Transform Your Life With EMDR Therapy In Ashburn VA
At Mind Body Connect 360, we specialize in EMDR, a transformative approach to healing. We combine the very best of traditional and innovative treatments tailored to individual needs at our integrative group private practice for physical and mental wellness in Ashburn, VA.
Whether you're struggling with trauma, anxiety, depression, chronic illness, family conflict, relationship issues, work stress or simply finding ways to live your best life, our practice is here to help. We are dedicated to supporting you in every step of your healing journey toward an empowered and more fulfilling life.
Discover The Healing Power Of EMDR
Ready to take the first step? Schedule your session today and begin your transformative journey with our trauma informed mental health experts, Psychologist Dr. Lindsey Berjansky, Psy.D. and Clinical Psychotherapist Gwendolyn Kearney, LCSW. At Mind Body Connect 360, we provide EMDR and individual therapy for children, adolescents, young adults, and adults ranging from ages 7 and up. Let's work together to unlock a healthier, more balanced you.
Everything You Want To Know About EMDR Therapy
EMDR Therapy...you may have heard about it but are still unsure about how it actually works. EMDR has been around for a while, but is gaining increased attention. Why? Because EMDR therapy is incredibly effective! EMDR is one of the most extensively researched psychotherapeutic modalities with decades of established efficacy. Here at Mind Body Connect 360, we've been blown away by how fast EMDR therapy works in resolving symptoms related to trauma and a wide variety of mental health concerns. It's the real deal, which is why our trauma informed therapists Dr. Lindsey Berjansky, Psy.D. and Gwendolyn Kearney, LCSW weave it into their client treatment plans regularly. Curious about learning more about the many benefits of EMDR for treating trauma, adverse life events and mental health conditions, as well as to faciliate peak performance? Keep reading for a list of important facts and insights to guide you through your exploration of EMDR therapy.
What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful, evidenced based psychotherapy approach that relieves many types of psychological distress. EMDR has been extensively researched since it's development by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. EMDR has become a gold standard treatment in trauma therapy and is rapidly becoming accepted as an effective intervention for various categories of mental health concerns such as trauma and PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic disorders and more.
EMDR is a structured therapy that works with neural networks to allow for the brain to reprocess the way information is stored. Distressing memories and traumatic experiences can get locked into the nervous system with the original images, sounds, thoughts and emotions involved. This contributes to these distressing memories and traumatic experiences getting "stuck" and prime for being triggered in the present, resulting in psychological distress. It's like psychologically having one foot in the present and one in the past, often without consciously being aware that this is happening. During reprocessing in EMDR, bilateral sensory input is simultaneously introduced (eye movements, tapping, auditory tones, holding onto hand buzzers) to engage both the left brain and right brain, which activates the brain's information processing system to reprocess information in more adaptive ways. This facilitates a decrease in the emotional impact of adverse life events, which can facilitate the brain's natural healing process. This is believed to be similar to what happens in REM or dream sleep when eye movements help to process unconscious material. New information can emerge contributing to powerful shifts in perspective that create new neural pathways, leading to resolution of trauma and adverse life experiences that have contributed to negative thought processes.
What Mental Health Concerns Can EMDR Help With?
There is extensive research establishing EMDR therapy as an effective treatment for trauma, PTSD and distressing life experiences. Our therapists at Mind Body Connect 360 have also used EMDR successfully to alleviate anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorders, depression, resolving negative thought patterns, enhancing self-esteem, overcoming phobias, addressing an eating disorder that developed in response to traumatic experiences, performance anxiety, complicated grief, healing past relationship wounds and more.
EMDR can also be used as a performance enhancement tool to help build mental and emotional resilience required for optimal performance in areas such as competitive sports, public speaking, high stress/high stakes training environments (police, first responders, military), and any other arena where optimal performance is required under pressure. EMDR can be combined with other performance enhancing modalities such as mental skills coaching and biofeedback strategies.
EMDR Is Evidence Based
EMDR has been extensively researched for several decades demonstrating its effectiveness as a viable trauma therapy. The American Psychiatric Association, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs recognize EMDR as an empirically supported method for the treatment of post-traumatic stress and other mental health concerns. EMDR was placed in the "A" category (strongly recommended) for the treatment of trauma and PTSD by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (2004).
