Have you participated in traditional talk therapy before but found your mental health is still struggling? Or perhaps you got help for one thing (perhaps anxiety around starting college, parenting stress, or support after a divorce) but find that similar issues are coming up in other areas of your life? Or, is it difficult to talk about your struggles and you know you need therapy but are worried you’ll have trouble talking or opening up to a stranger?

It's common for people to think that all kinds of therapy are the same. But, if you've tried talk therapy and it hasn't worked, you should consider Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). 

EMDR is different from traditional talk therapy, and while it might sound a little odd at first, more and more evidence is piling up every year showing how effective EMDR can be. And we see it every single day in our practice. Our clients report huge mental health gains after starting EMDR. It can be a faster-acting and sometimes more effective type of therapy that can help people heal from traumas, stress, and unpleasant life experiences. It is an effective therapy technique that can get to the root of and resolve trauma so that you can live with more of a sense of wholeness. 

If you're confused about the similarities and differences between EMDR and talk therapy, read on and we'll tell you what you need to know. 

Benefits of Talk Therapy

There are many types of therapists who offer talk therapy. The goal of most kinds of talk therapy is to help patients express their inner experiences and share their feelings with more clarity about what is going on inside their minds. 

This is why it is a great method for those who need to develop a greater sense of self-awareness. It can help people to understand the conflicts, contradictions, and frustrations that they are experiencing. This is a technique that can also help people become aware of conflicting values and beliefs that pull them in different directions. 

People often benefit from talk therapy simply because of the intimate relationship they're able to develop with their therapist. People start to feel more of a sense of security when they have a private and confidential space to share their concerns and insecurities.  

Evidence-Based Talk Therapy

Now, what we’ve described above is kind of “treatment as usual.” And that alone can be very, very effective. Lots and lots of studies have been shown to demonstrate that simply having a therapist you trust can help you make significant changes in your life and improve your mental health.

But, it’s also important to share that there are specific types of therapy or therapeutic interventions that still seem to fall into the “talk therapy” category but use specific techniques, protocols, or interventions that are a bit more structured or researched. We offer several of these at Aspire counseling including Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD. These can be really, really powerful and even people who have shied away from the type of traditional talk therapy we've described above might really like the structure of these. But it’s still talking…

There are also more behavior-based interventions that are less talk-focused (such as ERP for OCD) that are really effective…but that’s a whole other blog post honestly. Here’s let’s just focus on one type of less traditional treatment modality and that is EMDR.

What Is EMDR and How Does It Work?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR is a kind of therapy that can effectively treat many different kinds of issues such as self-doubt, anxiety at work, and low self-esteem. EMDR can also help people who suffer from "big T" traumas such as war and abuse, sometimes when paired with other types of trauma therapy as I mentioned above.

It can also help those who struggle to integrate unpleasant life events that still impact them. These experiences, oftentimes referred to as "small T" traumas, can accumulate and create bigger problems in one's life. 

EMDR is a methodology where a client tunes into the memories of an experience or recent causes of stress. When the patient brings this experience into their awareness, the therapist will provide a kind of stimulus. Generally, a full course of EMDR will include considering disturbing memories from the past, present triggers/stressors & also considering future worries or potentially stressful situations.

This includes some sort of what we call bilateral stimulation which is part of the key ingredient to making it easier to let your brain more quickly process the “tough stuff.” Traditionally, a therapist used hand movements to encourage the patient's eyes to move backward and forward. While our EMDR therapists still do this sometimes, we also offer other options such as having you tap your knees, use the “butterfly hug,” look at alternating corners of the room or use a virtual app when offering online EMDR. In person, our clinicians may use “buzzes” that are small things you hold onto while they vibrate in alternating hands or a light bar where you watch a light move from side to side as the bilateral stimulation.

Regardless of which technique, these interventions help the brain to start processing the trauma. It makes it less distressing at the moment (although it may still not feel very comfortable) for you to think about stressful things.

An EMDR therapist helps their client to hold a traumatic memory in their awareness while simultaneously following the outer stimulus. This helps the client to have more time to think about their traumatic memory while also making it feel less intense. 

