What is EMDR? An explanation for teens…
When negative or bad things happen in our lives, our brain stores all the information about the bad thing (like the feelings, thoughts, and body sensations related to the event) in a ‘file’ in our brain.
Some examples of negative or bad things are abuse, divorce and separation, accidents, death or loss of a loved one, violence in the home, bullying, witnessing bad things happen etc. These things can leave us feeling bored, angry, irritated, frustrated, and annoyed. We might feel like we are not good enough and want to isolate ourselves from others. We might have nightmares or have a really hard time falling asleep/staying asleep. We might have a hard time connecting with other people, maybe we use drugs, alcohol or sex as a way to escape or numb the discomfort we feel.
Lots of adults and teenagers feel and cope in these ways!
When events are really bad, our brains have a hard time organizing all the information from that event. If it is not stored effectively, we can get triggered and feel overwhelmed or have the symptoms described above. You might have heard someone say something about “getting triggered”.
EMDR is a therapy approach that helps the brain organize and sort out all the information from the bad events so that we can feel better.
I look forward to meeting with you to talk more about how EMDR works and to decide if it is right for you!