Ep. 28 - What is EMDR Therapy Like?

All The Therapies

Many people have heard of EMDR therapy but struggle to understand what it is. This week, Mona tries an EMDR demonstration on grief (TW: Death of a Parent) and describes her impressive results! Then we interview trauma therapist, Joanna Filidor LMFT, about what EMDR is and how to do it virtually with clients. She shares her understanding of trauma and why EMDR is so effective with it. If you have heard of EMDR but haven't been sure if you should try it, definitely listen to this episode!

Joanna Filidor Bio:

Joanna Filidor is a licensed therapist specializing in the treatment of psychological trauma. She has her own practice where she provides therapy to individuals with a history of complex trauma, dissociative disorders, sexual trauma, and PTSD. Joanna is passionate about helping trauma survivors find healing, build resilience, and cultivate agency and belonging. Joanna is also a supervisor for new therapists and a consultant in training for EMDR trained therapists. Through this work, Joanna also witnessed first-hand the effect of spaces that were not trauma-informed, which laid the foundation for her work as a consultant. Joanna works alongside organizations to create trauma-informed and trauma-responsive organizational frameworks to ensure trauma survivors can receive quality clinical care while feeling safe, supported, and cared for. Joanna has also facilitated workshops, courses, and presentations on trauma treatment and trauma-informed care. Additionally, Joanna is an adjunct professor at University of Massachusetts Global. She teaches in the MFT graduate program.

Website: joannafilidormft.com

Instagram: @theresilientself

Instagram: @allthetherapies

Editing By: Blackwell Post

Original Music By: Juli Crockett

Time Stamps

00:30 Abby and Mona discuss their curiosities for the week: Seeing our marginalized parts represented in celebrities and the awe at the number of products and malls that continue to be in existence
5:43 What is EMDR?
8:10 Mona discusses how she prepared for the EMDR session.
11:44 TW: Death of a Parent. Mona briefly discusses the memory she is processing in EMDR which relates to her mother being in the hospital before she passed away. Ends at 12:16
12:17 The EMDR process Mona experienced
21:46 The after-effects of the EMDR session
25:34 Our Interview with Joanna Filidor, EMDR therapist
28:48 Why Joanna started working with trauma and EMDR
30:30 What actually is EMDR?
35:07 How EMDR works in practice
44:22 What else can EMDR be used on besides trauma?
47:03 Healing a memory network
50:42 Can I add EMDR to my existing therapy?
55:42 Our favorite final question: What does Joanna think healing is?
57:40 How to find out more about our guest, Joanna Filidor