Dr. Hosch specializes in the treatment of trauma through the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting. These are both highly effective techniques useful for resolving the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with people who have experienced traumatic events in their lives. Both are very safe, effective, solution-focused forms of therapy that transform a person's traumatic experiences and memories to innocuous memories that no longer continue to affect them. It is believed that EMDR and Brainspotting activate the brain's adaptive information processing function to effectively reprocess traumatic memories and unresolved grief tied to the original experience(s) which were never effectively processed. It appears that both EMDR and Brainspotting motivate the brain to reprocess memories, emotions, sensations, and cognitions associated with the original traumatic experience(s), and to file this information into the proper folders of the mind so the person is essentially left with only a factual memory of the original event. The person no longer experiences any emotional, psychological, behavioral, sensory, or cognitive responses associated with the trauma. That is to say that the intensity of the trauma diminishes and ultimately disappears, as do any sensory responses (e.g., muscle tension, nausea, racing heart, psychogenic pain, etc.), and any post-traumatic symptomology continuing to affect them. Any faulty, identity-level beliefs imprinted at the time of the trauma (which subconsciously drive the person's emotional and behavioral responses) tend to also be realigned with the truth.
All effects of the trauma, including any related depressive and anxiety disorders, are likely to disappear forever from the person's experience if the process is taken to completion. Many traumas can be resolved in a short period of time, and often times significant changes are noticed within the first 3-5 sessions of reprocessing. However, it can take more or less sessions depending on a few factors. These include the extent of the trauma and how prolific the trauma network is in the person's life, the degree of emotional disconnect the person has established for themselves as a coping strategy to deal with their grief, and how recent or raw the trauma is in the person's life. For example, it will likely take more sessions for someone who has either experienced multiple significant and/or prolific traumas in their life, or who has learned over time to effectively disconnect themselves from their emotions. On the other hand, the more recent and raw the trauma is for the person, and/or the more ready and willing they are to get in touch with their grief, the greater the likelihood is that they will find relief more quickly.
EMDR was discovered in 1979 by Dr. Francine Shapiro, and has since become recognized world-wide as a very effective method for addressing and reolving trauma and PTSD. Brainspotting, an extension of EMDR, was discovred in 1993 by Dr. David Grand, and has also achieved world-wide recognition for its effectiveness. We only have theories as to why and how EMDR and Brainspotting work, but the fact is that these techniques work significantly better than many of the previous forms of treatment used for trauma (e.g., critical incident stress management (CISM), exposure therapy, and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy). And unlike some of the previous methods used in the treatment of trauma, the person experiencing EMDR and/or Brainspotting from a qualified practitioner can only get better.
For more comprehensive information from the Cleveland Clinic on EMDR Therapy, please click the link below.