Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) allows the client to concentrate on an event or incident while moving their eyes horizontally following the light on an electric screen. Additionally clients wear earphones to hear a soft beep that corresponds to where there eyes are moving. The procedure appears to speed one's movement toward healing. It is not hypnosis neither does it produce any dizziness or headaches. You are prepared for the rapid eye movements a number of sessions before beginning.

Can you be taking medication and do EMDR?
Clients can take medications for depression or anxiety and still benefit from EMDR.

Am I in Control?
The Client is always in control. EMDR is not hypnosis and you are aware and conscious of all that is going on in the therapy. You may stop the eye movements and request that the light board be stopped.

When is EMDR Employed?
EMDR is used to treat troubling symptoms such as depression, guilt, anger,and anxiety and all types of stress. The wonderful feature of EMDR is that resources such as self-esteem and confidence can be installed in the place of self-defeat and self sabotage.

What happens in the beginning of treatment?
During the first three sessions you are asked questions about the incidents and events that continually come up in your life. You will receive a number of handouts including a life history, a depression index, and themes questionnaire in order for Dr. Dressner and yourself to understand your situation. The purpose of focusing on
incidents and events is that EMDR is short-term treatment and once the levels of discomfort surrounding these events have subsided you have completed EMDR therapy. At periodic intervals Dr. Dressner
will review with you the initial incidents and troubling events to see if they have subsided. Generally EMDR therapy is once a week and last for sixty minutes.

Can I Start EMDR in the first session?
Before you begin EMDR it is necessary to have identified the incidents and events in your life that are emotionally distressing. It is also important that the therapeutic relationship be established and this interaction takes at least three sessions. During the first three session you will be asked about whether you have a "safe place" in case troubling events come into your mind.

What should you as a client want in an EMDR professional?
It is imperative to know whether your therapist has been trained by a program from the EMDR Institute. There are two levels in the training. Other therapists have been known to practice without the formal EMDR Institute training and the procedure could be risky and perhaps cause some harm

After the EMDR Session what happens?
In regular talk therapy you may be aware of the feelings or insights that have occurred in the session. With EMDR the material brought up by you may lead to strong feelings, during the day or even when you are dreaming . The process of the material being worked on even after the therapy session is completed is normal for many people. The day after the first session Dr. Dressner will call you to make sure you are feeling well. If unpleasant thoughts occur you are encouraged to call your therapist. At that point, most of the time, it is only necessary to speak on the phone but if necessary an appointment can be made for further work before the next regular session.

How long does EMDR therapy take?
In some of the books about EMDR, which you will find on the "readings page", you may read about practitioners who treated trauma in one to three sessions. It is my experience that if the trauma is a distinct event such as a car accident then EMDR treatment may take a short time to work out. If the incidents and Trauma in one's life have stretched over a period of years or since childhood, it will take longer. EMDR speeds the healing process but it is not magical and mystical.