This client, a man in his late 20's, was overall very high functioning. In his quest for continued growth and self improvement, we worked on unresolved grief, relationship issues and releasing old patterns that were holding him back.
Therapist: Did you find EMDR helpful and if so, in what way?
Client: I found EMDR to be incredibly helpful. I'm a person who likes to talk through my challenges--which I did with Julia for months before we moved on to do EMDR--yet talk-therapy alone has its limitations. EMDR offers a way to access much deeper material, and to affect significant change in one's life. I was able to break through patterns I was hardly aware of, yet had held me back for many years. I'm very grateful for the success.
Therapist: How does EMDR therapy compare to regular talk therapy?
Client: Generally, there is a lot less active processing. After identifying the targets you want to work on and such, it becomes much more about just letting the bilateral stimulation do it's work. This can feel a little awkward if you're used to talk therapy, like "Shouldn't I be doing something?" It's a great opportunity for someone like myself, who tends to be very motivated towards and focused on change, to learn to relax and trust the process.
Therapist: Would you recommend EMDR to others?
Cient: Absolutely. In fact, I recently became an MFT intern myself and just completed a two part EMDR training. It is a very unique and powerful intervention that can help heal a variety of wounds.
Therapist: Do you have anything else you want to add about working specifically with Julia Barokov?
Client: Julia is great. She's kind, insightful, and knows how to meet the client right where they are. In my case, this meant that she was able to go into some pretty existential and esoteric psychological terrain with me, because of my particular background and interests. She was able to hold space for this, which I have found to be a rare and also necessary trait in a therapist for me.
