Meet Desne Doman, a Clinical Psychologist psychologist who’s good at EMDR therapy in Sydney and primarily focuses on dealing with trauma-related problems.
She is an Accredited Practitioner by The EMDR Association of Australia.
Let’s talk about what trauma and PTSD can look like:
- Re-experiencing: This means memories that keep returning, nightmares, or feeling like the bad event is happening again.
- Avoidance/Numbing: This might show up as trying to stay away from thoughts or feelings about the trauma (using alcohol or drugs), avoiding places or people related to the trauma, not remembering the event well, feeling distant from others, or not being able to feel much.
- Hyper-arousal: This includes being unable to sleep, feeling jumpy or angry, having trouble paying attention, being extra alert, or getting scared easily.
So, can EMDR therapy be helpful?
Many of us have had hard times from when we were kids until we grew up – that’s how life goes. For many people, our brains deal with these challenging times and help us learn from them to make better choices in the future.
But for some folks, these tough times don’t get processed well. When we were kids, we didn’t understand or have the proper support to handle it. As we got older, those tough times kept causing problems, making it hard to enjoy life now.
Feeling anxious, moody, having pain that won’t go away, or struggling with drugs can all be signs of those old issues. They show that our minds haven’t sorted out those hard times, and it feels like they’re still bothering us.
What’s the deal with EMDR?
EMDR therapy isn’t about talking things out like regular therapy. It’s usually quicker than just talking, taking around four to five sessions for more straightforward cases. EMDR targets those tricky memories from tough times and helps your brain work through them to make them less powerful.
So, how does EMDR therapy work?
When something traumatic happens, our brain doesn’t always process the memory right. Traumatic events can trigger our brain’s “fight or flight” response, even when the danger is long gone. And if our brain can’t make sense of what happened, the memory stays jumbled up and keeps coming back, making us feel like it’s happening all over again. Painful feelings, images, and thoughts connected to the trauma might feel stuck in the present.
In EMDR sessions, we work to make these memories hurt less. Over time, EMDR helps us get less bothered by the bad thoughts and feelings connected to those tough times. It’s like taking the power away from those memories so they don’t upset us as much.
Are you exhausted by grief or trauma?
You can do something about it
You can find EMDR Therapy at our private practice in Crows Nest, NSW.