You Feel Stuck in the Past. You’re Looking for Therapy That Will Help You Move Forward Towards Happiness.
You’ve been through a lot. Sometimes, memories from your past creep up out of nowhere and trigger a painful emotional response. You feel overwhelmed and constantly on edge. Although you want to stop thinking about these painful events from your past, your brain won’t let you. You’ve tried to move on and bury these feelings deep down, but they’re simply too powerful and too painful.
Perhaps, you feel like you’ve lost control and you’re powerless to feel better. Every time, you think about what happened in your past, you react strongly, even if you don’t want to. This only makes matters worse. It feels like you’re stuck in a cycle that you can’t get out of. You're left feeling helpless, filled with self-doubt, and you question your worth.
Your strong emotional reactions to your past have caused you problems in your day-to-day life and in your relationships with others. When you’re reminded of unresolved past pain, you begin to spiral and act in irrational ways.
Perhaps, you become so depressed and upset that you can’t get out of bed or focus at your job. Or maybe, you lash out at your partner and say things you don’t mean. Over time, these events become more frequent and others in your life become more and more frustrated with your behavior. This may have caused relationships to end or employers to let you go or maybe other lasting consequences that you regret.
If you relate to any of the above statements, EMDR Therapy can help you overcome these challenges to experience peace, happiness, and fulfillment!
We have several EMDR Trained Therapists and EMDR Certified Therapists on our team. We offer several different locations across south Florida for your convenience (Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Plantation) as well as online therapy via our secure telehealth platform (phone and video therapy) for those who reside in Florida.
It May be Difficult For You to Imagine Life Getting Better.
Perhaps, you’ve tried counseling or other things to cope with your distress, but nothing has worked. You desperately need things to change but don't know what to do or where to start. In fact, you want to find peace and happiness. It’s time to find something different; something effective.
This feeling of being “stuck” is a common trauma reaction. Often, when you experience trauma or a very distressing life event, your brain goes into survival mode, and the memory of what happened gets stuck in the emotional side of your brain.
Then, you’re easily triggered by things that remind you of the past. You may know what your triggers are, or your may not. Regardless, help is available with the expert counselors and psychologists at Bayview Therapy. You can find healing and move forward from the events in your past that are causing you pain.
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, or EMDR for short, is an extremely effective and well-researched therapeutic tool used to help clients move forward from past hurt, anxiety, and trauma.
Your EMDR therapist will work with you to help you gain awareness of how past issues and emotions are presently affecting you. Then they will help you access and address your “stuck points.” These are places in your memory that trigger your present behavior.
EMDR therapy uses a standard set of protocols to help you move distressing memories from the emotional side to the logical side of your brain which lessens the emotional reactions you have when you’re triggered.
This is done through a technique called bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation means stimulating both the left and the right sides of your brain. Sometimes, this is done by a therapist moving their finger back and forth while you follow it with your eyes. Other therapists may stimulate both sides of the brain using audio or buzzers.
When this happens, the memory is unlodged and you’re able to process it. Over time, you’ll find that you’re not as easily triggered by memories of the past or when you are reminded of what happened, thinking about the memory becomes less painful. You'll be able to live more fully in the present moment and move forward toward a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life.
EMDR therapy is extremely well researched and has been proven to be successful in treating a variety of psychological concerns including:
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Performance issues
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Low self-esteem
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And more...
What does EMDR Therapy Look Like?
You’re likely wondering what happens during an actual eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy session. This depends on the EMDR therapist you’re working with. However, you can expect to work through eight phases during EMDR therapy in Coral Springs, FL, Fort Lauderdale, FL and Plantation, FL.
Prior to beginning therapy, your EMDR therapist will need to gather some information about what is causing you pain and what issues you’re experiencing. Afterward, they will make sure you have a toolbox of coping skills to draw from when you feel distressed or encounter a trigger during treatment.
Next, your therapist will work to identify the negative beliefs that accompany your challenges. These may be statements like “I am not good enough” or “I am not worthy of love.”
