Psychotherapy, EMDR and Counselling Information
what is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a holistic type of therapy that focuses on the mental, emotional, relational, or spiritual health of a human being. It is useful when psychological, developmental, relationship and wellbeing issues arise in life. A psychotherapist can help you to understand what happened or is happening in your life that might be bringing pain and discomfort in your everyday life. It can also help to build understanding and acceptance of how the person makes meaning of their life and work together on creating life giving solutions to old and new problems. Psychotherapy recognises the lasting impact of trauma. This is when stressful events that you experience or witness make you feel unsafe, helpless, or vulnerable. Even though psychotherapists have in depth training and understanding of different developmental and mental health diagnosis they focus on compassionate listening and understanding of conscious and unconscious aspects of the persons lived experience, and help them to learn ways of coping with psychological distress.
Psychotherapist can work with children, young people, adults, couples, families, and groups and can be train in using creative mediums such as sand tray, art, movement and play to help to facilitate healing and change. Psychotherapy may be short term, long term, or over a lifetime, according to clients’ needs.
Psychotherapy can be a powerful, life-changing experience which can help you to improve your mental health, overcome social or emotional challenges, and fulfil your potential.
What is counselling?
Professional counselling is a safe and confidential collaboration between qualified counsellors and clients to promote mental health and wellbeing, enhance self-understanding, and resolve identified concerns.
Counsellors are fully present with their clients, using empathy and deep listening to establish positive working relationships. Counselling is effective when clients feel safe, understood, respected, and accepted without judgement. Counselling is a profession with a strong evidence base. Counsellors use empirically supported interventions and specialised interpersonal skills to facilitate change and empower clients.
Counsellors are trained in a range of modalities to work with clients from diverse backgrounds. Counselling can be broad or focused.
Clients may explore: aspects of identity, spirituality, relationships with self and others, past experiences, parenting, grief and loss, trauma, domestic violence, child abuse, use of alcohol and other substances, depression, anxiety, and other experiences.
Changes facilitated by counselling include: change in perspective, new insight, new ways of thinking about situations, new awareness of feelings, enhanced capacity to tolerate and regulate feelings, new actions or behaviours, and new decisions about life.
What is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) ?
EMDR postulates that all human beings have an in-built adaptive system that strives towards health, that is, it naturally seeks the processing of experiences, healing, and learning.
EMDR is a psychological intervention first developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the mid-eighties that is now widely used worldwide. It can be offered to children, adolescents, and adult clients.
Although EMDR was initially developed for the treatment of psychological trauma it is now backed by a body of on-going research evidencing its effectiveness for a variety of psychological issues such as: depression, anxiety, panic attacks, complicated grief, body dysmorphic disorders, eating disorders, sexual or physical abuse, performance anxiety, stress reduction, disturbing memories, phobias, and many others.
The mind, like the body, has a natural tendency towards healing. This is the theoretical basis of EMDR therapy and it is referred to as the Adaptive Information Processing system or AIP Model.
A unique feature of EMDR is bi-lateral stimulation of the brain from left to right, achieved, among other means, by moving the eyes from side to side, tapping, sounds, etc. As a result, the traumatic memories seem to lose their intensity; they become less distressing and seem more like 'ordinary' memories. The bilateral stimulation may be similar to that which occurs naturally during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep when your eyes rapidly move from side to side. EMDR helps reduce the distress of all the different kinds of memories, whether it was what you saw, heard, smelt, tasted, felt, or thought. Note that EMDR is not hypnosis. Even though you are moving your eyes during EMDR you always remain conscious and in control. EMDR cannot be done against your will.
Bilateral stimulation is a fundamental part of an 8-phase standard protocol developed by Dr. Shapiro. Through this protocol the therapist supports individuals to use their symptoms as the entry point for reprocessing the traumatic experience and for changing what they wish to change. EMDR therapist can support a client to find new strengths out of the now processed distress; this is because something that had previously been victimizing is now accessible to be used as a source of learning, creativity, and growth.
If you would like further information about Psychotherapy, Counselling or EMDR, please contact our Clinical Psychotherapist Monika McIntosh, monika@oceansideclinicalpsychology.com