Heal. Recover. Start at The Heights Treatment
Heal From Trauma With EMDR Therapy
Everyone has life experiences that can lead to stress, overwhelm, or even burnout. But, some life experiences are more negatively impactful than others, leaving us with the deep scars of trauma.
Those suffering from the effects of traumatic events or experiences can feel overtaken by intense emotions, intrusive thoughts, ruminations, and extreme duress. For trauma survivors, it’s often not just difficult to overcome the trauma, but to even manage daily activities.
You don’t have to let past trauma define you. Help is available.
At The Heights Treatment, we implement EMDR therapy so that you can reprocess traumatic events and experiences in a healthy way so that you can move on with your life.
What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy developed in the 1980s that empowers individuals to heal from the emotional distress resulting from a traumatic event or long-term traumatic experiences. Studies have shown that EMDR therapy can increase the speed of healing much faster than using only traditional talk therapy alone.
Through specific protocols, EMDR therapy helps the individual activate their natural healing processes so that trauma can be overcome.
What Happens During an EMDR Session?
During an EMDR therapy session, the therapist helps the client work through specific memories of past trauma or negative belief systems while utilizing bilateral stimulation such as eye movement and tapping. This stimulation activates the opposite side of the brain, helping the client process and release emotional experiences.
Unlike a traditional psychotherapy session, this form of therapy does not require that the EMDR therapist and client engage in back-and-forth conversation.
The Role of EMDR in Recovery
EMDR treatment is exceptionally powerful for those with substance use disorders, mental health disorders, or co-occurring disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, or anxiety and depression. There are often traumatic memories or traumatic experiences buried within that lead to maladaptive coping skills and the development of these disorders in the first place.
In recovery, it is important that individuals heal holistically. It’s not enough to just cease the use of substances or negate harmful behaviors. It is crucial that underlying causes are addressed so that relapse can be prevented and recovery can be lifelong.
Levels of Care at the Heights Treatment
Not everyone undergoing addiction or mental health treatment can–or needs to–commit to inpatient treatment. Our day programs allow our clients to focus on their therapies and healing with the flexibility of keeping their careers intact, attending school, and maintaining family obligations in the evenings.
Our treatment options include:
Individualized Intensive Program (IIP)
IIP is ideal for patients transitioning from a higher level of treatment or an inpatient program. This program offers evidence-based modalities and an integrative approach, but patients still have the flexibility to balance their recovery with responsibilities at work, home, or school.
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
A PHP is an intensive level of outpatient care that’s ideal for patients transitioning from a residential treatment program or IIP. Patients still have the flexibility to tend to work, home, or school but benefit from a structured environment for treatment and care in our welcoming rehab center in Houston.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
Our IOP is a good fit for patients who have completed IIP or inpatient treatment but may need more rigorous care than an outpatient program. This program can help patients who have taken the first step toward recovery on their own and need more long-term support, treatment, and accountability.
Outpatient Program (OP)
Mental health treatment programs provide evidence-based behavioral health therapy and psychiatry. A positive community of peer support, family therapy sessions, and a compassionate staff with an individualized, strategic plan. Patients learn skills like positive awareness, coping skills, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness in regular therapy sessions.
Whole-Person Treatment Plans
Healing for life means healing the whole person. Our modalities are evidence-based with studies and scientific data to prove their effectiveness and treat the whole person, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
We combine both individual treatment and group therapies to not just help you recover individually, but create a supportive, healing environment and built-in support group of your peers.
FAQs About EMDR
Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about EMDR and how this type of therapy can help you recover from addiction and mental health conditions
Who Benefits From EMDR?
EMDR therapy is useful in the treatment of anyone who has suffered emotional distress. In recovery, this type of therapy is an especially effective treatment for those with alcohol use disorder, a history of drug abuse, or those with PTSD symptoms.
When Was EMDR Created?
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing was created in 1987 by American psychologist Francine Shapiro after she discovered that eye movements decreased negative emotions that she attached to her own traumatic experiences.
Shapiro created EMDR based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) theory, which focuses on how memories are stored in the brain.
Is EMDR a Trauma-Focused Therapy?
Yes. EMDR is commonly used in the treatment plans for those suffering from the symptoms of trauma. This type of therapy is popular in treating PTSD in veterans, as well as trauma in civillian clients who have suffered traumatic experiences such as abuse, rape, or other distressing events.
What is the Effectiveness of EMDR for Drug Use Disorders?
EMDR is considered a highly effective therapy in the treatment of substance abuse disorders, however, it is not recommended that anyone who is still actively using drugs or alcohol partake in EMDR therapy as it may reduce effectiveness. Many people use drugs or alcohol as a maladaptive coping skill to “feel less,” and EMDR–as well as other types of therapy–require that clients do intense, deep work within themselves in order to heal.
How Long Does EMDR Take to Start Working?
While there is no “quick fix” in therapy, many people feel a sense of relief more quickly than with other types of traditional therapy.
Some people find that they have completely reprocessed traumatic memories in 6-12 sessions, while some people find that they are at least partially desensitized to these memories in only a few sessions, finding themselves less emotionally reactive when distressing memories arise.
Treat Addiction With EMDR Therapy
If you or a loved one are suffering the effects of a traumatic event or experience, the walls may feel as if they are closing in. This is no way to live.
Our mental health and substance abuse treatment center can help you take control of your life so that your past doesn’t define your future. Call today. Start better tomorrow.
