Phone: +1 365 536 2103

EMDR Therapy in Newmarket, ON | Olena Pkhaladze

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing

EMDR Therapy for healing what words can't reach

A structured, evidence-based approach that uses gentle bilateral stimulation to help you process difficult memories — so they feel less vivid, less heavy, and more in the past.

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+1 (365) 536-2103

EMDR Therapy Overview

How it works, in plain language

EMDR was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1989 and has been studied in numerous clinical trials since. Here are the questions clients ask most.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a mental-health treatment that pairs brief attention to a distressing memory with bilateral stimulation — usually guided eye movements. The goal is to help the brain reprocess that memory so it loses its emotional charge.

EMDR can help adolescents, teens, and adults working through trauma or distressing life experiences. Some specialists also adapt it for children. We'll decide together whether it's a good fit for you.

EMDR draws on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which recognizes that the brain stores ordinary and traumatic memories differently. Trauma can interrupt natural healing, leaving negative emotions and patterns in place.

Memories that weren't fully processed can be set off by a sight, sound, or smell linked to the original event. Flashbacks in PTSD are one example of how an unprocessed memory can resurface in a distressing, uncontrolled way.

With guided instructions and bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps you revisit a memory in a contained way. Over time this can make the memory feel more manageable and reduce the difficult feelings attached to it.

Procedure Details

What EMDR therapy involves

EMDR follows eight phases across multiple sessions. Together they form a clear, paced path through the work.

01

History & planning

We explore your history and choose where to begin.

02

Preparation

You learn grounding and self-soothing tools you can rely on.

03

Assessment

We identify the specific memory and beliefs to target.

04

Desensitization

Bilateral stimulation helps lower the memory's intensity.

05

Installation

We strengthen a more helpful, positive belief.

06

Body scan

We check for and release lingering physical tension.

07

Closure

Each session ends with you feeling settled and steady.

08

Re-evaluation

We review progress and plan continuing care.

Why EMDR

A well-researched, widely recognized therapy

EMDR is one of the most studied approaches to trauma. Here's what the evidence and the field say about it.

Studied for trauma & PTSD

A substantial body of research supports EMDR for post-traumatic stress, including among veterans living with PTSD.

Used worldwide

EMDR is practised by clinicians around the world and has become a recognized tool within the mental-health community.

Recognized by major bodies

It is recommended for trauma and PTSD by organizations including the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association.

Often paced and focused

Many clients find EMDR a structured, focused way to work — though everyone's experience and timeline is different.

Applications

Beyond PTSD

Much EMDR research centres on PTSD, and clinicians also apply it, where appropriate, to a range of other concerns.

Panic attacks

Working with the memories and triggers underlying panic to help you regain a sense of control.

Disordered eating

Addressing distressing experiences that can sit beneath disordered patterns, as part of broader care.

Addiction support

Reprocessing difficult memories that may contribute to addictive patterns, alongside other treatment.

Anxiety

Easing anxiety tied to specific situations — such as public speaking or dental visits — by reworking negative associations.

What's important to know

How I work

INDIVIDUAL APPROACH

We build a plan around you and choose the tools that fit your goals, working toward the root of the concern.

AT YOUR OWN PACE

Everyone moves differently. There's no race — we go at a speed that feels safe and sustainable for you.

MEDICATION-FREE

This is talk-based psychotherapy. I don't prescribe; I work with your mind, your story, and your emotional world.

YOUR CHOICE OF FORMAT

Sessions can be in person, one-to-one online, or in a group — whatever suits your life.

Let's practice

Bilateral stimulation & grounding

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is at the heart of EMDR. It gently engages both sides of the brain through eye movements, sounds, or touch to support memory processing — a little like the natural activity of REM sleep.

Visual

Following a moving light or the therapist's hand from side to side.

Auditory

Alternating tones, often through headphones, left then right.

Tactile

Gentle alternating taps or handheld buzzers — including the "butterfly hug."

EMDR therapy stages

What a course of therapy looks like

I

History taking

Together we identify the experience driving current symptoms.

First session

II

Tools

You learn the grounding skills that make the work feel safe.

First session

III–VII

Reprocessing

The core work — targeting and desensitizing with BLS.

Typically several sessions

VIII

Future template

We rehearse facing future moments with steadiness.

Closing session

Start your journey

Write your own beautiful story

Book Your First Session

EMDR THERAPY

EMDR therapy, harnessing the power of bilateral stimulation, is a structured and efficient approach that encourages patients to briefly focus on traumatic memories, concurrently experiencing controlled eye movements, leading to a reduction in the vividness and emotional intensity associated with the trauma, fostering empowerment and resilience.

How It Works

Leave your phone number and we will call you!

Or you can call us yourself:

+1(365) 536-2103

EMDR Therapy

Overview

What is EMDR therapy? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an innovative mental health treatment technique. It involves specific eye movements while processing traumatic memories with the aim of facilitating healing from trauma or distressing life experiences. Developed in 1989, numerous clinical trials since then have demonstrated its effectiveness, often providing faster results compared to other therapeutic methods.

Who benefits from EMDR therapy? EMDR can be transformative for individuals across age groups, including adolescents, teenagers, and adults. Some specialists also focus on providing EMDR for children.

