I am currently seeing a trauma specialist and have been since last Fall.
Our recent time overseas surfaced some deeper issues I needed to face and I was advised by a wonderful counselor to seek this type of therapy.
I was not too keen at first to do this, but I was definitely made aware of my need for it.
The type of therapy that I found after talking with trusted friends is called EMDR. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
The simplest way for me to explain EMDR is to emphasize on the reprocessing aspect of it. The therapist has been trained to help you safely stimulate both sides of your brain in order to revisit terrifying memories and reprocess them with new healthy perspectives.
This therapy does not put you in a trance or hypnotize you and you are fully aware and in control.
If the therapist is trained well and know what they are doing then the patient is able to feel safe and comfortable revisiting these painful memories. Getting help from someone that knows what they are doing is so important.
I have discovered a beautiful element to my therapy sessions and that is the role of the Holy Spirit. I see a Christian therapist that invites God into our sessions and allows Him to move and work in me and my memories.
I have learned much, but one thing that stands out to me the most that has brought a deeper clarity to my life’s experiences is learning that I was never alone in each of those terrifying moments. God was with me.
Even before I knew Jesus, an old man that I knew instinctively was the Father had stepped into a memory to show me He was always there and never hidden. And as we have moved along in my timeline of memories to revisit, Jesus began showing up in my memories once I had become a believer.
It has and still amazes me how the Lord has helped me immensely create new neural pathways within these memories, healing my pain, and bringing a healthy closure to each of them.
Our God is so kind and compassionate. And He can even unlock trauma that has been trapped in our minds and bodies for years and heal us deep within.
Revisiting the healed memories now with no overwhelming emotion attached to them is freeing. I feel more and more free as each memory is resolved. It has been such a beautiful and safe experience to find deliverance from the Lord this way. He is indeed gentle with the brokenhearted.
Moving forward I have learned a new tool with caring for my soul and mind. I can easily invite Jesus into any experience that has yet to be resolved in my memory bank and know that I will find Him there. That brings me great comfort and peace, and settles my heart as I look towards the future. We have not been alone, and never will be.
God is very much with us.