Grief is a natural response to loss. EMDR therapy can help to relieve grief and loss. People can be at greater risk for complicated grief when the deceased death is sudden or unexpected, the loss of a child, death after a long illness, a death that the mourner feels was preventable, unresolved feeling towards the deceased before the death and the mourners perceived lack of social support after the death.
People may know that they are struggling if they are experiencing any of the following signs of traumatic grief such as;
- avoiding reminders of the deceased,
- feelings of negativity about the future,
- numbness and detachment,
- stunned, dazed, or shocked,
- difficulty acknowledging the death,
- feeling that life is empty or meaningless,
- difficulty imagining a fulfilling life without the deceased,
- feeling that part of oneself has died,
- shattered world view,
- engaging in self harming behaviors to cope with grief,
- excessive irritability, bitterness, or anger related to the death.
Whether the loss of a loved one has been one month, one year or ten years. EMDR therapy can help relieve suffering and allow the natural process of grief to continue.
Because time does not heal “all” wounds, EMDR therapy puts the healing back on track when clients feel stuck. EMDR therapy does not eliminate a person’s natural and appropriate response to grief and it won’t make you forget the memories of the deceased but instead it allows people to grieve with more of a inner peace. This type of therapy allows clients to go where they need to go in their healing process.
Besides the standard EMDR protocol we also use a special technique that came out of the field of EMDR called, the Flash Technique. The Flash Technique offers a gentle approach at healing distressing memories of the loss of a loved one without consciously focusing on the distress.
In order to better help clients work through painful memories related to a death we use EMDR therapy for grief. First we help the client to process any past painful memories, unresolved conflicts or issues that are associated with the death, then present day triggers such as feelings of loss or and fear and lastly our therapists help clients to envision their future without the deceased in their life. We then help clients to create a future template of how they want to relate to and feel about their grief and the memories of their loved one as they move forward.