“I did EMDR therapy…I found that very effective.” Jameela Jamil
What is EMDR Therapy?
Psychotherapist Cheryl Arutt specializes in Trauma Recovery and Creative Artist Issues, and uses EMDR to help her clients. She writes:
“Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is a powerful evidence-based trauma treatment.
“It is a psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.
“Through EMDR therapy, people are able to reprocess traumatic information until it is no longer psychologically disruptive, allowing the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy can often be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies.”
From her site page Psychotherapy.
This is a video from that page:
The need for a trained therapist to get the full benefit of EMDR.
Dr. Arutt notes “EMDR Therapy is an 8 Phase treatment modality that takes such considerable training and skill, it can only be taught to therapists who are already licensed.
“Some Phase 2 resources, such as Laurel Parnell’s book Tapping In to self-regulate, can be done on your own, but Phase 4 is where you reprocess trauma to alleviate depression, anxiety and other issues, and that is most safely done with a therapist who is licensed, either in-person or virtually via telehealth.
“Claims that you can “DIY” actual EMDR Therapy are false.”
Dr. Arutt comments more about the value of EMDR in her TEDx video “That Good Feeling of Control” – see article Psychologist Cheryl Arutt on Emotional Health and Creative People.
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Who uses EMDR?
Actor Jameela Jamil (known for her role on The Good Place series) shared her experience with EMDR therapy on her Instagram page in a 2019 post that read:
“Today is #WorldMentalHealth Day. This month, 6 years ago, I tried to take my own life. I’m so lucky that I survived, and went on to use EMDR to treat my severe PTSD.
“I urge you to hang on just a bit longer and ask for help if you need it. Because things can turn around. I promise.”
Her caption read, “Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to access affordable therapy.
“But if you can’t, in the mean time, there are helplines ( @crisistextline @giveusashoutinsta ) and community groups online around the world and friends and family who might surprise you as to how supportive they can be.
“It’s not something you have to tolerate on your own. You have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. I feel you. I’ve been there.
“And it’s a process of radical self forgiveness, patience and care that will help you out. It feels like the pain, nightmares and exhaustion will never end sometimes, but they can. And they will.”
From article “Celebrities Who Have Experiences With EMDR Therapy” By Lori McGruder Counseling.
Podcast episode – The audio in the first segment is from a video conversation between Russell Brand and actor Jameela Jamil (from the video below).
Jameela Jamil comments: “So I did EMDR therapy…I found that very effective…
“I found with traditional therapies or even with CBT, it required me to do a lot of homework and work all the time and having to conduct which I am quite a work shy person, I didn’t appreciate having to constantly have to check myself in challenging and triggering situations.
“And what EMDR did is it it truly removed the emotion that was linked to the traumatic memory or thought process, it just sort of cut it off for me. So it took out a lot of the homework for me, where I would walk into a situation that normally would trigger me and my emotion associated to the memory that that situation is triggered is now gone.”
From transcript of above podcast episode – see full transcript in post Can EMDR therapy help us deal with PTSD and other emotional health issues?
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Can EMDR Remove Fear & Shame?! | Russell Brand & Jameela Jamil
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Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz helps creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts.
In one of her many articles on her site addressing emotional health and creative power for artists, she writes about dealing with our past:
As an artist, you need to access your emotions to make your art, perform, or accomplish your goals.
Emotions are your creative power.
And, you are the creative instrument that channels all the emotions in their pure form, tones, or meaning.
When you are in touch with your emotions you can use them to make your art or to perform.
You can communicate the full spectrum of your emotions and to create art that a connects to your audience.
But, sometimes, your past emotional experiences can hijack your feelings in the present; thus, interfering with your creativity or performance.
Unfortunately, your creative instrument has a tendency to slip out of tune.
Though your goal is to stay connected and grounded in your emotional experiences, your feelings can take over. Unable to direct your emotions to fuel your art, you lose your creative power. …
Though you might want to escape your past, your past has an imprint on you.
The stories that you lived are part of you. The lessons you’ve learned or not learned are part of you.
Read more in article Healing your Past with EMDR Therapy to be More Creative and Productive by Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT.
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Image above (a therapy session with an EMDR light bar) added by site author, from article What is EMDR therapy and What Is It Good For? By Toby Barron / June 9, 2022.
From the article:
How does EMDR therapy work?
The eye movement desensitization technique changes the way memories are stored in our brain through bilateral stimulation of our eyes (or hands). An EMDR therapist uses certain protocols to lead you through bilateral eye movements (side-to-side) as you recall your traumatic event.
The eye movement technique allows your brain to relive the disturbing event in small, tolerable segments until the targeted memory carries no emotional charge, and you no longer associate it with a negative response.
The lateral eye movements encourage memory processing and set your brain on the path of healing. The goal of EMDR therapy is not to help you forget your negative experiences but to turn every negative memory into a processed and accepted memory with no emotional consequences for your brain.
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In another article, psychotherapist Dr Holtz notes:
Of course, creativity has its ebbs and flows. It’s impossible to be in a perpetual state of creative output.
But, if you’re really caught in old emotional conflicts or unresolved trauma, you’re no longer moving through those natural cycles of creativity and rest. You’re just stuck.
EMDR help can help you work with and work throughyour emotional blocks to reconnect you with your creativity.
What does it mean to work with the emotional blocks that interfere with your creativity?
EMDR, also known as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a powerful form of psychotherapy that takes you on an inner journey.
There, you’ll discover the true nature of your creativity and you’ll begin to understand what it takes to stay in touch with that inspiring, generative energy.
See more in her article:
EMDR for Emotional Blocks to Restore Your Connection to Your Creativity.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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