What Should I Look For In An EMDR Therapist?
EMDR therapy has received a lot of recognition for its effectiveness in addressing trauma and traumatic experiences, anxiety, and many other mental and emotional challenges. As a specialized approach and mental health treatment, it is crucial to be conducted by a clinician who has all the necessary skills, tools, and knowledge to actually conduct EMDR therapy.
If you’re considering EMDR therapy, finding the right therapist is essential to achieving meaningful healing and growth. But with so many professionals to choose from, how can you be sure you’re selecting someone qualified and compatible with your needs?
This article will explain the essential aspects of EMDR therapy, its uses, and the three most important qualities to look for in an EMDR therapist.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on reprocessing traumatic or disturbing experiences, desensitizing oneself to the emotions of that experience, and changing one's thoughts and beliefs about it.
The change part of EMDR comprises two parts: desensitization and reprocessing. These processes are achieved through eye movement. Find out more about the phases and parts of EMDR in this blog.
What about eye movement makes this possible? Francine Shapiro, the developer of EMDR, discovered that the fast movement of the eyes from left to right allows the brain to think about a particular issue or experience without evoking the strong negative emotions that accompany the memory of that experience. This process is similar to exposure therapy, with the difference that the person doesn’t feel the same level of anxiety, fear, shame, or other negative emotions during it.
Aside from the desensitization, EMDR also includes Reprocessing of the exerpiece. This includes logically finding all the unhealthy or restrictive thoughts or beliefs, as well as the unconstructive coping mechanisms resulting from that experience, and substituting them with more constructive beliefs, behaviors, and coping skills.
With these aspects combined, the client is able to better cope with the memories of a traumatic experience and gain better skills to manage themselves and their emotions. They can move forward in life without the experience restricting them, their abilities, self-image, and confidence.
What Can EMDR Help With?
As WebMD suggests, EMDR therapy is known to help clients with different backgrounds and different types of difficulties. Initially, EMDR was made to help people who have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and today, it’s still one of its main fields of operation. PTSD is common among individuals who have suffered trauma and includes the long-lasting effects that trauma inflicts on a person.
Aside from PTSD, EMDR is also used for:
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Specific phobias
Depression and depressive episodes
Substance abuse
OCD
Sleep disorders
Eating disorders
Mood disorders
Personality disorders
EMDR offers numerous benefits for clients who engage in this type of psychotherapy. To learn more about its benefits, visit this blog.
What Should You Look For In An EMDR Therapist?
When starting EMDR therapy, working with a highly educated and experienced professional is important.
The process of working through trauma and traumatic experiences can be challenging and highly emotionally charged. For the therapist to guide and support you through the process and give you all the necessary tools to resolve the difficulties, they need to have certain qualities as a professional.
In the next part, we will cover some of the most important things you should look for in a therapist.
Qualification and Knowledge
Every kind of psychotherapy, including EMDR, follows a set of theories, techniques, tools, and protocols to help clients navigate their mindsets and life circumstances. To do this professionally and constructively, practitioners must undergo extensive training and obtain specific knowledge, certifications, and qualifications.
EMDRIA, or EMDR International Association, is the official body in the US that holds the highest standards of training, practice, and research for EMDR therapy. To get certified by EMDRIA, a clinician needs to fulfill a set of requirements, including 50 hours of training, 20 hours of EMDR consultations, 50 hours of practice, 50 hours of EMDR therapy as a client, and 12 hours of ongoing, continuous EMDR education in the next two years. I’m mentioning all this to underline the importance of proper training. Trauma and traumatic experiences are highly complex, and only adequate training can enable a clinician to guide the client through their expertise, provide support, and equip them with suitable coping skills.
Experience
Talking about the most distressing experiences is not easy. Clients are showing their vulnerability in front of their therapist. To feel completely secure and supported, they need to trust in the therapist’s abilities and skills as a professional.
When you are choosing your therapist, make sure that they meet your therapy needs and objectives. Although there is a first time for everything, it’s also important to ensure that the therapist you choose has experience with the type of issues you’re facing. An experienced therapist equipped with a lot of psychology knowledge, understanding, and professional skills and tools can guide you through the process and help you stay constructive in your work.
Furthermore, it might also be helpful to find a professional who can integrate and use multiple therapeutic modalities and adjust the treatment to your specific needs.
