How can we ever achieve true happiness and peace within ourselves if
we continue to be haunted by old memories of trauma, abuse or pain.
These past memories transform into fear and make it impossible for
us to break unhealthy cycles, form positive and healthy relationships,
truly care for ourselves…
If you have a diagnosed mental illness, or any illness for that matter,
than balance is the key to keeping your symptoms at bay, and in our
society medication may be a key to your ability to live a functioning life,
but medication is only a bandaid.
Pain will always be painful but the way that we process it determines
how easily and healthfully we overcome it.
In the next few posts I will be discussing holistic therapies that can
enhance your healing journey. As lifelong counsellor of high needs
children, youth and adults I have been introduced to all of these
techniques, have used them and feel they are the most effective
and valuable to share.
The first therapy we will discuss is prominent and widely used
worldwide. It is a process called EMDR-where the therapist
explores with the patient what their most painful memories
are and then they are rated from 1-10 (as you’ll witness in
the video below). While accessing the specific memory that
causes the most pain the therapist leads the patient through
a series of eye movements or tapping and sometimes sound
and this allows the memory to come to the surface and
reprocessed. It is said that this type of therapy is more
effective than traditional talk therapy and can heal the
patient in fewer sessions due to the effectiveness of it.
Enjoy!
EMDR-as defined in the most prominent source document:
American Psychiatric Association (2000), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, Washington DC. Shapiro, F. (2001). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, 2nd edition, N.Y.: The Guilford Press.
1.0B. Definition – EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition, successful outcomes are well-documented in the literature for EMDR treatment of other psychiatric disorders, mental health problems, and somatic symptoms. The model on which EMDR is based, Adaptive Information Processing (AIP), posits that much of psychopathology is due to the maladaptive encoding of and/or incomplete processing of traumatic or disturbing adverse life experiences. This impairs the client’s ability to integrate these experiences in an adaptive manner. The eightphase, three-pronged process of EMDR facilitates the resumption of normal information processing and integration. This treatment approach, which targets past experience, current triggers, and future potential challenges, results in the alleviation of presenting symptoms, a decrease or elimination of distress from the disturbing memory, improved view of the self, relief from bodily disturbance, and resolution of present and future anticipated triggers.
This definition was written by Creator Francine Shapiro-who is the creator and top
practitioner of EMDR. Below is a link to her book on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.ca/Getting-Past-Your-Self-Help-Techniques/dp/1609619951
Here is the link to EMDR Canada: on this site there is a large amount
of information as well as the rest of the paper from above.
Morning Meditation:
Journal Entry: Consider which memory in your life has caused
you the most pain. Have you taken the time to heal from that
trauma? Do you feel the memory is embedded and ingrained in
you? Write down that memory and think about it while you
watch the video below. Record the intensity of the memory
before the self administration of EMDR and then the intensity
after. What there a difference?
Video of A Discussion with Francine Shapiro-Creator of EMDA
Here is an actual EMDR Session
EMDR Music Playlist
Healing Yoga for Trauma Relief
Evening Meditation:
Peace, Love & Namaste Em
90 Days to Spiritual Enlightenment 