What the Heck is EMDR? Types of EMDR We Offer

Now that we’ve explored what EMDR is, you may be wondering how this works in therapy. We at MCC offer four different ways of getting EMDR. 

Regular Therapy

We offer EMDR in your regular therapy journey. This looks like you participating in talk therapy on a regular basis with your therapist at MCC and when you’re ready and wanting to, you can do EMDR during your regular therapy time. You would determine with your therapist what types of things you would like to process using EMDR as well as how often you’d like to incorporate it into your sessions. If your therapist is not trained in EMDR, then they can refer you to someone else at MCC who does offer EMDR. We call this type of EMDR therapy Supplementary EMDR.

Supplementary EMDR

Supplementary EMDR has two therapists - one is your primary therapist and the other is your secondary therapist. People typically only have two therapists if they are working on different things or using different approaches. In this case your primary therapist would not be trained in EMDR, and so you would come to an MCC therapist for EMDR only. This often looks like (though not always) coming on a regular basis to focus on a specific event or events doing exclusively EMDR. We typically recommend that you do one or two EMDR sessions, go back to your primary therapist for a talk therapy session, and then come back for more EMDR sessions. Supplementary EMDR is typically short term to process through specific occurrences. Once you’ve worked through them, treatment is complete and you continue to see your primary therapist exclusively. We do not offer Supplementary EMDR if you do not have a primary therapist, as ongoing treatment is important in the processing that occurs after your EMDR sessions. 

EMDR Intensives

EMDR Intensives are offered in half day and full day sessions. These are typically offered when people want to work through more incidents in a short period of time. A half day is usually 2-3 hours with breaks, and the full day is typically 5-6 hours with a break for lunch and breaks throughout the day. Oftentimes with Intensives there is some talk therapy interwoven throughout the session because sometimes there needs to be some verbal processing along the way. We offer EMDR Intensives for clients of MCC but also external clients; however, clients must have a primary therapist if they are not an active client of MCC. This ensures continuity of care pre and post-EMDR Intensive. 

EMDR Intensive Retreats 

EMDR Intensive Retreats are a holistic approach to doing EMDR. It typically involves 2, 3, or more days of intensive EMDR therapy one on one with a therapist. We will typically do what is called Story Clearing where we focus on different themes, experiences, relationships and process the trauma connected to those things. The client has exclusive use of the therapist and so the schedule is created around what is ideal for the client. There are times in there for breaks, lunch, and rest. We incorporate talk therapy, movement, art, journaling, self-reflection, and access to yoga classes. This Intensive Retreat is styled in a way that is often ideal for client’s who need to travel often and so scheduling regular therapy can be challenging. It can be catered to each client’s specific needs and we work with each client around what they’re looking for so the intensive therapeutic process can be as restful and gentle as possible. 

If you’re interested in pursuing EMDR in your therapy sessions please reach out and speak with your primary therapist, get plugged into a therapist at MCC, or contact our Intake Coordinator so they can do an initial consultation for you to get you plugged in for the appropriate EMDR approach.