Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
EMDR
EMDR is a form of therapy that helps people heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences. EMDR therapy has been extensively researched and has demonstrated effectiveness for trauma. (from EMDRIA)
About EMDR Therapy
Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, they may not be processed without help. Stress responses are part of our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create feelings of overwhelm, of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.” EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.”
How is EMDR different from other therapies?
EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue, or homework between sessions. EMDR, rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors resulting from the distressing issue, allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. Part of the therapy includes alternating eye movements, sounds, or taps. For many clients, EMDR therapy can be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies.
What to expect?
EMDR has 8 phases and the first phases are information gathering, planning and developing coping resources with clients. These phases may take anywhere from 1-2 session to multiple sessions. When the client and therapist agree that it is time to move into processing, the counselor will utilize bilateral stimulation (BLS) to aid in processing. This may be watching the therapist’s hand and tracking with eyes, or may use vibrating buzzers in each hand or tapping on knees. The important thing is that both sides of the brain are engaged. During processing the therapist will sit facing the client but off to the client’s left side. This makes it more conducive for eye movements.
The therapist will use BLS for short periods of time (less than 1 minute) then check in with the client to ask what they are noticing in the body or are thinking. This will continue until the end of session or until the therapist has determined the network has been processed. Therapists are trained to look for several different things in determining this. Depending on the intensity of the processing the therapist may use one of the resourcing techniques from the early phases. The therapist will also ask about physical sensations in addition to emotions. Clients are always able to stop processing at any time. Clients are fully in control of themselves during the process.
What to Expect
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If you’ve received the client portal invitation, log in and check any messages, fill out paperwork, etc.
Be thinking of what you would like to talk about, or any questions you have. Feel free to write those down and bring them in.
Verify your insurance. Click here for more information regarding insurance.
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Our office is tucked beside/behind Ge’Angelo’s in the. Northern Lights Shopping Center.
We do not have a receptionist, so feel free to have a seat and we will be with you as soon as possible.
If there is still paperwork to be done, you may be asked to fill out paperwork before your appointment.
Each therapist has a private office, so you will be with the same therapist in the same office every session. To increase privacy we leave a noise machine on as well as the bathroom light/fan. These are to muffle noises.
The lighting in the office LED. If you prefer lamps to overhead lighting, let us know and we will be happy to use lamps instead.
After your appointment we will work together to decide if you would like to schedule another session. We will also determine if that will be scheduled at that time, or if it will be scheduled later. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
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Be kind to yourself, you’ve done a lot of hard work.
You are welcome to contact your counselor with any questions/concerns between session. Email or the client portal are the preferred and most direct ways to get in contact. We are generally in with clients and are unable to answer phone calls much of the time. Please be aware we may not be able to return your message for up to 48 hours.
You can use the client portal to check your appointments or make/change any appointments.
Contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit your local emergency department if you are having thoughts of self harm or suicide. Vivant is not a crisis center.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Age ranges are based on individual clinicians.
Child specific information:
Sometimes kids are unable to manage more than 30 minutes. Children’s sessions may seem short, but they are still working.
All child sessions are unique. Sometimes kids have parents/caregivers in the session, other times they do better without parents in the room. Parents/caregivers are almost always involved in the first session, and we will talk about these options.
If you are bringing an elementary aged child, we ask that you stay in the building during the session if you are not in the session. If there is a concern we will try to accommodate something. We want your child to be safe.
If you are bringing an older child that gets dropped off, please be aware of the end time (generally 45 minutes for middle school/high school aged kids) so they can be picked up quickly. Again, we want everyone to be safe and we will likely be in session and unable to monitor safety.
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We treat a variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD. Our clinicians have extra training in trauma, and am Basic Trained in EMDR.
We are not licensed to prescribe medications.
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Yes. Vivant is LGBTQ+ Affirming
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While we are not faith based, we welcome all faiths.
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For ongoing clients, scheduling your next appointment can be done at the end of an appointment, through the client portal, or by calling 515-523-5543. Counselors are not always able to accomodate same day appointments.
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We take your privacy seriously. This is suppose to be a safe space and confidentiality is vital to that. If you want someone to be able to communicate with us about your services. (including billing) you can sign a release of information. This is also something that can be revoked by you at any time. Best practice includes coordinating with your primary care provider, but again, this is your choice.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Privacy Portability Act) protects your PHI (protected health information). Our emails use HIPAA compliant encryption. Our client portal and our backup telehalth platform are HIPAA compliant.
Counselors are mandatory reporters. As such we are mandated by law to report any suspected child abuse.
Child Specific: During our first session we will go over confidentiality with children. It is my practice to keep conversations private and only tell parents general updates (ex: ____was open and talkative today), unless there is a safety concern or something that I feel the parents/caregiver should know. If this is the case, I try to be transparent with that so the child is not caught off guard.
42 CFR Part 2 affords special protection when talking about substance abuse. Therefore children 14 years of age and older need to sign a specific release of information for parents/caregivers to obtain information from the counselor about anything substance abuse related.
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While our emails use a HIPAA compliant encryption, it is safest to use our secure portal to communicate with your counselor. You may call 515-523-5433, however this is not the preferred form of communication as we are often in session and unable to answer phone calls.
We discourage coming in person without an appointment as we may be unable to help you. Our office space is shared with other counselors, but they are unable to see your information and will likely be unable to help.