Safety, Trustworthiness, and Professionalism
In EMDR, you and your therapist must have a good bond and collaboration for the process to be successful. It’s always painful and hard to recall or talk about trauma and traumatic experiences, so it’s crucial that you feel that your therapy sessions are a safe place filled with support and trust. Your therapist needs to be a professional who can provide safety and trustworthiness.
To ensure a good fit with your therapist, feel free to ask them about their professional background and certifications or any questions you may have about the therapy process.
What Will EMDR Sessions Look Like?
All EMDR sessions are adjusted and personalized based on the individual's needs. Nonetheless, a few things unify all EMDR sessions.
In the initial stages of the EMDR process, the sessions revolve around the client's difficulties and background. You can express all your concerns, difficulties, circumstances, and support system. Once the therapists understand the dynamic of your current life and circumstances, you will plan and develop the course of the treatment and decide what needs addressing and resolving.
Once the treatment starts, the therapist will use some form of bilateral stimulation (most likely rapid eye movement) to stimulate and engage your brain. At the same time, you recall, associate, and think about the experiences that come to mind. Naturally, you will also briefly report what you are experiencing to make changes and update your perspective to a more positive and constructive one. You will change and adapt your beliefs and thoughts about the traumatic experience, your negative feelings, and yourself.
In the end, you and your therapist will jointly work to integrate the updated insights and perspectives into your daily life, relying on your existing skills and the social support system by obtaining new skills that can help you improve your mental health.
FAQ About EMDR Therapy and EMDR Therapists
Is EMDR safe?
Yes, EMDR therapy is completely safe. Working on trauma or any kind of traumatic experience is bound to evoke some negative feelings. But, the point of working through the trauma is to reduce the intensity of those emotions and better manage them in the future so they don’t take control over the life of the client. EMDR does precisely that, and EMDR therapists are trained to guide clients through their complex emotional worlds. So, besides the inevitable initial discomfort of recalling the traumatic experience before it is resolved, EMDR is completely safe.
Is EMDR similar to hypnosis?
No, EMDR is not like hypnosis. You will be completely awake and aware during the session and maintain complete control. The therapist may instruct you to do certain things or substitute certain sentences/beliefs, but all of those things will happen with a joint discussion and decision.
How long does EMDR therapy last?
Individual EMDR therapy sessions last 60 to 90 minutes. The whole process depends on many factors, including personal differences in processing and the complexity of the difficulty itself. You can expect between 6 and 12 EMDR therapy sessions to improve your life, but you will most certainly feel improvement after each session.
Are EMDR therapy sessions emotional?
They can be. As I previously mentioned, recalling or talking about negative life experiences can bring negative emotions to the surface. Nonetheless, the therapist will help you maintain constructively and manage those emotions. Once they are processed, it will be easier to move forward, and the feelings you’ve worked through will either completely disappear from that experience or be significantly lower and far more manageable.
Will I extensively talk about and explain my traumatic experiences during an EMDR session?
No, you won’t necessarily talk about your traumatic experience in detail. However, the therapist will need some information about the background and circumstances of the experience or experiences to understand you and your difficulties better. In addition, many sessions will require you to think only of particular aspects of the experience and share your feelings and thoughts about them so that you can work on them.
Can EMDR be done online?
Yes, EMDR therapy can be conducted online through so-called teletherapy. The virtual, online setting of these types of sessions doesn’t impact the quality of the session or interfere with the pace of working through and resolving the client's traumatic experiences. Learn more about telehealth EMDR.
Conclusion
Choosing the right EMDR therapist is an investment in your mental health and overall well-being. By prioritizing certification and credentials, assessing their experience with EMDR and similar methods, and trusting your instincts about their compatibility and professionalism, you can make an informed decision. With the right therapist by your side, EMDR can be a transformative tool for healing and personal growth.
Here at EMDR Nashville, we provide holistic and specialized care tailored to the client's specific needs.
If you want to regain control over your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, schedule your session today and take the first step toward a healthier, more balanced life.
References
Training vs certification. EMDR International Association. (2024b, January 24). https://www.emdria.org/training-vs-certification/
WebMD. (n.d.-a). EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization & reprocessing). WebMD.
Shapiro, F. (2017). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. The Guilford Press.
