EMDR Therapy in Scottsdale, Arizona

If you're struggling with traumatic experiences, anxiety, chronic stress or troubling memories, we invite you to consider trying EMDR therapy to help you find healing and relief. EMDR works by stimulating the brain's natural healing processes through a series of guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. It is completely non-invasive and offers symptom relief. 

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We are able to offer EMDR therapy at our office in Scottsdale, Arizona in addition to anywhere in the State of Arizona online via a HIPAA compliant platform. 

 

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and it's a technique that has been shown to be effective in treating a wide range of issues, including:

• Trauma

• PTSD

• Anxiety

• Depression

 

During an EMDR therapy session, our highly skilled and trained therapists will work with you to identify and target the specific memories, emotions, and beliefs that are causing you distress. Together, we'll use various techniques to help you process and reframe these experiences, allowing you to move forward with greater peace and resilience. One of the key benefits of EMDR therapy is that it can be effective relatively quickly. While the length and intensity of treatment will depend on each individual's needs, many people report significant improvements after just a few sessions.

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We offer EMDR in 2 ways:

• Traditional weekly sessions (typically 6-30 sessions lasting 53 minutes each)

• EMDR Intensives (3-6 hours continuous process)

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We are able to treat children, teens, and adults using EMDR therapy. Our EMDR therapists are able to accept private pay, BCBS, and Aetna insurance. Schedule a free 10-minute treatment consultation today with one of our EMDR counselors:

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Ages 6+, Teens, Adults: Lisa Johnson, LAC, Meghan Kershinar, LAC

Adults and Ages13+: Amanda Nomicos, LPC

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At our practice, we are committed to providing a safe, non-judgmental space for our clients to explore and heal. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to live their best, most fulfilling life, and we're here to support you every step of the way. 

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Continue to read on for a comprehensive overview of the EMDR process. 

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The Process

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First, your therapist and you will determine if EMDR therapy is a good fit for you. You will work with your therapist to develop a target sequence plan, which is built around a specific activating memory.

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You will then work with your therapist to identify the belief that is associated with the image (for example, this might be "I am not good enough" or "I cannot trust anyone")

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The next step is to identify a reprocessed belief that is typically intrinsic in nature (meaning you have the control - for example, "I am not good enough" might become "I am worthy being me.")

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You will use bilateral stimulation (BLS) while focusing on the negative event, belief, and experience of the emotion in your body. The trauma does not need to be openly discussed with your therapist if you would prefer. 

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You will have full control to stop the session at any point. Our EMDR sessions last 53 minutes. There are 8 phases to this treatment as listed below: 

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Phase 1: History and Treatment Planning

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This phase generally takes 1-2 sessions. Your clinician will take a thorough history and develop a treatment plan. 

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Phase 2: Preparation

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You will likely not start EMDR on your first session. This is because it is important to learn techniques to manage distressing emotions that may come up through the EMDR process. Phase 2 includes learning nervous system calming skills and other skills that are taught in most other types of psychotherapy (such as paced diaphragmatic breathing and safe place). 

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Phase 3: Assessment

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In this phase, you will work with your clinician to create a target sequence plan. 

 

The first step is to choose the memory you would like to process. Next, with your clinician's guidance, you will identify a negative self-belief associated with the image (these fall into 5 categories, value (e.g. "I am unworthy"), safety (e.g. "I am in danger"), power ("I am powerless"), control ("I am not in control"), and responsibility ("It is all my fault"). You will then go through your past, present, and future to identify memories (and fears about the future) relating to the negative belief. 

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Next, you will choose a belief you would like to reprocess to - such as "I am worthy."  You will then go through your own past, present, and future to identify times when this has felt true. 

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Phase 4: Desensitization

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During this phase, you will use bilateral stimulation (such as moving your eyes back and forth or tapping on your knees) to desensitize the emotional intensity associated with the memory. You will continue this until your subjective unit of disturbance (SUD) level is 0 (meaning you experience no disturbance from the memory). 

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Phase 5: Installation

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The goal of this phase is to increase the strength of the positive belief. You will again use bilateral stimulation to help increase how true the new belief FEELS (such as "I am worthy."). 

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Phase 6: Body Scan

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After completing phase 5, the next step is to clear all body sensations associated with the trauma. You will continue the bilateral stimulation (e.g. eye movements) until all physical sensations are alleviated. 

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This is a very important step as research has found that information about traumatic events or experiences is stored in body memory (called motoric memory), rather than narrative memory (verbal, imagery associated with the event). When information in motoric memory is processed, it can then move to narrative memory for it to be verbalized and the physical symptoms disappear. An EMDR target memory is not considered healed until all body sensations and negative feelings associated with it disappear. 

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Phase 7: Closure

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This phase is completed at each treatment session. This ensures the patient leaves the end of each session feeling better than at the beginning. If desensitization is not complete at the end of a single session, calming techniques will be used to help the person achieve calm. You will also be briefed as to what to expect between sessions (e.g. ongoing processing). 

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Phase 8: Reevaluation

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This is the start of each session. You will reevaluate your progress in your treatment plan. 

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Schedule Now

Schedule a free phone treatment consultation to discuss treatment options for EMDR treatment by clicking the "Request Appointment" button below. 

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Adults and Teens. Private Pay, Aetna and UHC Insurance Accepted: Amanda Nomicos, LPC

Adults and Ages 8+, BCBS and Aetna Insurances Accepted or Private Pay accepted: Lisa Johnson, LAC, Meghan Kershinar, LAC 

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Select "BrainBody Wellness Counseling" as the location.