PTSD Treatment with EMDR: Breaking Free from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Murrysville, PA
When post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) gets locked in your mind and body, it can feel like being trapped in an endless loop of distress. That's where PTSD treatment with EMDR comes in—offering a path forward when the past won't let go.
Understanding EMDR Therapy: A Revolutionary Approach to Trauma Healing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy at Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy isn't your typical talk therapy. Instead of spending weeks discussing painful memories in excruciating detail, our EMDR therapy works directly with how your brain stores traumatic memories from traumatic events. It's a structured approach that uses bilateral stimulation—typically eye movements, gentle taps, or alternating tones—while you briefly focus on the trauma memory.
What makes EMDR therapy so remarkable for treating PTSD is how it helps your brain do what it naturally wants to do: heal. Think of it like this—when you cut your finger, your body immediately begins the healing process. Your brain tries to do the same with emotional wounds, but sometimes traumatic experiences are simply too overwhelming, leaving traumatic memories "stuck" in their original distressing form. EMDR therapy helps restart this natural healing process.
The results from multiple randomized controlled trials are impressive. Studies have found that after just three 90-minute EMDR sessions, 84-90% of single-trauma victims no longer meet the criteria for PTSD diagnosis. For most people, significant relief comes within 6-12 weekly sessions lasting 60-90 minutes each, requiring fewer sessions than many other psychological treatments.
What's particularly comforting for many clients is that you don't have to tell your therapist every painful detail of your traumatic experience. Your brain knows what needs healing, and EMDR therapy provides the conditions to allow that process to unfold naturally, effectively treating trauma while reducing PTSD symptoms.
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, we've seen how this approach transforms lives when traditional methods haven't provided the relief people desperately need. Our group practice includes EMDRIA certified therapists who specialize in combining PTSD treatment with EMDR with body-centered approaches, addressing traumatic stress held in both the mind and body.
The Science Behind EMDR Therapy
When traumatic events strike, our brains can become overwhelmed. Think of it like a computer that suddenly freezes when too many programs are running at once. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing works by helping your brain "unfreeze" those traumatic memories that got stuck in processing.
EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation – typically guided eye movements as you follow a therapist's finger or light bar moving side to side. Some therapists also use alternating taps on your knees or hands, or tones that alternate between your left and right ears. This happens while you briefly focus on aspects of the traumatic memory, creating a dual-attention state that seems to open up the brain's natural healing abilities.
What makes desensitization and reprocessing EMDR unique among psychological therapies is that you don't need to talk extensively about your painful experiences or do homework between sessions. The focus is on processing emotional memories and changing how those traumatic memories are stored in your brain – reducing their emotional intensity and helping you integrate them into your life story in a healthier way.
The science behind EMDR therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing model. This model suggests that mental health symptoms arise when memories are inadequately processed and stored in isolation with their original distress. EMDR therapy helps your brain tap into its natural neuroplasticity – the ability to form new neural connections – allowing traumatic memories to be processed and stored more adaptively, which is why it's so effective for treating PTSD and anxiety disorders.
A Brief History of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR therapy began with psychologist Francine Shapiro's observation in 1987 that eye movements seemed to reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts. She began developing a structured approach to test her theory, and by 1989, she had conducted the first clinical trial of what she initially called Eye Movement Desensitisation.
What began as a chance finding has grown into one of the most extensively researched trauma focused psychotherapies available today. The therapy's journey to mainstream acceptance includes several key milestones:
1995: The first comprehensive EMDR therapy textbook was published
2000: The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies recognized EMDR as effective for treating PTSD
2013: The World Health Organization recommended EMDR therapy as a treatment of choice for post traumatic stress disorder
2017: The American Psychological Association included EMDR in its clinical practice guidelines
Today, EMDR therapy has global reach with over 100,000 clinicians trained worldwide. The efficacy of EMDR has been established through numerous systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies. At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, our group practice includes specialists certified in this powerful approach, offering both traditional weekly EMDR sessions and intensive formats to meet your unique needs.
How EMDR Treatment Works for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
During an EMDR session, you'll focus briefly on the trauma memory while experiencing bilateral stimulation. This creates a fascinating "dual-attention" state where you're simultaneously aware of the present moment and the unpleasant memories.
This dual awareness creates several powerful effects:
Working-memory taxation happens when the eye movements occupy part of your working memory, making the traumatic memories less vivid and emotionally charged as you recall them. It's like turning down the volume on a painfully loud sound.
The desensitization process occurs naturally as you repeatedly access the memory in this safe environment. Each time, the subjective distress decreases a little more, until the memory no longer triggers PTSD symptoms.
Through reprocessing loops, each set of bilateral stimulation allows your brain to form new associations, connecting the trauma memory with more adaptive information. You might suddenly remember resources or strengths you had that you couldn't access during the original traumatic experience.
Research published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry confirms that bilateral stimulation significantly reduces both the vividness and emotionality of distressing memories, making them easier to process and integrate.