Adaptive Information Processing

EMDR relies on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. This model acknowledges the distinct way the brain stores normal and traumatic memories. Trauma memories often disrupt the natural healing process, leading to persistent negative symptoms, emotions, and behaviors.

Triggers

Improperly stored memories may be triggered by sights, sounds, or smells connected to a traumatic event, causing overwhelming emotions. Flashbacks, common in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), illustrate how improperly stored memories can create an uncontrolled and distressing reliving of past events.

Reprocessing and Repair

EMDR involves accessing traumatic memories through guided instructions and eye movements. This targeted reprocessing helps repair the mental injury caused by the trauma, making the memory more manageable and reducing associated negative feelings.

Procedure Details

What does EMDR therapy involve? EMDR therapy comprises eight phases conducted over multiple sessions. These phases, including patient history, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, re-evaluation, and continuing care, guide the therapeutic process.

Why choose EMDR?

Addressing the Effectiveness of EMDR Therapy

Proven Effectiveness

Clients often inquire about the effectiveness of EMDR therapy, and the evidence overwhelmingly supports its efficacy. Extensive research reveals that EMDR is highly effective, achieving up to 100% success for single-trauma cases and a commendable 77% effectiveness for individuals with multiple traumas.
Combat Veterans and PTSD:

For combat veterans grappling with PTSD symptoms, EMDR therapy emerges as a powerful and transformative solution. It has been found to be highly effective in alleviating and eliminating PTSD symptoms, offering hope and healing to those who have served.
Global Acceptance and Utilization:

EMDR therapy is not only backed by research but is also widely embraced and utilized worldwide. Over 100,000 therapists globally employ EMDR as a key therapeutic tool, attesting to its widespread acceptance within the mental health community.
Endorsements from Major Associations:

The credibility of EMDR therapy is reinforced by endorsements from more than 15 major associations worldwide. Renowned entities such as the World Health Organization, American Psychological Association, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs recognize and recommend EMDR for trauma and PTSD.

Infographic

Expanding EMDR Applications

Beyond PTSD:

While much of the research surrounding EMDR focuses on its efficacy in treating PTSD, therapists often apply this versatile therapy to address a spectrum of psychological challenges. These include:

EMDR has shown promise in alleviating the symptoms of panic attacks. By targeting the underlying causes and associated distressing memories, EMDR aids individuals in regaining control over their emotional responses.

WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW

INDIVIDUAL APPROACH

I create your personal schedule and choose individual tools to achieve your goal by eliminating the real cause of the problem.
AT YOUR OWN PACE

Everyone is different. I had a client who quit smoking in 1 day or drinking in 3 days. Everyone has their own reason and speed for change.
NO MEDICAL INTERACTION

What does it mean? It means that all of my treatments are medications free. I work only with your mind and emotional state of being.
DELIVERY

You choose the delivery of the program. Online, In-person, In group or through Zoom.

Book Your First Session Now

Transform your journey with EMDR

Free yourself today!

Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) in tandem with EMDR therapy is crucial for emotional distress relief, transforming traumatic memories, and fostering resilience. This blend signifies the future of holistic mental health intervention.

Empower your healing journey with EMDR – where breakthroughs happen through the transformative touch of bilateral stimulation (BLS)

.

BLS, a fundamental EMDR component, engages both brain hemispheres through stimuli like eye movements, auditory cues, or tactile input. Its primary goal is to kickstart neurological processing techniques, amplifying communication between brain regions to process traumatic memories.

Eye movements, along with auditory and tactile components, are vital in the dual attention stimulation process, mimicking REM sleep for effective EMDR therapy. EMDR's evolution, initiated by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, incorporates BLS, maintaining its principles for global recognition in PTSD treatment.

Bilateral Stimulation comes in visual, auditory, and tactile forms, with tools like light bars, headphones, and buzzers enhancing memory targeting stimulation. Significance and Advantages of BLS encompass decreased disturbances, increased relaxation, improved coping mechanisms, and emotional distance from trauma.

Bilateral Stimulation plays a vital role in trauma resolution, memory processing, and reducing stress and anxiety, aligning with EMDR techniques. Efficiency sets BLS apart from traditional methods, treating various psychiatric disorders beyond PTSD, with active patient participation.

Success stories, testimonials, and data-driven evidence validate BLS's efficacy, countering misconceptions and prejudices. EMDR therapy techniques, including BLS, are scientifically endorsed and client-safe.

Let's practice!

Grounding technique

Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)

BLS is used in EMDR Therapy. Please watch the video to learn how to apply it.

EMDR Therapy Stages

Stage One

History Taking

The therapist and the client choose what initial sensitizing event (ISE) is causing posttraumatic syndrome disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Duration: First Session

Stage Two

Tools

The client is trained to use tools that are important in successful desensitization and reprocessing stage.

Duration: First Session

Stage Three - Seven

Targeting -Desensitization&Reprocessing

This is where the actual desensitization and reprocessing happens with utilization of BLS.

Duration: 4-5 Sessions depending on the issue.

Stage Eight

Future Template

During this stage the client is introduced to a future template (future event where possible disturbance may occur) and evaluates the readiness to live freely.

Duration: Last Session

Start your journey today!

Write your own beautiful success story!

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