It's worth noting that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense conducted studies demonstrating efficacy for using acupuncture as a non-pharmacologic biological treatment for PTSD along with EMDR and other psychotherapeutic interventions. Mind Body Connect 360's trauma informed therapists and acupuncturist are experienced in working together to rebalance the autonomic nervous system to reduce chronic fight/flight responses, alleviate insomnia, calm digestive concerns, and resolve physical pain commonly found in clients with combat and trauma histories.
The Neuroscience Behind EMDR And Why Adverse Life And Trauma Experiences Affect Us In The Present
We've all experienced frightening or unsettling life experiences. Our brain is designed to process information in the most adaptive way possible, taking experiences and creating a personal narrative in order to make sense of them. Ideally, this narrative will emerge without negative impact on how we see ourselves, others and the world. When we experience a traumatic or disturbing event, our brain may struggle to process the information in an adaptive way. Often, the primary goal is to survive, interfering with our brain's ability to process information in the way that it normally would. This is especially true when the trauma or adverse event occurred in childhood when our brains were still developing. Memories along with images, sounds, smells, emotions, and physical/body sensations experienced during the event can become fused with thoughts such as "I have no control" and get stuck. This can lead to maladaptive beliefs formulated about ourselves such as "I'm not good enough," "I'm not safe," "I can't trust myself" or "I'm unlovable" that we (consciously or unconsciously) carry with us into our present daily lives. So, where does all of this get stuck? In the right side of the brain, where there is no sense of time, in a fragmented form. We can come across a situation that looks nothing like the adverse experience or (even more perplexing) may not be inherently stress inducing on the surface. However, our bodies and minds react as if it's a threat, contributing to being triggered in the present in both overt or subtle ways. This can be an incredibly confusing, frustrating and painful experience for otherwise high functioning individuals.
At Mind Body Connect 360, your EMDR therapist will work with you to identify the negative beliefs formulated in response to the way information was stored during traumatic and distressing life events. EMDR helps to create new neural pathways and connections around the traumatic event that release emotional blockages, shifting mindsets in profound ways and resolving triggers. This leads to the resolution of symptoms that can develop into mental health issues such as anxiety and depression or unexplained chronic pain and medical issues.
EMDR Differs From Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Or Insight-Oriented Talk Therapy
EMDR is a multi-phase form of psychotherapy that is a specialized brain-based approach for healing trauma. EMDR therapy is a more structured approach than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other counseling options. EMDR reduces symptoms by taking the original memory and "rewriting" how it is stored in the brain. This leads to tranformative shifts that bring a sense of empowerment and control. Reprocessing is combined with alternating bilateral stimulus (BLS), such as eye movements, tapping, auditory tones, or holding onto hand buzzers that link the left brain with the right brain (similar to REM sleep) to promote reprocessing. Unlike traditional counseling and therapy, we will not be recounting specific details, analyzing, or interpreting complex psychological processes and information for the entirety of the session. EMDR therapy focuses directly on reprocessing specific memories comprising a neural network that are acting as present-day triggers. EMDR can also be used alongside other treatment modalities. Although traditional types of talk therapy can be incredibly powerful and effective, we find that EMDR can be a faster-acting approach when working with trauma and adverse life events for clients who are a good fit.
At Mind Body Connect 360, our experienced therapists have expertise in EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Insight Oriented Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy, innovative Mind-Body Based therapies, trauma informed treament and approaches, Polyvagal therapeutic approaches, Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Biofeedback Therapy. Our therapists, Dr. Lindsey Berjansky, Psy.D. and Gwendolyn Kearney, LCSW are adept at tailoring therapeutic interventions to individual needs for successful outcomes.
EMDR Can Be Combined With Traditional Therapy
EMDR can be used as a stand-alone treatment or woven into a course of therapy sessions if therapeutically appropriate. Our EMDR therapists are experienced providing EMDR as a supplemental therapy for clients already in couples therapy, family therapy or individual therapy with another therapist but want to use EMDR to target specific issues or symptoms. In this situation, we will work closely with your primary therapist to coordinate treatment, therefore creating a team approach.
