process gets interrupted resulting in long term stress and traumatization.
When we think of emotional pain we tend to assume that it will take a long time to heal.
"Time heals all things".
But with EMDR we can often heal from emotional trauma quite rapidly and spontaneously.
In fact not only do we heal, but we also are able to derive new meanings, beliefs as well strength from the difficult and traumatic events that have happened to us during our life.
“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”
Stress and trauma that haven’t been adequately processed can remain active in the nervous system, manifesting in a wide range of emotional, psychological and physical symptoms. These may include anxiety, panic attacks, fears, phobias, flashbacks, nightmares, dissociation, sleeplessness, irritability, hypervigilance, addictive behaviours, overwhelm, exhaustion, digestive difficulties, persistent pain, and other physical symptoms that are difficult to explain medically or that have been identified as potentially stress-related.
You may find yourself feeling intensely reactive to certain situations, relationships or memories, even when you know you are safe now.
Try as we may to “work through” and “talk about” our issues and trauma they often remain embedded in our system and talking about them just doesn't help. In fact sometimes if feels like talking about them makes it worse. So we start to avoid anything that reminds us of that event and/or we adjust our life to accommodate our symptoms.
Although EMDR requires history-taking and preparation, the processing itself does not rely on repeatedly talking about or recounting the traumatic experience in order for healing to occur. EMDR allows the body and mind to process trauma in a way that heals us from an emotional wound and then allowing us space to integrate and derive strength from our life experiences.
In it's healthy state the body and mind can heal from wounds, both physical and emotion. That said, if this process is interrupted or the system is not in balance, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering.
Once we remove what is blocking our natural process of recovery from traumatic events; natural healing resumes.
EMDR uses detailed protocols and procedures that activate a natural healing process.
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy, supported by scientific research, for symptoms of trauma and stress.
In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events are transformed and integrated on an emotional level. For instance a rape victim shifts from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, “I survived it and I am strong, I can cope with life”
Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.
Their wounds have not just resolved, they have transformed.
We are designed to deal with and recover from stress and trauma.