Fears About EMDR Therapy - A Series
People face many fears coming into therapy, and certain fears come up when considering EMDR therapy. My name is Kandace, I'm an anxiety therapist, and I provide EMDR therapy in Tampa to hardworking overachievers who are tired of letting past trauma steer their lives.
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor here in Florida, I'm also a Registered Yoga Teacher, and I'm EMDR Trained. I specialize in working with clients experiencing high anxiety levels and who have experienced trauma in their past. Typically, these clients have type-a personalities who are perfectionistic overachievers who want to get things done "the right way" the first time.
These traits that typically show up in adulthood are often rooted in trauma. This can mean tiny traumas across the lifespan or more extensive traumas that left a mark. But either way, the trauma gets stuck in the brain and needs to be processed.
This video series is a short series to go over the common concerns, questions, and fears I hear from clients and potential clients looking to figure out some more information about EMDR.
So the first fear I want to address comes as a question I get asked most often: Is EMDR therapy like hypnosis? Now underlying this question is this fear that I hear, "I'm going to enter into this form of therapy, and I'm going to lose control or feel like I'm not in control." And first of all, I will put this caveat out that I have not personally experienced hypnotherapy, so I do not know personally what it feels like. Clinically, through conversations with other therapists, I understand that you are more in a trance in hypnotherapy. In contrast, in EMDR therapy, the goal is for you to have one foot in the room that you're in with me to feel stable and connected, but also one foot in the memory network so that you're playing that memory in your mind's eye. This is to practice dual awareness to remain aware of both, so you are not so deeply rooted in your memories but can experience safety while also thinking of the past.
When speaking with clients or potential clients, I often hear that this fear is rooted in the fact that many trauma survivors don't want to feel like they are not in control. The very act of experiencing trauma is a lack of power and control, and so often, when we seek out healing, we want to avoid the thing that reminds us of what hurt us.
I'm sure that many people out there have found healing through hypnotherapy, so I don't write this to steer anyone away from this modality. This is simply the question I hear most often, which I genuinely feel is rooted in fear of losing control.
If you are looking for therapy to help you heal from trauma and are unsure if hypnotherapy or EMDR therapy would be right for you, I highly encourage you to schedule a free consultation with both types of therapists! If you're looking to learn more about EMDR therapy, I'd be happy to chat with you to answer your questions and see if EMDR therapy may be a good fit for you. If it turns out that hypnotherapy is more up your alley, I would be happy to give you some referrals to hypnotherapists. At the end of the day, if you are looking to find healing and want to start that journey, I would love to connect with you or connect you with someone who is a good fit for you.
