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Trauma Recovery Blog by Dr. Lena Agree: EMDR & Healing Strategies

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Unlocking EMDR Therapy Techniques

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured psychotherapy that uses guided bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic or distressing memories, reducing the emotional charge and updating maladaptive beliefs. The technique pairs a focused memory or image with bilateral stimulation—typically therapist-guided eye movements, tactile taps, or auditory tones—to engage the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and promote adaptive memory integration. Readers will learn what EMDR is, who developed it, how bilateral stimulation functions, the eight-phase protocol, the clinical indications supported by current research, and practical expectations for sessions. Many people seek efficient trauma-focused treatments because traditional therapies can feel slow or incomplete; EMDR offers a trauma reprocessing pathway that often accelerates symptom relief while improving cognitive and…

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The Difference Between Coping and Healing – and Why it Matters

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Many people come to therapy believing that if they can just cope better, they’ll feel better. But coping and healing are not the same. Coping helps you survive, but healing helps you change. Coping manages the symptoms of pain, while healing transforms the source of it. Both are valuable, but they function differently. In this post, we’ll explore the crucial difference between coping and healing, why it matters for your emotional growth, and how therapy can help you move beyond survival toward genuine, lasting well-being. What Is Coping? Coping strategies are the things we do to manage distress in the moment. They don’t necessarily change the root cause of our pain, but they make it more bearable and keep us afloat when…

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The False Promise of Forgiveness

The False Promise of Forgiveness

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People often come to my office wishing to forgive someone, but feeling unsettled because despite their efforts, it hasn’t happened, and they are frustrated and confused. Their distress over forgiveness often brings to mind my favorite quote on the subject: My frame of mind is most peaceful. My wishes are: a modest hut, a thatched roof, but a good bed, good food, milk and butter – very fresh, flowers in front of my window, beautiful trees outside my door and if the good Lord wishes to make me completely happy, he lets me have the joy of seeing hanged on those trees about six or seven of my enemies. Deeply moved, I shall forgive them before they die, all the…

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