We’re all busy, from work, to kids' activities, to running errands. Those responsibilities are demanding and might even take a toll on your mental health. And when those stressors become too much to manage, turning to experts for help can be crucial.
EMDR, which stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is a therapy technique used to help process traumatic events or other life stressors and replace them with positive beliefs.
It is a tool Lexi Erikson has used to work through both some larger experiences as well as smaller experiences of her own.
“I had been doing talk therapy and wasn’t really having the success that I wanted and so Amber had been recommended to me and in person she explained to me what it was and how it works,” said Avera patient, Lexi Erikson.
She meets weekly with Amber Lehman Myers, who is an outpatient therapist at the Avera Behavioral Health Clinic.
So what does a typical session look like?
“We work on the coping skills, we build a target sequence, which outlines what we want to exactly be addressing with EMDR, and we also look at what is adaptive statement and maladaptive statement,” said outpatient therapist, Amber Lehman Myers.
“You begin with a negative belief and you choose an opposite/positive belief so if the belief is ‘I’m not good enough,’ your opposite belief might be ‘I am good enough ‘ or ‘I’m OK,’" said Erikson. “You’re ultimately working toward that positive belief to rewrite your negative feelings.”
Next the session involves working on bilateral stimulation, which can involve tapping on your legs or arms or even working on eye movements.
“You are looking back and forth, you’re following her fingers as they wave in front of your eyes or it might consist of bilateral tapping on your body whether it’s your shoulders, knees or arms, and the idea of it is to stimulate both sides of your brain,” said Erikson.
“Being able to do the tapping or the eye movements keeps them from that stuck position to being able to move forward and hopefully get unstuck to help their brain be re-engaged and to live the life they want to live,” said Lehman Myers.
By doing this, it helps a patient take a negative past experience and update to an adaptive present perspective.
“The goal is ultimately to get some of that desensitization, get toward a positive belief, have a little bit more of a peaceful state,” said Erikson.
Erikson says EDMR has been helpful for her and encourages others to find an option that works best for them.
“I feel really lucky that it’s something that has worked for me, but there are a number of different types of therapy and I think the biggest goal is to find one that works for you,” said Erikson.
“Some people I’ve only done two or three sessions and just their face radiates peace, it’s an incredible experience for them, other people it’s taken longer, it’s taken a few years, and so it really depends on the situation and what we are addressing,” said Lehman Myers.
