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Utilizing EMDR Through Excelsior's Continuum of Care
by Kim Godell, MS, LPC
Kim Godell and Hannah
Kim Godell has been employed as a therapist at Excelsior for over two years. She is originally from Houston, Texas and received her Masters form The University of Houston in Counseling. She has been in the field of mental health for five years working with many populations including those in outpatient, residential, and psychiatric hospitalization settings. Kim is an LPC and has recently completed her training in EMDR specific to working with those who have experienced trauma.
What is EMDR? EMDR is an
integrative therapy that helps people heal from traumatic events as well as, life
disturbing experiences. EMDR has recieved worldwide attention for helping millions
of people heal from PTSD caused from traumatic events, such as; rape, sexual abuse,
auto accidents, combat, and loss. It can be especially helpful for those experiencing
residual grief and anxiety from these events. Traumatic events can become an unprocessed
memory and get stored in the brain creating symptoms that are uncomfortable and
hindering. Physical sensations, emotions, thoughts, and images associated with
the event can get locked into the brain, and without treatment, may lead to distressing
symptoms and behaviors. EMDR is designed to help our clients identify and process
these stuck pieces so that the symptoms can decrease and one can feel more alive
and less distressed. EMDR helps facilitate the activation of the brain's inherent
system to process and integrate the information that got stored or stuck. EMDR
will not erase the memory; rather you will be able to remember the story without
all the emotional charge that was distressing before the treatment.
Why
is EMDR beneficial for our population at Excelsior? The majority of girls utilizing
Excelsior's services have been involved in major traumatic life events such as
physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. It is quite difficult for children and
teens at such a young age to identify and process through this trauma. Often times,
they have not been given the tools or resources that can aid in the healing process.
Although talk therapy has its benefits, EMDR allows the client's to work through
these issues at an internal level. Clients are encouraged to re-experience these
traumatic events in a safe therapeutic environment and verbalize their needs in
a subjective manner. After time, and much processing, clients feel free of the
trauma. Instead of experiencing their emotions in the sympatheticnervous system
with the flight or fight response, client's can maintain emotion regulation with
ease in a more manageable means.
Not only is EMDR effective with the
residential population, but also viable for our client's in our Community Based
Services (CBS) program. It is crucial for client's utilizing EMDR to be resourced
and have the ability to regulate their emotions. The CBS program serves those
clients who have demonstrated stabilization in the community setting. Because
of this, our CBS client's seem to benefit greatly from EMDR because they have
shown this capability. On average, community clients are able to start EMDR at
a quicker pace due to their proven consistency. Clients participating in EMDR
must have a support system in place to help them work through the trauma that
is re-experienced in the sessions. It is found that client's in CBS program have
those support systems set in place as evidenced by their maintenance in the community
in comparison to inpatient or residential settings.
