EMDR Therapy for Children and Families: Unlocking Healing and Building Stronger Bonds

Is your family struggling to heal from past hurts? EMDR therapy may be the key to unlocking a brighter future.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy that helps people process and heal from trauma, anxiety, or distressing experiences. EMDR helps children and adults reduce the emotionality of upsetting memories and replace negative beliefs (like "I'm not enough") with healthier ones (like "I am enough"), and regain emotional balance. It is safe, effective, and has been used successfully to treat trauma, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. 

It works by using bilateral stimulation (such as following a therapist's hand with their eyes or engaging in drawing activities) to help the brain "reprocess" memories. This allows the person to view the memories without feeling overwhelmed by them. The brain will not allow a person to process something they are not ready to process. 

A few benefits of EMDR is that it can help process trauma by lowering depression, anxiety, and behavioral issues. EMDR can help improve relationships through improving social skills, form strengths and bonds with family and friends and can help with building/re-building trust with others. The process can allow one to develop coping skills by providing them with tools to help cope/regulate their emotions. Lastly EMDR can help a person build self-esteem by helping form positive beliefs and reframe the negative thoughts and boost self-confidence.

If you're ready to explore how EMDR therapy can benefit your child and family, reach out to Aspire today. Our compassionate team of therapists specializes in helping children and families overcome anxiety, trauma, and other emotional challenges.

For more information:

American Psychological Association

https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/emdr-phases

Cleveland Clinic

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy

About the author: Leslie Schill, LPC-IT, is a professional counselor at Aspire with specialized training in EMDR therapy.