EMDR Therapy Is Effective In Treating Trauma Related To Working In High Stress/High Stakes Working Environments Such As Combat Trauma
Serving a national security mission and in other high stress working environments such as first responders, emergency room medical personnel, police, etc bring challenges that are unique. Exposure to life threatening situations, disturbing images, and loss of life has the potential of affecting mental health and overall well-being in these highly resilient populations. Our therapists at Mind Body Connect 360 cannot stress this enough: PTSD and trauma reactions have nothing to do with resilience. It is not a sign of weakness. These reactions are your body’s natural response to perceived danger. This triggers a survival response that can manifest as various symptoms negatively impact quality of life. It is an understandable response to the adverse experiences you have had and can be healed.
Dr. Lindsey Berjansky, Psy.D. has extensive experience with specialized populations working in national security, such as the military, and understands the unique challenges and cultures. As a result, trust is built, which is essential for healing to begin. PTSD, trauma and acute stress reactions develop despite being highly resilient and can be healed. EMDR, used along with other trauma informed mind-body integration strategies, allows for the reprocessing of distressing memories so they can be integrated adaptively into a healthier narrative.
EMDR Can Be Used For Peak Performance And Mental Skills Conditioning
Mind Body Connect 360’s Peak Performance Psychological Services focuses on building mental and emotional resilience to enhance peak performance. At Mind Body Connect 360, we often use EMDR as a performance enhancement tool to help build mental and emotional resilience required for optimal performance. EMDR is great for working with clients to facilitate peak performance in areas such as competitive sports, public speaking, performing arts, high stress/high stakes training environments (police, first responders, military), and any other arena where optimal performance is required under pressure. Our therapists frequently use EMDR therapy to eliminate internal obstacles that may be interfering with performance. EMDR is combined with other performance enhancing modalities such as mental skills coaching and biofeedback strategies.
EMDR Therapy Can Be Used For Children
Children can find it difficult to fully engage with talk therapies, so EMDR therapy can be used as an effective alternative for younger children with trauma. EMDR therapy is often used in combination with other types of therapeutic modalities such as play therapy and art therapy. EMDR sessions will be adapted to the unique developmental needs of the child. Numerous studies have shown EMDR therapy to be effective for children with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Our EMDR therapists at Mind Body Connect 360 in Ashburn, provide EMDR therapy for children, adolescents, young adults and adults ranging from ages 7 and up.
EMDR Therapy Can Help Pre-Teens, Adolescents And Young Adults Navigate Life Transitions
Pre-teens (tweens), adolescents and young adults move through developmental stages of the life cycle that can often bring challenges and uncertainty. This can contribute to self-doubt, social anxiety, difficulty making decisions, academic stress, and many other concerns that can result in anxiety and mood changes. This can be particularly challenging when a pre-teen, teen, or young adult has experienced distressing life experiences that can impact healthy development. EMDR therapy can be helpful in reprocessing underlying adverse life experiences to clear the path to effectively navigate the life transitions that each new stage of development brings.
EMDR can also be used as a performance enhancement tool to help build mental and emotional resilience required for optimal performance in areas such as competitive sports, public speaking, school performance, performing arts, and any other arena where optimal performance is required under pressure. Whether helping pre-teens, teens and young adults to cope with anxiety disorders, relationship issues, traumatic experiences or to enhance peak performance, EMDR therapy in a supportive, compassionate and safe environment can help create success in life.
The Feeling After An EMDR Session At Mind Body Connect 360
Following EMDR therapy sessions, clients report both subtle and powerful shifts in mindset and perspective that feel extraordinarily freeing. Negative beliefs that were formulated about oneself transform to quite the opposite, contributing to a sense of empowerment. Clients find themselves taking on challenges with more ease that may have caused intense anxiety or panic previously. Clients will often comment "I feel a sense of relief," "I feel lighter," "That memory feels fuzzier and farther away," "I don't know why, but I feel calmer and more in control." Sometimes, client's leave feeling introspective after processing a distressing and deeply personal memory. We will usually take some time at the end of a session to reorient you to the present so that you leave the session feeling grounded. In between EMDR therapy sessions, some clients report continued processing of the memory that may lead to new insights and "aha moments." Your EMDR therapist may encourage you to simply notice or write down any new thoughts, feelings or insights to discuss at the start of the next EMDR session.
