Sheila Burns, owner of Refreshing Waters Counseling & Consulting, is a licensed professional counselor, certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor, licensed social worker and a master addiction counselor with a master’s degree in counseling and more than 24 years of extensive experience with mental health and substance abuse issues such as phobias, interpersonal and relationship issues, burnout/fatigue, anxiety, depression and trauma, including treating first-responders and veterans.

            Burns says, “Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) uses bilateral stimulation to reduce the effect of distressing memories and thought patterns. EMDR reduces physiological arousal related to memories, reprocesses negative beliefs and emotional affect is relieved. Information processing is enhanced while new thoughts and learning are created to increase adaptive changes and learning. This is a perfect therapy for trauma recovery, phobias or negative self-thoughts.”

            She continues, “I believe EMDR taps into the body’s natural processing that occurs during REM sleep. It helps to resolve thoughts that are 'stuck' and allows the brain to process and store these memories in a healthy way. Once we are able to make sense of the memory, it reduces the distressing reaction to it and allows us to integrate positive, overcoming thoughts.”

Location: 180 Little Lake Dr., Ste. 4, Ann Arbor. For appointments and more information, call 734-794-3777 or visit Refreshing-Waters.com.