Briones Counseling Services, LLC

(630) 251-5103

Our brains are wired for connection, but trauma rewires them for protection. That’s why healthy relationships are difficult for wounded people.

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Therapy to Overcome Emotional Difficulties

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that is effective for resolving emotional difficulties caused by disturbing or frightening life experiences. When an upsetting, scary, or painful experience happens, sometimes the memory of the experience stays stuck or frozen in the mind and body. The experience may return in a distressing and intrusive way, through being triggered by similar sensations which may cause one to overreact to the present situation or avoid everything associated with the upsetting experience.


Trauma Treatment

When something traumatic happens the brain does not process the experience. The trauma gets stored in the Limbic System of the brain and plays on a loop. The limbic system is the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviors we need for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young, and fight or flight responses. You see life through your trauma and when something "triggers" the trauma, it is as if you are dealing the past trauma and the current event simultaneously, which is why there is an overreaction and struggle to manage that reaction.

At Briones Counseling Services, Michele is trained in EMDR Therapy and will work with you in confronting the memories or traumatic events until they are no longer disturbing. Many prefer EMDR to talk therapy regarding trauma because less talk is necessary. Your brain is doing the work, Michele facilitates the process for you. You can talk about trauma for years and not much progress can be made because of the way your brain has stored the trauma in the limbic system. EMDR is effective virtually.

Michele was trained through the EMDR Institute created by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., who is the originator and developer of EMDR, which has been so well researched that it is now recommended as an effective treatment for trauma in the Practice Guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association, and those of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Return to a Normal Life

EMDR helps resolve the troubling thoughts and feelings related to the distressing memories so you can return to your everyday life without being triggered by the disturbance. EMDR can help to strengthen feelings of confidence, calmness, and mastery.

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Contact

Thank you for your interest. For questions or comments, please use the information listed here. We look forward to hearing from you.

Phone
(630) 251-5103

Hours of Operation
By Appointment Only

Address
Virtual Office email:
m.d.briones@aol.com
Credentialed in the states of Illinois and South Carolina