Why Choose Mind Body Connect 360
Mind Body Connect 360 is the premier integrative practice in Ashburn, VA for restoring children, adolescents and adults to optimal physical well-being and mental health. Our innovative group private practice of multidisciplinary practitioners embraces a holistic approach to mental health care and enhanced peak performance. We use trauma informed integrative psychophysiological (mind-body) therapies based on the recognition that changes in the mind and emotions affect the body, and changes in the body influence the mind and emotions. Our unique 360° combined holistic (mind-body) therapy approach creates powerful shifts that bring balance and will empower you to live the life you envisioned.
Here are five compelling reasons to choose Mind Body Connect 360 for your healing journey in mental health and healing trauma.
1. Comprehensive EMDR Therapy Integration
Mind Body Connect 360 offers specialized treatment through EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy combined with a holistic (psychophysiological) approach for the treatment of trauma. When adaptive processing is disrupted, traumatic experiences and adverse life events may become "stuck," which may lead to anxiety disorders, mood disorders (depression), social anxiety, panic disorders, PTSD, chronic or unexplained medical conditions and other problematic symptoms. Our trauma informed approach to healing acknowledges that the mind and body have a bidirectional relationship. In order to heal, we must assess how thoughts, feelings, emotions, and memories are finding expression through both our bodies and minds and tailor strategies toward bringing them back into balance. For example, trauma may be experienced as both anxiety (mental health) and chronic pain (physical well-being) as we often store painful experiences in the body. Our therapists support clients to reprocess and resolve traumatic memories using EMDR along with integrative mind-body strategies, leaving them transformed in their overall physical and mental well-being.
2. Holistic Trauma Informed Approach To Mental Wellness
We view mental health from a holistic (whole person) lens. At the core of our philosophy, we believe that real healing comes through caring not only for the mind but the body as well. We offer comprehensive Psychological Services, Acupuncture, Biofeedback therapy, and Reiki so each aspect of a client's well-being can be addressed for optimal physical and emotional health. Assessing a client's needs from a psychophysiological lens (mind-body) is a more comprehensive, effective and long-lasting approach to healing. For example, The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense conducted studies demonstrating efficacy for using acupuncture as a non-pharmacologic biological treatment for PTSD along with EMDR and other psychotherapeutic interventions.
3. Tailored Therapies For Individual Needs
Each journey towards healing and mental well-being is different for every individual. Recognizing this, we offer personalized therapy plans tailored to meet the specific needs of each client. From anxiety and stress management to trauma therapy recovery, our counselors work together with clients in developing a treatment plan that reflects their experiences and goals. This individualized care is at the heart of our practice and is key to our client's success.
4. Experienced And Compassionate Team
Our multidisciplinary team at Mind Body Connect 360 are highly trained practitioners that have significant experience in their areas of expertise. With a deep level of knowledge of a wide range of medical and mental health disorders and therapeutic approaches, our practitioners are guided by the most current research and utilize innovative methods for therapeutic intervention to promote both emotional and physical well-being. We take a comprehensive above and beyond approach that creates an atmosphere where clients feel safe to embark on the journey towards health and healing.
5. Mental Health Services That Are Offered Both In-Person And Virtually Via Telehealth.
Mind Body Connect 360 offers in-person counseling services at our office in Ashburn, VA. However, we have the flexibility to provide video counseling services, including EMDR, so that you can get the help that you need. Our therapist, Gwendolyn Kearney, LCSW provides video counseling services for clients throughout Virginia. Our Psychologist, Dr. Lindsey Berjansky, Psy.D. is PSYPACT certified and offers telehealth options for psychological services to support clients living throughout Virginia and in 39 states. We offer video counseling services, commonly referred to as telehealth, using a confidential and HIPAA compliant secure video platform through Simple Practice.
Getting Started With EMDR In Ashburn: Booking A Consultation
If you're interested in EMDR therapy at Mind Body Connect 360, the process starts with scheduling an initial intake session for you or your loved one. During this initial intake session, our experienced EMDR therapists will ask the questions necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of your unique life experiences, challenges and goals for treatment. This will allow our mental health practitioners to tailor treatment approaches for customized care. Together, we'll discuss therapy options, including the possibility of using EMDR therapy to improve overall emotional and physical well-being.
At Mind Body Connect 360, we offer a free 15 to 30-minute consultation by phone, secure video conferencing, or in person. No deep dives into your psyche--just an opportunity for us to decide together if scheduling an EMDR therapy session is the best next step. You won't be considered a client of Mind Body Connect 360 until you book a formal initial intake session so no pressure for commitment.
