EMDR Extended Session
Any session longer than a traditional therapeutic hour is considered an extended session. It can be a way to accelerate treatment outcomes and provide a “burst” of work to feel better faster. Many clients who benefit from extended session are looking to address a specific goal and may have limited availability for weekly treatment sessions.
EMDR is an evidence-based treatment that addresses how the brain and body store stress and pain. One of the barriers to effective EMDR is the limits of the 50 minute therapeutic hour. Sometimes over half the session passes while you get settled in, provide updates about the week, and prepare for EMDR processing.
If you have a high deductible or don’t plan on using insurance, extended session is a cost-effective and efficient way to heal while avoiding long-term weekly sessions. It can be available as an add-on to your work with another provider or a response to a particularly stressful event or season of life.
What are EMDR sessions like?
Structured and guided
Your brain drives the healing process
You don’t have to have a perfect memory to do it
8 phases
History taking and goal setting
Grounding, resource building, and preparation
Target ( a particular memory or event) assessment
Desensitization with bilateral stimulation (ex: eye movements)
Install positive association or belief
Body scan to see if any distress remains
Closure and recommendation
Re-evaluation for further processing
What are the benefits of EMDR?
TIME: Extended sessions allows you to accelerate treatment outcomes, in as little as one or two sessions
FLEXIBILITY: Scheduling that allows you to skip the traditional weekly therapy model
COST EFFECTIVE: Save money by avoiding long term weekly sessions
ACCESS: Avoid waitlists by getting connected to treatment faster
CHANGE: Many of my clients report feeling relief after EMDR that they did not access in years of traditional talk therapy
EMDR Extended Session is ideal to address experiences with:
Support recovery after injury or accident
Performance pressure and generalized anxiety
Panic attacks and phobias
Grief and loss
Are you ready to feel more in control of your life?
This one's for my fellow millennials
Is there a better way to explain a complex concept than with a pop culture* reference from the early 2000’s?
TLDR: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Harry speaks to the horcrux locket allowing it to open, which then makes it possible for Ron to destroy the locket’s manipulative influence over him with the sword of Gryffindor. Ron was always capable of destroying the locket with his strength and courage, however, opening it was the only way to get to the source of the dark magic and the special sword is the only tool to truly destroy the locket once and for all.
In this analogy, your EMDR facilitator (Harry) creates the opportunity for you to access your strength and courage (your pre-existing strengths and good qualities). EMDR processing (sword) takes away the power of painful experiences that have become stuck in your body, like Voldemort’s soul in a horcrux.
*The use of this analogy does not reflect my endorsement of she-who-shall-not-be-named
“Rachel has helped with my awareness of my emotions and how they are presenting in my body. She has helped me find coping skills using EMDR practices to provide me with a space to process. She is skilled at holding me accountable in a compassionate way and challenging held beliefs that aren't serving me”
— HUNGRY HEART PARTICIPANT
