December 1996 Newsletter
Dear Friend,
I’ve moved! After thirteen years I’ve taken a giant leap around the corner into a beautiful new space. The new office is between 40th and 39th Streets on Madison Avenue.
Only 8,000 psychotherapists worldwide have been trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) a psychological “wonder cure” (NY Magazine 5/94) which often requires only a few long sessions. I am pleased to announce that I am certified as an Advanced EMDR practitioner. (See below for further details.)
Allow me to share some wonderful news. My book, Bride’s Guide to Emotional Survival has been published and is now in its second printing. I feel as if I’ve given birth - what a wonderful experience to walk into major bookstores and find my book in the “Wedding” section. Media reception has been fantastic. I have had TV guest appearances on OPRAH, In-Person, Good Morning NY, ABC Eyewitness News, Fox News, CNN and The Gordon Elliot Show just to name a few. Interviews on radio include Joan Hamburg at WOR and many stations throughout the USA and Canada. Articles and excerpts have appeared in The New York Times, Bridal Guide, Modern Bride, and Cosmopolitan Magazines. There have also been presentations and signings at Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdale’s and Kleinfeld’s. It’s been a wonderful whirlwind and there’s more to come. Please call or write to find out more about my services or if you have any questions or feedback.I’d love to hear from you.Why not visit my web site: www.TalkToDrRita.com
With personal regards & good wishes for a Healthy & Happy New Year,
Rita
EMDR Trauma/Loss Therapy
Sometimes problems just linger no matter how much psychotherapy you have been exposed to. Despite what you may think, there still is hope.
I am very excited about a brand new approach to help people rid themselves of persistent emotional and/or physical pain. Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a sophisticated therapeutic tool that works much like REM dream sleep. EMDR is an accelerator to psychotherapy in that it triggers processing in the amygdala - the emotional brain - allowing old traumas to be re-learned. In doing so the individual can purge these traumas from their psyche.
EMDR can even be used as a short-term enhancer if someone is presently in psychotherapy. The beneficial effect of therapy employing EMDR is the speedy elimination of stubborn symptoms whose causes may be out of the conscious awareness of the client.
Initially, EMDR had been acclaimed as the antidote for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for both adults and children with problems related to Sexual Assault & Abuse, Accident Victims & Combat Veterans, as well as with Fears, Phobias & Panic Disorders. All that is true! I now find that EMDR is also an elegant procedure in uncovering previously blocked memories and trauma in all sorts of cases. By removing poisonous psychological material a person can enjoy life and even get much more mileage from other forms of therapy. As you can see I am impressed by the transformational results EMDR elicits for my clients.
Results Speak For Themselves
Mary and Bill were on the verge of a divorce because of his uncontrollable rage toward their four year old son, Joey. Both were mystified by this problem, particularly since Bill was very loving with their older daughter Betsy. Two years in traditional psychotherapy helped Bill gain tremendous insight (yet with no behavioral change) into the origins of his depression and anger - he was unconsciously acting out his anger towards his parents who had sent him to boarding school as a very young boy.
A dozen EMDR sessions allowed Bill to actively process through this emotional baggage which had been stored in non-verbal, emotional language in a part of the brain inaccessible to Ôtalk therapy.’ A way to conceptualize this is to imagine a split compartment in the brain with thinking and talking abilities residing in the brain’s left hemisphere and the emotional content residing in the right. When a trauma occurs the compartments cannot synchronize, creating emotional overload leaving a scar.
EMDR accomplishes a re-balancing of emotions and cognitions, restoring the individual’s ability to deal with present day reality. Bill was enabled to work through his anger and overcome it at last. EMDR quickly opened memory channels that had been calicified for years and helped Bill to recover from painful childhood events. Bill’s attitude toward his son softened, as he connected to his own ‘tender soft spot.’ Mary and Bill’s love was restored.
Problems EMDR Relieves
Accident Victims • Addictions • Anger Control • Anxiety • Children • Chronic Pain • Combat Veterans • Coping with Cancer and Death • Depression • Emotional Abuse • Entrenched Unresolved Trauma • Guilt & Excessive Grief • Fears and Phobias • Memory Gaps and/or Disturbances • Nightmares • Obsessive Compulsive Disorders • Panic Disorders • Performance Anxiety and Enhancement • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder • Sexual Assault • Somatic Disorders • Suicide • Tension and Stress
Jill’s Experience
“I never felt self-confident.. It seemed like I wasn’t supposed to shine. I knew I had a lot of problems, but years of therapy didn’t really change anything. During EMDR I saw my abusive father towering over me, but than spontaneously saw myself grow in size until I was eye-to-eye with him. I finally realized, Dad really is the one who had the problem. The shift in the picture corresponds to changes in how I feel about myself, my new belief in my right to shine in the world, and life is easier.”
Susan’s Experience
“After years of therapy elsewhere, EMDR saved my life!”
“If you don’t know where you’re going,
you’ll probably end up someplace else.”
Will Rogers
Jack’s Experience
“After years of therapy elsewhere, EMDR saved my life!”
