Format of Counseling

 

We at the EMDR and Counseling Center want to get you better as quickly as possible while ensuring you are safe when working through difficult experiences and emotions. Here is what you can expect from your sessions.

First session: The initial session will be primarily to identify your goals for counseling and how we can help you achieve them. It will also go over RAT and what to expect in the session more in-depth and answer any questions you have about it. If there is time, we will go over some techniques to deal with difficult emotions, as RAT can draw out extremely powerful emotional responses, and we want to be sure that you can handle them in a healthy way both in and out of session.

Second session: If we didn't have time to go over how to deal with strong, negative emotions in a healthy and adaptive way, then that will be the primary focus of this session. If it was covered in the first session, or once it's covered in this session, we will jump straight into RAT.

Subsequent sessions: Sessions will primarily focus on doing RAT, although there may be interruptions for other things as needed such as processing difficult emotions or teaching important therapeutic skills. For example, if a client is having immediate difficulty with anger, counseling may briefly change focus to techniques for dealing with anger in a healthy way.

Completion of counseling: Counseling will be complete once you have worked through any distressing or traumatic memory, traumatic event, negative thinking patterns, beliefs, or feelings, or any other issue that has a disproportionate reaction to a situation resulting in heightened emotions that can be resolved with RAT. You should experience long-term relief from your symptoms and feel happy in your daily life before the completion of counseling and your individual healing journey.

 

 

Timeline for Counseling

 

The timeline for counseling can vary depending on the individual. Most clients are able to work through one or more treatment goals simultaneously in about three to six sessions. People who have experienced a lot of trauma generally take slightly longer than average. RAT does also tend to be slowest with the first targeted issue, with subsequent issues having the potential to be quicker. RAT is different for everyone, and I've seen clients fully process issues in under an hour, while others take around 6 sessions or more. Most clients average between 10-20 therapy sessions to complete counseling, no matter how many issues they initially wanted to work on.

 

Something else to keep in mind is that things may get worse before they get better. It is uncommon, but not rare, for clients to temporarily worsen their symptoms after the first session or two of RAT but improve after that. Come into therapy with moderate expectations for the first couple of sessions because dropping out of therapy due to temporarily worsened symptoms is detrimental to mental health.

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Cost

 

Healing should be affordable to everyone. While a counseling session is typically $150 an hour, I am willing to work with you at a price that is affordable to you. 

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How to Prepare for RAT Treatment

 

At the EMDR and Counseling Center, we understand you may have many questions when preparing for RAT treatment. We are here to help you make an informed decision about this type of therapy.​
 

 

Do Your Research: Become Aware of All Available Treatment Options

 

Before starting any healing program, being aware of all available treatment options is vital. RAT is an effective treatment method but its different than traditional therapy and differs from what you would typically expect in therapy.  Each type of treatment has different methods of treating issues and have different success rates. It can be beneficial to understand the differences in order to set realistic expectations for treatment outcomes. Working with your service provider will give you more personalized guidance based on your individual needs so that you can choose the best course of action for yourself.

Before The First Session: Create a List of Treatment Goals

 

At the EMDR and Counseling Center, we understand you may have many questions when preparing for RAT treatment. Before starting your course of treatment success, it would be helpful to come equipped with a list of pain points or goals you would like to work on during the session. This will help ensure your time in the session is spent productively and you can get the most out of each visit. Treatment goals should include but are not limited to anything that is distressing to you or makes you feel overwhelmed, any negative talk or beliefs, or anything else you are unhappy with or would like to change in your life.

Allow Time for Emotional Processing After Sessions

 

It is also recommended to take some time after your sessions to reflect on how you feel and what was discussed during the session. Doing this will allow you to better process emotions after a session and may lead to further treatment gains. Some people may find it helpful to journal or write down their feelings to help with emotional processing.

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At the EMDR and Counseling Center, we are dedicated to helping our clients feel supported and empowered throughout their treatment journey by providing holistic care tailored to their needs. We look forward to working with you soon!