EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is an empirically validated treatment for trauma and other adverse life experiences. EMDR therapy's research base includes more than three dozen randomized control studies.

The most recent VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder lists EMDR therapy as one of the three "trauma-focused psychotherapies with the strongest evidence from clinical trials."

A more comprehensive list of EMDR therapy research can be found here.

Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in patients with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out prematurely. Learn more here and here.

Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. Learn more here.

An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD. Learn more here.

The economy is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time because of time not spent on beginning of session check-ins, focusing on daily issues or stabilization each week, or working on stabilization after each treatment.

Neurofeedback, also known as EEG (electroencephalogram), is a type of biofeedback therapy that helps reduce regulation issues in the brain and improve the ability to control impulses, maintain attention, and think more clearly.

In addition to addressing problems of brain dysregulation, neurofeedback can provide whole body benefits that allow the central nervous system to function more optimally.

Amy begins every EMDR intensive session with 20 minutes of neurofeedback to target the calming and grounding channels of the brain.

More information about neurofeedback therapy can be found here.

Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) defines the aim of SE as resolving symptoms and stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in our bodies and nervous systems. SE focuses on how trauma shows up in the nervous system, particularly being stuck in patterns of fight, flight, or freeze. It can be used to support the resolution of PTSD and developmental attachment trauma.

HOW DOES SOMATIC EXPERIENCING WORK?

Per SEI, the SE approach "facilitates the completion of self protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms." The SE approach emphasizes gently guiding client to increase their tolerance for body sensations and emotions connected to the adverse or traumatic event(s). This is facilitated through bodily awareness, resourcing, titration, and pendulation.

Not much research has been published on Somatic Experiencing. A handful of studies and literature reviews have been completed, as recently as 2021. A randomized control trial from 2017 showed that 44% of the participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD after treatment.

Click here to see a demonstration of Peter Levine, SE's founder, working with Ray, a Marine and war veteran.

Amy integrates Somatic Experiencing as an adjunct to EMDR therapy. It is not used as a standalone therapy.

WHAT ARE EGO STATES?

Ego states, sometimes called "parts", represent aspects of our personality and different gears we shift into. They often reflect emotional states (i.e., anger part, anxious and avoidance part) or stages of development (child, adolescent, adult, parent).

According to Ego State Therapy International, ego states are formed when we do something over and over.  The Hebbian rule of brain learning asserts that neurons that fire together will wire together. This “over and over again” learning creates a physical neural pathway in the brain that has its own level of emotion, abilities, and experience of living. 

WHAT IS EGO STATE THERAPY?

Ego state therapy is a psychodynamic approach based on the premise that personality is composed of separate parts rather than being a homogenous whole.  These parts (which everyone has) are called ego states.  The therapist learns to work directly with the state that can best benefit from change, rather than merely work with an intellectual, talkative state. 

Anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress disorders are common conditions treated with ego state therapy.

Ego state therapy is commonly integrated with EMDR therapy.  A single-case study from 2013 found that ego-state therapy combined with EMDR helps to prevent abreactions and resolve blocked processing. 

Amy integrates ego state work as an adjunct to EMDR therapy. It is not used as a standalone therapy.