SERVICES
EMDR
Does your child need some extra help expressing their feelings after a moment of distress or anxiety? Are they not able to communicate to you verbally? At Bright Star Counselling, we realize many children and youth haven't yet found the words they need to describe their feelings. They may also be struggling with verbal speech, especially after experiencing distressing or traumatic moments.
Let's help your child find the words they need, without relying solely on verbal expression. We offer eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, also known as EMDR, an evidence-based approach that helps reduce symptoms of anxiety, trauma, and phobias in children and youth.
What Does EMDR Do?
Normally, our brains store memories in a calm and organized way, accurately breaking down emotions, thoughts, and contexts into long-term memory. As a result, when a typical event is remembered, it can be seen as something in the past, focusing on the memory itself, rather than the associating emotion.
In contrast, traumatic memories fail the initial breakdown as they were having to be encoded under intense emotional distress, disrupting the “proper” process. The emotional aspects of the experience become stored in the brain while other parts of the memory, such as contextual details, are fragmented.
This means the different thoughts/events within that memory are poorly connected to one another, creating an incoherent and disorganized memory of the experience. Because of this disorganization, the traumatic memory feels vivid and present, making a child or youth feel like the memory itself is happening all over again.
This idea of a traumatic memory being “stuck” in the present is exactly what EMDR aims to correct. It tackles this issue by supporting the brain in reprocessing the traumatic memories, allowing the brain to organize the memory accurately and calmly, reducing emotional distress when these experiences are triggered.
How It Works
In simple terms, EMDR sessions change the brain's narrative of the child's traumatic memory from “there's danger” to “it's safe and over”. Even though the memory still exists, the goal of EMDR for children and youth is to remove that intensified emotional charge, thus creating a neutral memory. Our child and family therapist Martha integrates EMDR into sessions that are playful, unique, and befitting of a child's age and their ability to cope with strong emotions and phobias.
The key technique used in an EMDR session is called bilateral stimulation, which involves alternating stimulation to the left and right sides of the body or brain. It’s usually done through guided eye movements, however it can also involve alternating taps on the hands or knees, or sounds played from ear to ear. As this is being done, the child or youth is asked to briefly focus on the distressing memory, whether that be an event, a phobia, or a stressful situation.
Simply put, when receiving EMDR, it's not necessary for children and youth to speak of the events that created their traumatic memories verbally. Rather, they're encouraged to simply notice whatever thoughts, feelings, images, or body sensations come up in that present moment. Our therapist periodically begins and stops the stimulation as they do check-ins, allowing the child's brain to naturally move from one association to another.
Benefits of EMDR
Over time, children and youth will experience the following benefits:
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Improved sense of safety
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Less emotional outbursts
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Less nightmares
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A more neutral view of their past experience
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Healthier beliefs about the world and self
Overall, EMDR is a powerful and sensitive approach towards healing children and youth's phobias, trauma, and anxiety. When EMDR is used, a client is able to do something different than verbal communication, allowing a natural and safe healing process.