Making Room for Healing and Helping the Mind Move Beyond the lasting Effects of Trauma
In early 2025, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS) received funding from the Daniel and Susan Pfau Foundation to allow 15 of our School-Based therapists to attend Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) training. EMDR is an evidence-based therapy found to be quite successful when helping people (particularly young people), process trauma. “I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Carlie Yersky, who attended the training. “Even now, when I try to explain what EMDR is, it can be difficult for people to understand the concept.”
Mara Wozniak is an integrated therapist who is also trained in EMDR. She says it is not easy, “The training is about 24 hours of in class learning. It’s very intensive. You also role play so you get to see what it’s like to be in the client’s shoes and understand the effectiveness of it.” Carlie concurs, “It’s not only the coursework, but then an additional ten hours of consultation with a certified EMDR trainer to discuss how you are using the tools with your clients.”
Simply put, when someone experiences severe trauma, the brain and body get stuck in high-alert survival mode which can affect their thoughts, feelings, and physical health. EMDR helps the brain re-access and restore memories so there is a reduction in emotional intensity as well as negative thinking or beliefs. But how does it actually work?
The science behind the training is that by using bi-lateral eye stimulation or movement (the client follows an object with their eyes, back and forth, and back and forth, or repeats a motion over and over), the brain produces something similar to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep – a period of sleep where the brain is able to sort, process, and store new information. It also aids in regulating emotions which is beneficial to mental wellness. EMDR helps the brain to shift its thinking pattern. The brain becomes distracted to allow for the restructuring of the negative self-beliefs that are formed by the traumatic event.
Sophia Kiser, who oversees the Transition to Independence Process or TIP program in Clermont
County, explains that there are preparations you take before diving into the rapid eye movement. “For at least the first few sessions, we go over things that make you resilient and prepare the client for reliving the trauma. Maybe the situation is that you were bullied by a classmate and now you are focused on the negative belief that you don’t deserve any friends. In EMDR, we would promote logical and positive thinking… 'I am worthy of friends who appreciate me for me.' For some clients, especially children, it can be effective pretty quickly.”
In the TIP program, Sophia works with adolescents whose brains are still developing. “We want to work through things sooner rather than later. The longer you wait to treat trauma after the significant event, the more repressed it can become, making it more difficult to treat. Much like untangling wires or jewelry, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to untangle it. “
By working to reduce the emotional distress associated with the trauma, the goal of EMDR is to keep the individual from continually re-living the trauma.
“Your mind is a garden and EMDR helps pluck the weeds, so the flowers have room to grow,” says Sophia.
