Counselling for Anxiety.

Although my main counselling modality is EMDR, most of my clients come to me for anxiety. Yet the treatment originally designed for trauma and PTSD seems to work well for many types of anxiety, including fear, panic, OCD, poor responses to stressful situations, and a combination of generalized anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Common situations in which anxiety might be present:

Public speaking

Social settings

Driving

Flying

Medical procedures

Dental visits

Exam/test taking

Interacting with new people

Cancer treatment

Sex

 

Part of the reason might be that anxiety often is a manifestation of events and experiences that we have not rationally recognized as traumatic. While some traumas are obvious capital T traumas (abuse, assault, threats, etc.), we also experience smaller, less obvious forms of trauma that are considered small t traumas. I’ve recognized the role of small t traumas in a lot of clients who simply had parents who owned businesses or had more children than they could properly attend to. Perhaps you had a sick sibling who got more attention. We can rationalize that our parents’ diverted focus was understandable and reason that they did their best. But at the young age what actually gets encoded in the body is neglect. Our bodies remember. As in the pointed title of Bessel van der Kolk M.D.’s book, the body keeps the score. van der Kolk argues:

“Childhood neglect can prime individuals to be on high alert, their bodies tuned to fight or flight.”

We are reminded of the feelings of childhood neglect when we are older and react strongly when a boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t return our texts when we expect or replies with short answers when they are out of town. These moments, while annoying but bearable for many, leave others paralyzed by doubt and fear or the possibility of rejection.

 

Pairing EMDR Therapy with Other Therapeutic Techniques

EMDR Therapy is not the only form of therapy appropriate for people dealing with anxiety and just because someone is undergoing EMDR therapy does not mean that another form of therapy cannot be used at the same time. Speak with your therapist about combinations of therapy or therapeutic techniques that might suit your needs. Some forms of therapy also require work between sessions, so time could be a factor in choice of therapy.