An Effective Trauma Treatment
Since its creation in the late 1980s, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) has been considerably successful in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other types of trauma, depression and anxiety. The goal of this popular treatment is to help patients build new mental associations with their traumatic experiences, allowing them to better manage their difficult symptoms.
When we experience trauma, the most common and natural response is to try and suppress the memories and act as though they never happened. This is an ineffective method of coping and it prevents us from emotionally healing. The addiction therapists at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches use EMDR to allow patients to face these traumatic events and move on from them.
How Does EMDR Work?
Through a combination of eye movement therapy and psychotherapy, our therapists work with patients in identifying major traumatic events in their lives which potentially led to substance abuse. The patient is asked to focus on a negative image related to a traumatic event, and through eye movements (following the therapist\’s fingers back and forth), the patient is able to process painful memories and reduce their distressful emotional reactions over the course of multiple sessions.
Conquer Your Trauma and Beat Addiction
When trauma takes hold of your mind, it can completely dominate your thoughts and lead you to depression, insomnia and many other mental conditions. When patients don\’t know how to handle these issues, they often turn to drugs and alcohol for self-medication. At Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, we believe that once the trauma has been relieved, the resulting issues can be more effectively treated.
