EMDR Therapy
Are you feeling anxious? Avoidant? Can’t stop thinking about a bad event in the past?
Do you feel consumed by something that happened in the past?
Do you have feelings of guilt, shame, sadness, anxiousness, sleeplessness?
Have you noticed you have been avoiding things you used to enjoy or things that remind you of the past?
When you have quiet moments, do you find your thoughts are highly anxious, worrisome, and fearful?
Perhaps you have dealt with traumatic stress before?
Have you been reaching for things you know are bad for you, such as alcohol or drugs, to cope?
There is hope
Living with PTSD is a challenging but entirely normal response to trauma—it's estimated that about 6% of U.S. adults will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Indeed, many of the symptoms of PTSD (avoidance, numbing) serving as the brain's way of protecting itself rather than a sign of personal weakness. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy offers profound hope by harnessing your brain's natural healing abilities to reprocess distressing memories and reduce symptoms more rapidly than traditional talk therapy. Through guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation while focusing on traumatic events, EMDR helps integrate these experiences into your narrative. EMDR has allowed many to reclaim their lives, build resilience, and move forward with renewed peace and strength.
We have treatments that work
Here at Larsen Behavioral Therapy, we work regularly with clients who are suffering with PTSD using EMDR to help them overcome their symptoms. Whether it’s a one time traumatic experience or a lifelong struggle, we offer research based, effective tools to address your concerns.
EMDR involves weekly one-on-one psychotherapy sessions with a trained therapist. During these sessions, clients share about their traumatic experience while engaging in bilateral stimulation, and therapists listen to their clients struggles and identify areas of emotional tension. During the session, therapists direct the clients to expand on their feelings and thoughts. Over time, the emotional charge of the traumatic memory dissipates and clients resolve their overly negative thoughts. With symptom reduction, therapists are able to engage their clients in their lives to overcome avoidance that was once debilitating. EMDR is a scienced based intervention for Trauma.
Access EMDR Therapy in Summit, Hoboken, and Mendham NJ
Specific behaviors, like mindfulness practices and exercise, may be encouraged to help clients lift themselves out of the depression, while other behaviors that contribute to depression may be discouraged. Over time, clients begin to think about their lives differently, catch their own thinking traps, become better problem solvers, and make changes that improve their mood.
Therapy with an EMDR trained therapist is unlike therapy of the past and directly addresses the negative cycles of thinking and behavior that are characteristic of trauma. Therapists using EMDR will first help you overcome your negative emotions and thoughts and learn how these aspects of your mind interact to cause you to behave in ways that cause further anxiety and pain.
How does EMDR work? How is it different?
EMDR is based on a theory called Adaptive Information Processing model developed by Francine Shapiro. The main idea is that trauma can cause memories to become “stuck” in their raw, distressing, unprocessed form—trapping intense emotions, vivid images, bodily sensations, and negative thoughts. The brain does this to protect the person from danger as if it is still present. However, in modern society, this reaction is maladaptive as most common traumatic stressors are transient is go away as soon as the incident is over (think car accidents, assaults, sudden death). However, this tendency to be stuck in a defensive posture, constantly looking for threats, is what fuels trauma symptoms.
EMDR powerfully unlocks this natural healing process through gentle, rhythmic side-to-side eye movements (or taps or tones) that replicate the brain’s own REM-sleep phase. This bilateral stimulation allows emotional memories to naturally sort and integrate. This stimulation activates both hemispheres, quiets the overactive amygdala (the fear center), strengthens communication between emotional and rational brain regions, reduces limbic hyperactivity, and restores calm regulation from the prefrontal cortex.
In this safe, focused state, the brain rapidly reprocesses the traumatic memory: the emotional intensity fades, images lose their vividness, old negative beliefs are corrected, and new, adaptive connections form. Neuroimaging studies confirm these changes with EMDR. These studies show decreased amygdala activity and improved neural integration—often delivering faster, deeper relief than many traditional therapies. EMDR taps directly into the brain’s built-in capacity to heal, helping people move from distress toward renewed peace and feelings of security.
But I’ve done this before and it didn’t work
We often hear from new clients that they have been to therapy before and that it didn’t work out for them. Some say, “I’ve done trauma treatment before and it was just upsetting and didn’t resolve anything.” Another common complaint is, “Therapy for me was a lot of homework. I just didn’t see the point.” While older forms of therapy may be more open ended and exploratory EMDR is structured and targeted. We look to address the trauma directly each week so that over time relief is achieved. EMDR will help you alter how you see the traumatic event or events and help you move on from your past experiences. Our goal is to get you feeling better so you can go on and live your life and not be in endless therapy.
I don’t have hope that things will get better
This is a natural thought to have when suffering with PTSD. A sense of uncontrollability and fear is a natural symptom of the disorder. Indeed, if you’ve tried to just move on and it hasn’t worked.
But don’t give in to this sense of helplessness/hopelessness.
Our therapists have helped countless people overcome trauma with EMDR and start living their lives again. Indeed, most clients report feeling a sense of relief even after only one session. Understanding that you are not alone in overcoming your battle and that there is a science-backed plan in place to address your symptoms makes a big difference.
You are worth giving yourself another chance. EMDR can work quickly and you should know within a few sessions if it is something that you want to continue to address your PTSD symptoms.
I don’t have money for expensive therapy
Many potential clients initially worry about the cost of our services. While we are not in-network with major insurance carries we do work with them. If you provide your insurance information in our intake paperwork, we will provide you with courtesy claims submission, meaning we will submit claims paperwork to your insurance company on your behalf.
You pay us, we submit claims, your insurer pays you based on the specifics of your insurance policy. It’s that easy. We know you are struggling, and we want to make getting help as easy as possible.
Our therapy works!
CBT therapy has been researched for over 20 years and has been proven time and time again to be an effective treatment for depression (as well as anxiety, OCD, and a host of other issues). For mild to moderate depression, CBT is a first line approach. During therapy we will help you to make other lifestyle changes that also improve your mood (including change in sleep habits and exercise) that have also been shown to change brain chemistry to improve mood. Many of our clients have been able to avoid taking mood altering drugs or have been able to come off them after years of treatment. For some a combination of antidepressants and CBT therapy is the best option. In any case, CBT is a great way to address your depression and live your best life.
Take the first step NOW!
You may be wondering if today is the right day to make a change. We invite you to contact us or call us on (201) 639-3361 for a free phone consultation to discuss your concerns and decide whether we are the right fit for you. We have several expert CBT therapists in our group with their own unique areas of specialization and populations that they work with. When you call, we will walk you through the intake process and match you with the best therapist for your concerns.
Why wait? Call today and take the first step in your journey towards wellness.
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