3 Key Considerations Before Starting EMDR Therapy for Complex Trauma

Do you suffer from complex trauma that continues to have a negative impact on your daily ability to feel connected? Are you recognizing that the trauma is impacting several areas of your life, especially building and maintaining healthy relationships? Or maybe you're feeling frustrated with those intense “out of control” feelings or trauma responses. There may be a solution out there for you: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy.

If you are thinking about trying EMDR after trying several other trauma reprocessing therapies, or just thinking that it's time to do the trauma work, there are several things that you will want to consider before starting. Here are three elements to consider with your EMDR journey: 

1. You'll need to build rapport with your therapist

2. Resource building 

3. Consider taking time off work when doing EMDR processing

Building Rapport with Your Therapist

Number one, first and foremost, it is so important to feel safe with your therapist. Rapport. Rapport. Rapport. Finding the person who you can put your trust in can be difficult, but it is so necessary.

Therapists who work with trauma understand that sometimes,despite their best efforts, the therapeutic relationship never feels right. That's OK. Maybe check in with yourself because a few different things could be at play. Are you a people player, people pleaser by nature and have a difficult time recognizing what you need? If so, talk openly with your therapist about this. Or hopefully they will bring up the topic as you do your work together.

It's also important to be able to tell your therapist what you are experiencing during the EMDR process. Say if you are working on visualizing a safe/calm place, and you're experiencing blankness or high activation - letting your therapist know so you can problem solve together is an important part of the process.

Another factor at play could be an avoidant attachment style. Do you go through several therapists because you find something wrong with them, possibly due to your past? Do you tend to cut people off easily to protect and feel safe? Check in with yourself. Being open and honest about what you're experiencing in session is paramount with trauma reprocessing. Having a therapist listen and pivot approaches to help you feel safe can be a collective process and helps your nervous system learn to discriminate what is safe. 

Resource Building in EMDR

Complex trauma often requires tons of upfront work with resourcing. A therapist will help you build your internal resources or visualizations. You will call upon these internal resources to help you feel safe and less activated during your EMDR journey.

Building allies such as a nurturing figure, a protective figure, and a wisdom figure are common visualizations you will create with the help of your therapist. You might also begin to notice different parts of yourself that need to feel safe. Your therapist can help you create safe places and communication between the parts all to help understand and untangle trauma networks.

You might also add “tapping” or bilateral stimulation with resourcing. Tapping, slowly guided by your therapist, enhances visualizations and allows deeper integration into your nervous system. The tapping also makes it easier to pull these resources into your mind when you are outside of the session. Visualizations are proven to help change neural brain networks.

So although it might seem silly when your therapist asks you to call upon a protective figure, these exercises can really help you. You will feel stronger and will begin to decrease your trauma responses. 

Time Off During EMDR

Consider EMDR intensives or time off work when you are in the desensitizing processing part of treatment. You can make a plan with your therapist that works best for you. Maybe you want to meet daily for a couple of weeks or you can meet every other day to give yourself more space to recover in between sessions. You can tailor your needs to what works best for you.

Knowing exactly how long the EMDR process will take is difficult because every person’s experiences are unique. You can figure at least two weeks for the most difficult target memories. Taking time off work, where you have time to “just heal” can be beneficial.

Planning the desensitizing stage when you have support available, when it's not around any anniversaries of the traumatic experience, and when you have the right work schedule is helpful in the EMDR process, but not always necessary. Trust yourself and check in with what works best for you. EMDR can be faster at processing trauma than talk therapy but all trauma work will cause some distress, so it’s important to find the right time for deeper EMDR reprocessing. 

You now have three elements to consider when thinking about engaging in EMDR with complex trauma. Complex trauma work takes time and is difficult. Having a therapist you trust, trusting the process of building in resources, and considering taking time off to do more intensive EMDR sessions are all helpful with your journey of healing. 

If you are in Colorado and seeking EMDR for deeper trauma processing and healing, reach out today! Our compassionate therapists can support you through this difficult process. Contact us for a Free Phone Consultation to get started!

How We Can Help

Learn about our emdr/trauma treatment at catalyss counseling

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If you are looking for general support, or if you would like to talk to someone more about how we can help you, follow these simple steps:

1. Contact us today for a free 20-minute phone consultation

2. Or, you can book directly online with the therapist of your choice

3. Begin your journey towards a calmer, more relaxed life

Other Therapy Services Available at Catalyss Counseling:

Here at Catalyss Counseling, we want to meet all of your counseling needs in the Denver area. Our supportive therapists provide depression counseling, therapy for caregiver stress, grief and loss therapy, stress management counseling and more. We also have specialists in trauma and PTSD, women's issues, pregnancy and postpartum depression or anxiety, pregnancy loss and miscarriage, and birth trauma. For therapists, we can also provide clinical supervision! We look forward to connecting with you to help support your journey today.

Author Biography

Kristen Dammer believes in addressing the whole health needs of you as a person, and her dedication, creativity, and flexibility as a therapist are her greatest strengths. Her holistic approach to anxiety, grief and trauma helps you feel in control and creates a welcoming environment for you to share your vulnerabilities, fears, and experiences. She is trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and uses it to treat anxiety and trauma. Follow Catalyss Counseling on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.