EMDR During Pregnancy
7 things an EMDR therapist wants you to know
First - What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) “is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories.”
Read more: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
https://www.emdria.org/blog/emdr-therapy-and-pregnancy/
A big benefit of EMDR therapy is that it does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions and is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain.
Barb recently chatted with Meaghan Semple of Fort Worth Women’s Counseling and here are 7 things Meaghan wants pregnant and postpartum folks to know about EMDR.
7 Things EMDR Can Do:
resolve past traumas, not only helping the pregnant person, but also increasing the positive impacts on pregnancy outcomes and baby’s overall trajectory
help to alleviate current anxiety or distress related or unrelated to pregnancy
improve confidence for upcoming labor & delivery and parenthood through mindfulness-type exercises
help to facilitate a healthy connection with baby
be utilized during all perinatal phases (preconception, pregnancy, postpartum)
be as short-term as 2-3 sessions (i.e., to increase feelings of confidence and empowerment about upcoming delivery) or long-term and more in-depth (i.e., reprocessing past trauma, current triggers, and future concerns)
address issues/concerns like: infertility, miscarriage, body image issues, high-risk pregnancy, birth trauma, NICU care, Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), and much more!
Want to connect with an EMDR therapist?
Schedule with Meaghan: https://www.fwwomenscounseling.com/schedule
Use this link to find an EMDR therapist near you:
https://www.emdria.org/find-an-emdr-therapist/