West Vancouver EMDR Psychotherapy
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EMDR
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. That's a mouthful. But the basic idea is pretty simple. Your brain holds onto painful memories in a way that keeps them feeling fresh, even when they happend a long time ago. EMDR therapy helps your brain process those memories so they stop running your life. A lot of people think therapy means sitting and talking for an hour. EMDR treatment is diffrent. During a session, you focus on a painful memory while following a series of eye movements or taps guided by your therapist. Research shows it really works, and many people see results in fewer sessions than with other forms of therapy.
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We see clients from all over the North Shore who have been looking for something that can help with old trauma. Creekside Counselling has been working with this approach for years, and we've watched people go from feeling stuck to feeling free.
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Not everyone has time to come into a clinic. Or maybe you just feel more comfortable at home. Online EMDR therapy is a great option for people who want the same quality of care without having to drive across town. We do virtual EMDR sessions over video call, and they work just as well as in-person ones. Instead of following your therapist's hand movements, we use a simple tool on your screen or guide you through bilateral taps you can do yourself.
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A lot of our clients in the West Vancouver area have started with online EMDR therapy and stayed with it because they just prefer it. There's no commute, no parking to worry about, and you can be in your own space where you feel safe.
OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, can be really exhasting. The thoughts that won't stop, the urge to do things a certain way to feel safe. Traditional OCD treatment usually focuses on exposure therapy. But using EMDR to address OCD is starting to get a lot of attention because it gets at the deeper stuff. Sometimes OCD is tied to a past experience that never got properly worked through.
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When OCD treatment at Creekside Counselling includes EMDR for OCD, it's because the client's situation calls for it. We don't use it for everyone, but for some people it makes a huge diffrence. If you've tried other approaches and still feel stuck in a loop, it might be worth talking to us about whether this could help.
If you work as a firefighter, paramedic, police officer, or in any other first responder role, you see things most people never have to. Over time, that adds up. First responder trauma is real, and it doesn't just go away because you're used to the job. A lot of first responders in the area have come to Creekside Counselling when they realized they needed help. First responder PTSD can show up in a lot of diffrent ways. Trouble sleeping, feeling on edge all the time, pulling away from family, or just feeling numb. This type of therapy works really well because it helps your brain reprocess the events that are stuck. Asking for help can feel hard, especially in a job where you're used to being the one who helps others. But taking care of yourself isn't weakness.
If you or someone you care about has been through sexual abuse, finding the right help is one of the most importent things you can do. Sexual abuse therapy needs to be done carefully and with a lot of patience. At Creekside Counselling, we create a space where you never have to feel rushed or pressured to talk about anything before you're ready. Sexual trauma counselling at our practice uses EMDR as one of the main tools for healing. It has been shown to help survivors process what happend to them without having to relive every detail over and over.