Key Mechanisms in PTSD Treatment with EMDR
What's happening in your brain during EMDR therapy explains why this form of therapy can be so transformative for adult posttraumatic stress disorder recovery:
Your amygdala – the brain's threat detection system – tends to be hyperactive when you have PTSD. During EMDR therapy, the bilateral stimulation appears to calm amygdala activity, lowering your emotional reactivity to traumatic memories.
The hippocampus, which helps organize memories in time and place, often doesn't function optimally in people with posttraumatic stress disorder. This explains why traumatic memories can feel like they're happening right now rather than in the past. EMDR therapy helps improve hippocampal processing, allowing these memories to be properly filed as "past events" rather than ongoing threats.
There's also fascinating evidence about vagus nerve effects during EMDR therapy. The rhythmic eye movements seem to activate your parasympathetic nervous system (your body's "rest and digest" mode) via the vagus nerve. This creates a relaxation response even while you're focusing on difficult material – an ideal state for processing emotional memories.
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, our therapists see these neurobiological changes firsthand. Many clients notice physical shifts during EMDR sessions – relaxed muscles, deeper breathing, and a greater sense of being present in their bodies rather than stuck in traumatic stress.
The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy
PTSD treatment with EMDR follows a structured eight-phase approach that guides you through healing while ensuring you feel safe and supported every step of the way. At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy, our group practice honors this proven protocol while tailoring it to your unique experiences and needs.
Your healing journey unfolds through these eight carefully designed phases:
Phase 1: History-Taking and Treatment Planning
We begin by getting to know you – your traumatic events, the challenges you're facing, and your hopes for therapy. This isn't just about identifying traumatic memories; it's about understanding how past experiences affect your present life and developing a roadmap for where you want to go.
Phase 2: Preparation
Before diving into trauma processing, we'll make sure you have tools to manage emotions that might arise. You'll learn grounding techniques like guided imagery, deep breathing, and creating a "safe place" in your mind – a mental sanctuary you can return to whenever needed.
Phase 3: Assessment
Now we identify a specific memory to process. Together, we'll explore the image that best represents the difficult experience, the negative beliefs about yourself that developed, the positive cognition you'd rather hold, the emotions and body sensations connected to the memory, and how distressing it feels.
Phase 4: Desensitization
This is where the eye movements begin. You'll briefly focus on the target memory while following your therapist's fingers with your eyes, or experiencing alternating taps or tones. After each set, you'll simply notice what emerges – perhaps new insights, memories, physical sensations, or emotions.
Phase 5: Installation
As the painful charge of the memory diminishes, we strengthen your connection to the positive belief you identified earlier. Through continued bilateral stimulation, we help wire this new, healthier perspective into your nervous system, replacing negative thoughts with positive cognition.
Phase 6: Body Scan
Our bodies often hold traumatic stress in ways our conscious minds don't recognize. In this phase, you'll bring the memory and positive belief to mind while checking your body for any remaining tension or discomfort. The body scan is a crucial part of EMDR therapy as it ensures comprehensive processing of trauma at both cognitive and somatic levels.
Phase 7: Closure
Every EMDR session ends with ensuring you feel grounded and centered before leaving. If processing isn't complete, we'll help you contain the experience safely until your next appointment.
Phase 8: Re-evaluation
At the beginning of each subsequent session, we check in about your progress. This ongoing assessment helps us fine-tune your treatment for optimal healing.
What a Typical EMDR Session Looks Like
When you arrive for your EMDR therapy at Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, you'll be welcomed into a calm, private space designed for comfort and healing. Individual therapy sessions typically last 60-90 minutes, giving you ample time to process without feeling rushed.
Your therapist will begin with a brief check-in about how you've been since your last session. Before diving into processing, you'll be guided through a calming exercise to help you feel centered and present.
When you're ready to process a memory, your therapist will ask you to bring it to mind while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation. While many people picture the classic back-and-forth eye movements, we offer several options based on your preference:
Eye movements where you follow your therapist's fingers as they move horizontally
Bilateral taps on your knees or hands
Alternating tones through headphones
Handheld tappers that provide gentle vibrations
After each set of bilateral stimulation, your therapist will simply ask, "What are you noticing now?" This open-ended question allows your brain's natural healing process to unfold without interference.
Unlike traditional talk therapy or trauma focused CBT, your therapist won't interpret your experience or tell you what to think. Instead, they trust your brain's innate wisdom to move toward healing in its own unique way.
By the end of the session, many clients report feeling a noticeable shift – a lightening of the emotional burden they've carried. Your therapist will make sure you're grounded and ready to return to your day before concluding the session, always honoring your unique pace and process.
Scientific Evidence and Outcomes: Meta-Analysis of EMDR
The evidence supporting EMDR therapy isn't just promising—it's compelling. A comprehensive systematic review published in Frontiers in Psychology examined 26 randomized controlled trials comparing various treatments and involving 1,133 participants with posttraumatic stress disorder. The meta-analysis found that EMDR therapy significantly outperformed control conditions in reducing PTSD symptoms.
The research shows EMDR therapy specifically targets those intrusive symptoms that clients often find most distressing. Studies show EMDR was significantly more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing intrusion symptoms and those heightened arousal responses that make people feel constantly on edge.