There are different types of therapists who offer EMDR therapy and it is important that you work with somebody who has been fully trained which includes not only 5-6 days of training but consultation with EMDR professionals. EMDR therapy is something that you can easily do online, which means it's a convenient option for those who aren't able to visit a therapist in person. 

Comparing the Efficiency of Talk Therapy vs. EMDR

Compared to talk therapy, EMDR is often a faster and more efficient way to overcome traumas. It can also provide results that last an entire lifetime.

Another thing that our therapists love about EMDR is that it can be used alongside other treatment modalities. Sometimes, one of our therapists may be using another intervention and decide to use EMDR for just a few sessions. Other times, we’ve had clients seeing a therapist at a totally different practice who come to one of our therapists for a few months as well just to get “unstuck” around something specific using EMDR.

There is also a ripple effect of EMDR, which means that it successfully targets the underlying distress that runs throughout multiple events. This means that when a client resolves one major instance of a certain type of experience it can have a positive impact on other parts of that person’s life. So, while we may focus in session on your anxiety about grad school, you may be surprised to gain insight into your relationships with extended family and notice you feel less triggered by family drama as well.

In many instances, talk therapy might be the best technique for you. But if you’re looking to try something that’s less talk-oriented, or just add something a little different to see if you’re able to make bigger mental health gains, it’s certainly worth checking out EMDR.

How to Know if EMDR Is Right for You

EMDR might be a helpful therapy for you. Especially if you’ve been through some really stressful things, you’ve tried therapy before without success or you find certain themes (like self-doubt, not trusting people, jumping the worst-case scenario, etc) coming up in multiple areas of your life.

It can also help you to solve problems in your life if you don't necessarily want to put a lot of energy into talking about them.

EMDR can help you to notice new connections between the past, the present, and the future. By allowing the brain to have the space it needs to explore what's needed to heal, you're likely to see results with EMDR therapy more quickly than you would with talk therapy. 

Though EMDR is a highly effective therapy technique, it is not for everybody. This is why we offer other evidence-based talk therapy techniques, including for anxiety & trauma such as Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, or Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for trauma.

Find the Best Counselor in Mid Missouri to Get the Help You Need

Talk therapy and EMDR are both effective therapy techniques. The most important thing is that you choose a technique that is best for you.

If you have life issues that you feel you need to discuss with a trained professional, it's probably best to use talk therapy. If you have traumas that you want to overcome, EMDR is probably the best technique for you. 

Start EMDR in Missouri

If you live in Missouri and are asking the question "where can I find EMDR near me?", we're here to help. At Aspire Counseling, we believe in offering therapy & counseling services in a way that will truly help you find healing, so we use evidence-based counseling methods such as EMDR. We have several clinicians fully trained in EMDR and use it every single day in our counseling practice to help people heal from trauma, overcome anxiety, gain confidence & get “unstuck” in various areas of their life.

Please contact us to find out more about how we assist you. Our therapists can offer counseling at our Columbia, MO area office, through walk & talk Park therapy in a couple of different parts of the state (KC area, Columbia & the Union area), or anywhere in Missouri through online therapy. Regardless of whether you'd like to participate in EMDR therapy virtually or in person, we're here for you. 

About the Author

Jessica is the founder of Aspire Counseling. These days, she stays busy running Aspire Counseling as well as a second business that helps other therapists. But her favorite part of the job is still meeting 1:1 for therapy sessions with clients. Historically, she's worked with a wide range of ages from elementary-age children through retirement but always focused heavily on treating anxiety, trauma & stress.

Other Mental Health Services at Aspire

At Aspire we know and understand traditional talk therapy and EDMR, and offer both. We would love to meet with you, and help you see your mental health concerns. We offer several different services such as anxiety treatment, trauma therapy/PTSD treatment , bereavement counseling, depression counseling, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and more. We offer in-person support at our Columbia, MO counseling office or work with people throughout the state of Missouri using online counseling with our HIPAA compliant telehealth video chat platform.