"Sexual assault is an incredibly personal and destructive crime. Its effects on victims and their loved ones can be felt psychologically, emotionally, and physically. They can be brief in duration or last a very long time."³  They can also resurface, unwelcomed, at later points in life.  

If you are an adult survivor of sexual abuse, you are not alone, and I am here to listen.  If you have a child who has been abused, it is important to get them help and continue to support their healing as they grow. 

Therapy can help you or your child address feelings of:
Anger
Guilt, Shame and Blame
Grieving what was lost
Isolation
Ambivalence towards the abuser
Depression
Anxiety

Therapy can help you or your child struggling with:
Difficulty coping with daily life activities
Discomfort with sex
Difficulty setting limits and boundaries
Flashbacks and PTSD symptoms
Panic Attacks
Body Memories<sup>3

1</sup>Briere, J., Eliot, D.M. Prevalence and Psychological Sequence of Self-Reported Childhood Physical and Sexual Abuse in General Population: Child Abuse and Neglect, 2003, 27 10).)
²www.stopitnow.org
³www.rainn.org    Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network

Trauma and EMDR

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a highly specialized therapy used to overcome the effects of traumatic or upsetting experiences. EMDR combines therapeutic methods with eye movements, or rhythmic hand taps or sounds. It involves targeting a stressful past event and "re-programming" the memory with a more positive and empowered view.

What kinds of problems can EMDR alleviate?

EMDR originated as a means of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and major trauma. However, EMDR can be quite helpful with "small t" traumas — upsetting events that happen in everyday life that may leave us feeling negative about ourselves or the world. Examples include struggling in school; being ridiculed by a parent, spouse, or coworker; or getting lost as a child in a public place. EMDR has been helpful with the following mental health concerns:

How does EMDR work?

When a person is highly distressed or traumatized, the brain's normal information processing is interrupted. Later, you may react to certain present situations as if you were still in the traumatic event.
 

EMDR therapy helps clients process the past; storing it away in an orderly, healthy fashion. EMDR is thought to function similarly to dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. 

EMDR does not cause clients to forget the past, nor is it intended to recall lost memories.  EMDR helps put upsetting experiences behind us in healthy, empowered ways. Self-esteem is enhanced, relationships recover, behavior improves, and emotions stabilize.

What are some reported benefits of EMDR?

The main benefit of EMDR is the speed at which deep-seated problems can be resolved. Single sessions of EMDR have been shown to produce results, and research shows an average treatment time of five EMDR sessions to comprehensively treat PTSD.

Unlike many "talk" therapies, EMDR does not require the client to go into detail about past distressing events. While communicating and establishing trust with the therapist is essential, there is no need to analyze the trauma for long periods of time. Moreover, belief in EMDR therapy isn't even necessary for it to work!

More information about EMDR

EMDR has been around since the late 1980's. Research on EMDR is ongoing, and to date there is more research to support it than any other treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

EMDR on the web (including research information):

EMDR International Association www.emdria.org
EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program www.emdrhap.org

Thrive Counseling office locations: 

Tech Center
7995 E. Prentice Ave.
Suite 106
Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Denver
1530 West 13th Ave.
Denver, CO 80204