Beyond just addressing traumatic stress symptoms, EMDR therapy also significantly reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with complex PTSD. This makes sense when we consider how interconnected these conditions often are.
It's no wonder that major health organizations worldwide have given EMDR therapy their stamp of approval, including the World Health Organization, American Psychological Association, and Department of Veterans Affairs.
Treatment Effects You Can Expect
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, our group practice sees the research play out in real life with our clients every day. While everyone's healing journey is unique, here's what you might typically expect from PTSD treatment with EMDR:
Most people notice the first glimmers of improvement within the initial few EMDR sessions. Often, this starts as a reduction in the emotional intensity of traumatic memories.
As you progress through 6-12 sessions, you'll likely experience a cascade of improvements:
Intrusive thoughts and flashbacks tend to decrease
Sleep quality often improves as nightmares subside
That constant state of hypervigilance begins to calm down
Many clients report being able to engage in activities they've avoided since the trauma
Physical sensations related to traumatic stress often diminish too
What's particularly encouraging is that these treatment effects tend to last. Follow-up studies conducted 6 months after treatment show that the benefits of EMDR therapy are maintained or even continue to improve, which is why more research continues to support it as an effective treatment for PTSD.
EMDR therapy is also remarkably efficient compared to non-trauma focused psychotherapies. Studies show that 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD after just 12 sessions. For people with single-incident trauma, up to 100% no longer met criteria for PTSD diagnosis after just six 50-minute sessions.
Your personal journey with EMDR therapy may be influenced by several factors, including the nature of your traumatic experience, how long you've been experiencing symptoms, and your support system. At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy, we understand these variables and tailor our approach to your specific needs.
Why Choose EMDR Therapy at Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, our group practice has found EMDR therapy particularly valuable for several reasons that directly benefit our clients:
Holistic Focus: EMDR therapy recognizes that traumatic experiences impact the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Trauma isn't just stored in our thoughts—it's held in our bodies, our nervous systems, and EMDR helps access and heal these deeper layers of traumatic storage that talk therapy alone might not reach.
Body-Mind Integration: By incorporating somatic awareness throughout the process, EMDR therapy helps you notice and release trauma held physically in your body. The dedicated body scan phase specifically addresses physical sensations associated with traumatic memories.
Client-Centered Approach: Rather than the therapist interpreting or directing the process, EMDR therapy allows your brain to make the associations and connections it needs for healing based on the basic principles of reprocessing therapy.
Adaptability: While originally developed for single-incident trauma, EMDR therapy has evolved to effectively address complex PTSD and developmental trauma through modified protocols. This adaptability makes it valuable for clients with varied trauma histories, including those with multiple sclerosis who experience PTSD from their diagnosis.
Our group practice offers a team of specialized therapists who provide EMDR therapy for adults, couples, families, teens, and children. We treat a range of issues including posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, anxiety disorders, and depression. In addition to traditional weekly sessions, we also offer EMDR Intensives for those seeking a more concentrated treatment experience similar to prolonged exposure therapy but with the unique benefits of EMDR.
Frequently Asked Questions about PTSD Treatment with EMDR
How quickly does EMDR therapy show results?
Many people notice meaningful changes surprisingly quickly with EMDR therapy. For single-incident trauma—like a car accident or assault—research shows significant improvement often occurs within 3-6 sessions.
Complex PTSD or childhood trauma naturally requires more time, typically 12-20 sessions. When multiple traumatic experiences are layered throughout someone's life, we need to carefully process each one while building resilience along the way.
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy, we check in regularly about your progress, adjusting our approach to ensure you're moving toward your goals at a pace that feels right for you.
What happens during and after EMDR sessions?
Between sessions, many clients notice their brain continuing to process. This might show up as vivid dreams, spontaneous memories, or heightened emotional awareness. You might feel tired after sessions—processing traumatic memories is genuinely hard work for your brain.
These responses are generally short-lived and actually signal that healing is happening. At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy, we thoroughly prepare you for these possibilities and provide personalized coping strategies.
How do I find a qualified EMDR therapist?
At Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Therapy in Murrysville, PA, all our EMDR practitioners have completed comprehensive training in eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, and many have achieved EMDRIA certification, the highest credential in EMDR practice.
Beyond credentials, experience with your specific type of trauma matters. Some therapists specialize in particular areas like military trauma, childhood abuse, or medical trauma. And perhaps most importantly, trust your intuition about the therapeutic relationship—research consistently shows that the connection between client and therapist is one of the strongest predictors of successful outcomes.
The path forward may not always be easy, but you don't have to walk it alone. With compassionate, evidence-based psychological treatments that honor your individual needs and strengths, our group practice is here to support your journey toward a life no longer defined or limited by posttraumatic stress disorder—a life where you can be fully present for all the moments that matter.
If you're looking for EMDR therapy in Murrysville, PA, or want to learn more about how it might help your specific situation, we invite you to reach out to us. Our group practice accepts many insurance plans and will be happy to discuss your treatment options.