Bilateral stimulation helps you “float back” to reality and connect these current beliefs, emotions, and body sensations to past traumatic experiences when you may have felt the same thing. This helps us connect the past to your present concerns which helps you understand your feelings and behavior. Bilateral stimulation helps you reprocess these specific memories and shift the negative belief you have about them to something more positive and logical.
For example, you may think “despite this experience, I am good enough and worthy of good things.”
EMDR Therapy for Couples
Did you know that EMDR can be used with couples therapy and marriage counseling? We work with couples who are struggling to move past trauma that is triggering relationship issues. These traumas may include things like past abuse, infidelity, divorce, and more.
Doing individual EMDR and couples therapy is a great way to help clear past traumas that cause major relational barriers, resolve current issues, improve communication, and deepen the relationship between you and your partner.
Our EMDR therapists at Bayview Therapy will collaborate with you and your partner for the best possible care with each partner individually and the relationship as a whole. Your counselor may refer you to a couples therapist for ongoing counseling or they may suggest some individual sessions to work through some of the past trauma with EMDR to benefit your goals as a couple.
If you're interested in doing eye movement desensitization and reprocessing while you're in marriage counseling or vice versa, let your therapist know and they can explain your options and make some recommendations.
Bayview Therapy’s Approach to EMDR
We realize that EMDR therapy for anxiety, depression, or trauma may sound a little unusual. And it can be hard to imagine at first. But, we’ve seen it help countless people work through their pain and make progress toward moving forward with their life.
If you’ve tried other types of therapy, but have not had much success, then EMDR therapy in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Coral Springs, FL, Plantation, FL, or anywhere in the state of Florida via online therapy may just be what you need!
Our expert EMDR therapists in Florida understand that you may be hesitant to open up and allow yourself to access your past memories. But, while you’re working with us, you can rest assured that we will work alongside you to remind you of the various coping techniques you can use to manage your distress. Furthermore, if the memory that is being reprocessed ever becomes too painful, we can stop. You are in full control. We will take EMDR therapy at a pace you can feel comfortable with.
It’s important to know that although eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a short-term treatment option, it is in your best interest to continue working with a therapist for more traditional talk therapy like DBT or CBT. If you are ready to give EMDR a try, please contact us to learn how we can help you find healing and confidence!
Begin EMDR Therapy in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Coral Springs, FL
If you are ready to begin EMDR therapy, our EMDR trained therapists and psychologists would be honored to speak with you to discuss the many ways we can help you achieve your goals. Follow these steps to begin counseling in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Plantation, FL today:
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Contact our counseling center to speak with our care coordinator.
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Participate in a free consultation call with an EMDR therapist to learn more about them and our EMDR therapy program at Bayview Therapy.
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Begin EMDR therapy and walk the path towards peace, happiness, and fulfillment.
You deserve to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled in life and in your relationships so let us help!
Additional Counseling Services at Our Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, & Plantation, FL Offices
If you're tired of feeling hopeless and struggling to get through the day, we are here to be your support. Our expert team of counselors and EMDR therapists are here to provide a safe and nonjudgmental space for you to be heard and develop healthier coping skills. Regardless of what brings you to counseling, we can serve you in many different ways.
EMDR therapy isn’t the only type of psychological service we provide at our Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Plantation offices. We help people across their life span... Sometimes, life gives us unexpected challenges. If you or your loved ones are struggling with more than one challenge, we want you to remember that you're not alone... no matter what you're going through, there's always a spark of hope and we're here to help!
Our expert psychologists and counselors at Bayview Therapy specialize in different areas. We offer a wide range of counseling and psychological services to support our Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Plantation, Southwest Ranches, Davie, Weston, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, and Parkland communities.
We provide therapy and psychological evaluations for children, teens, adults, couples, and families dealing with a wide variety of life's challenges across the lifespan. Some of our specialties include depression counseling; trauma therapy; First Responder counseling; teen counseling; child and family counseling; couples counseling or marriage therapy; psychiatric medication management; and more.
We also provide affirmative counseling for the LGBTQ+ community and online counseling options using our secure HIPAA compliant platform.
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