Sloan Gorman
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
IFS
Internal Family Systems
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing)
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a powerful way to get the brain to learn much more quickly than usual, which makes possible both rapid realizations about essential truths about a situation or event. This can increase the rate of recovery from the effects of acute psychological trauma and slower but thorough recovery from the effects of chronic psychological trauma. EMDR is now the best researched and validated way of treating PTSD.
How EMDR might work
There are a few theories about how EMDR might work. One theory is that when a trauma occurs the ability to process information is disturbed and a neural pathology occurs. The brain/body freezes the information in its original anxiety provoking form, complete with the original images and negative self-assessment. Researchers think that EMDR is able to “nudge” that material so that the brain is able to neurologically reconnect and integrate the information. It appears that EMDR is able to help the brain finally process “stuck” material, enabling the person to arrive at an adaptive resolution. The painful event or trauma is then perceived as an unfortunate incident, but no longer produces the emotional pain that it did before.
IFS (Internal Family Systems)
Internal Family Systems is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on a client’s internal “parts” and “Self.”
In IFS, the mind is considered to be made up of multiple sub-personalities within each individual’s mental system. These sub-personalities take on different roles, such as an inner critic or wounded inner child, and consist of wounded parts and painful feelings like anger and shame.
The goal of IFS is to help clients access Self so that they can heal wounded parts and bring their psyche into balance.
IFS is an evidence-based practice used to treat a range of mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, PTSD,
and substance abuse. The treatment timeline depends on your history and the issues you want to address.
IFS is a movement. It's a new, empowering paradigm for understanding and harmonizing the mind and, thereby, larger human systems.
Disclaimer: I am IFS "Informed". I have completed a preliminary six month IFS training. I have not had IFS Level One training yet.
I will begin Level One training as soon as it becomes available. I have 15 years of experience in a similar ego state model, called DNMS (Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy).