Episode Details
Anxiety is intense, excessive, persistent worry and fears about everyday situations. Four percent of the world’s population experiences anxiety disorders. That may not sound like a large number, but it equals more than 301 million people worldwide. Can EMDR therapy help? EMDR-certified therapist Nancy Andino, LCSW, CASAC, says yes. Find out how EMDR therapy can heal anxiety.
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- EMDRIA Online Membership Communities for EMDR Therapists
Musical soundtrack, Acoustic Motivation 11290, supplied royalty-free by Pixabay.
Produced by Kim Howard, CAE.
Episode Transcript
Kim Howard 00:04
Welcome to the Let’s Talk EMDR podcast brought to you by the EMDR International Association or EMDRIA. I’m your host, Kim Howard. In this episode, we are talking with EMDR certified therapist, Nancy Andindo about EMDR therapy for anxiety. Nancy is located in Union City, New Jersey. Let’s get started. Today we’re speaking with EMDR certified therapist, Nancy Andino to talk about EMDR therapy and anxiety. Thank you, Nancy, for being here today. We are so happy that you said yes.
Nancy Andino 00:31
Thank you for having me.
Kim Howard 00:33
Nancy, tell us a little bit about your path to becoming an EMDR. therapist.
Nancy Andino 00:38
I would say it started from a colleague that she had done the training in military base, because she was working on a military base. And she felt that it was very helpful for her clients. She’s like, you have to do this, especially with the population that I was working with at the time. And I was running like a methadone clinic and because like, I think it will be very helpful to at least have the tools to, for the staff to be able blah, blah, blah, we were having the conversation. I was like, Yes, I’ll put it on my list of things to do.
Kim Howard 01:15
Probably a mile long.
Nancy Andino 01:18
But during that time, I was also completing my Gestalt training. And then I was like, You know what, let me take this. You know, once I finished that started my private practice. And I when I took the training, I was like, oh, okay, they say this works. Oh, let’s see. And then I didn’t use it for a few years, it was just, okay, something that I had, and I had been informed by other people who had done the training, you don’t need to be trained anymore. Like, that’s weird. Alright, so then I decided to a training came up, [sorry, this is a puppy] the training came up. And I was like, You know what, I’m gonna go do this training. It was like after, I think it was like the Craft of EMDR, something like that. And I took the training, and then like, re motivated me again. Now I’m even more curious. Now. I’m gonna start doing it. And I started doing it. And I am a full believer now.
Kim Howard 02:22
That’s nice. We like those stories.
Nancy Andino 02:24
The more, you know, I’ve been continuing to participate in constant consultations. And the more curious I get, the more I learn, and the more my clients get to experience and heal.
Kim Howard 02:38
Yeah, that’s the goal here. Yeah, that’s the goal here is to make sure that people are healing. So yeah, thank you for sharing that. What’s your favorite part of working with EMDR therapy?
Nancy Andino 02:49
I would say it’s the shock that is experienced at the end of life, and then after that, and and along with the, I don’t know what happened, I no longer feel the same way. You know, it’s like, I don’t know, I just, I guess I got over it. Just needed to talk more about it. Not really, kind of giving credit to the experience that they had and what they were able to do with their own brain. So I think that is my favorite part along with you want me to do what?
Kim Howard 03:27
Yeah. I hear that a lot from people that we interview. And I’ve heard people present at our conferences and summit, and even when they write for the magazine about the relief that the client gets from therapy from EMDR therapy, and the sense of, Wow, I can have that memory, but it’s not as triggering as it once was. It’s just sort of like the rest of my memories and, and the relief, the sense of relief that comes over their face in their sessions. And after that. So that’s, that’s beautiful. I mean, what a beautiful way to work with people.
Nancy Andino 04:04
It is. I personally enjoyed the comments that come along with it.
Kim Howard 04:08
Nancy, what successes have you seen using EMDR therapy for anxiety?
Nancy Andino 04:13
I will say it’s allow clients to feel more comfortable in, in social spaces is allowed them to be able to speak up at work and stand up for themselves at work, to be able to better communicate with family members when it comes to challenging conversations, even to be able to communicate with their supervisors in the workplace. It has allowed them to breathe, right? If you’re like, oh, I can breathe now. But it’s also allowed them to realize they, when we’re doing when we’re doing the preparation stages for EMDR they gain awareness of I’ve always experienced anxiety and you know, that’s what I’m experiencing. Right particularly for the the community I work with, which is people of color, right? It’s like So he’s always been here, and I didn’t know it felt at this level now, it doesn’t make sense for them. So being able to go back to when did it start? And how does it show up? And now how it’s showing up now in their environment that we live in?
Kim Howard 05:16
Yes. Yeah. Sometimes it’s, it’s such a relief when you can put a name to something, whether it’s a mental health issue or physical ailment that you have. And you’re like, Oh, this is what this is. Now, I know, I can learn how to deal with it, because I’ve been able to identify it. So that sense of relief is a huge burden on your shoulders.
Nancy Andino 05:36
Absolutely. It allows them to be able to see oh, it’s showing up. And we do a lot of somatic work like it showing up again. Why. Right, so being able for them to ask and get curious with it, as opposed to just having to stay in that space. Right? It’s pretty, it’s been pretty good.
Kim Howard 05:53
Good. Are there any myths that you would like to bust about EMDR therapy for anxiety?
Nancy Andino 05:58
That is going to resolve anxiety as a whole. We do EMDR I’m never going to experience anxiety again. Like, no, it’s just, you know, we will experience heightened emotions, it’s just going to depend on what situations and how you respond to it, along with a will. That EMDR is not going to help them at all, like this is not going to help me. So since it’s not going to help me, I’m not even going to do it. So that I think that’s one along with feeling that anxiety has been the culprit of everything that’s happened in their lives. versus kind of like, well, anxiety may have been the loudest part that been most likely numbing, everything else has been happening. So now we get to open it up in in, we get to actually work on everything else.
Kim Howard 06:51
Yeah. Good. Thank you.
Nancy Andino 06:52
Yeah.
Kim Howard 06:53
Nancy, are there any specific complexities or difficulties with using EMDR therapy for this population?
Nancy Andino 07:01
Yes, for me, it’s been, how are they going to respond? The complexities are difficult, like I’m introducing something new. And I’m introducing something new to my community where therapy is already like, you’re gonna go see what you crazy, right, or the stigmas associated with it. So that avoidance, right, that is, that’s like this, the first one trying to? Well, for me, it’ll be the step two, because they already came to see me, right, so they were getting past the first one. And the second part is like, now I’m introducing something new that they never seen, or never experienced, or they may have heard of, or feel like they’re gonna be made fun of. So I think that’s, that’s part of the difficulties that I experienced with it. Other ones is they try so many things, and they have not been successful in any of it. So why should I even I don’t even want to waste my time with this, I don’t want to get my hopes up for something that’s not going to work. Right, another one already coming in, like feeling defeated, or they feeling annoyed at themselves, because they are experiencing anxiety, and they don’t know how to manage it. Right? It’s kind of like I’m supposed to be able to handle this on my own, right? So I am weak if I don’t handle this on my own. And now you want to introduce a new tool, something new and have me do all these things that it makes me feel even more, less than or even more insecure. Even experiencing anxiety has been helpful in some way right to be able to survive in the neighborhoods be able to buy when communities be able to survive, and all white spaces kind of like it gives them the highest heightened alert, like I need to be aware. So what’s happening? So like, is it going to be is that going to be lost? That can be something and also the vulnerability that comes with being seen during EMDR, right? So it’s, you’re going to be watching me while I am doing this and this and why I am experiencing such intense emotions, or I’m having all these thoughts and I can share them or I don’t have to, but you’re watching me, actually, now that is virtual. So it can it kind of brings in that other level of vulnerability and feeling like very raw during that. So I feel those are some of the complexities that show up and being able to navigate that with a lot of compassion, and empathy, but also understanding that yes, this is where we are and that we have the strength to be able to do it.
Kim Howard 09:40
We’ve talked about this on the podcast before when I interviewed Marshall Lyles, a few months back, he talked about how brave people were who come to therapy. So I’ve tried to restate that, not every podcast episode, but it is brave for you to make a decision to go to therapy. And particularly with people of color – I am not a person of color, I am white. You’re a person of color, but particularly with people of color. There has been a mistrust among [the minority communities] the medical experts in the medical field, the medical profession with good reasoning. And then there’s also the stigma of oh, you need to go to therapy, something’s wrong with you. Well, if you’ve not been able to cope, then yeah, you have to get help. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Yeah, you know, there’s nothing wrong with you wanting to live a better life, less anxious, or less traumatized or less fill in the blank. And so that if therapy is what needs to happen, then you go do it.
Nancy Andino 10:32
Yes. And also coming from family structures that whatever happens in this house stays in the house, you’re not supposed to air your dirty laundry out, you’re not anything to a stranger. So you have to keep that in, because then that’s going to, that’s the representation of what happened in our household. That’s the representation of what happens when you walk out this door, you’re representing us. You’re not just representing yourself. Right. And that plays a big role in this.
Kim Howard 10:58
Well, I think everybody who’s ever been to therapy or thinking about going to therapy, we support you. So.
Nancy Andino 11:04
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s the most bravest and courageous thing you can do.
Kim Howard 11:11
Nancy, how do you practice cultural humility as an EMDR therapist?
Nancy Andino 11:15
So I view it from my lens of my clients are the experts, right? A lens of I am a person that was judged growing up, that this conflict that showed up looking like this coming into the United States coming to the United States in like ’88. And, you know, being in neighborhoods, and they were so confused, like what she looked like, but she speaks in our language, how come she has an accent, but her skin color, you know, being having that type of experience with kids that look like me, but our cultures were completely different. The language was different, the food was different, that this conference that came, we’re having to stand up for myself, and not knowing the language and then learning the language and still having to stand up for myself, I feel that that allows that allows me to still to have curiosity where every client that comes to see me, right, and when 98 percent or 95 percent of my practice is on people of color. So is from the African American experience that is a little bit different than my immigrant, black, Puerto Rican experience. Right. And learning that as well, I have clients are from Asia have clients that are from the Middle East, and we all have a common thread, right. But it’s also just because we have a common theme does not mean that the cultural differences can play a big role. So I always come into all my sessions, as I am a student of my clients, and they will teach me what they are experiencing, it’s my responsibility to learn more and to be humble in that manner, which I feel allows me to be a better therapist and better able to connect with them. Also, the understanding that all my education has been through a white lens, everything right, from elementary school, to all postgraduate, all that stuff is through a white westernized lens, which is completely, I always feel like you there is tried to strip the culture out of us. Right? Because it’s like it is very individually driven. It’s for individuals versus we come from community and culture. And that is a big priority is very meaningful, growing up. And now it’s kind of like you have to take care of you. Because so it’s new, it’s new skills being learned, but also is how do we integrate it, as opposed to the person trying to fit into it now? How are we able to integrate it into you being able to live a healthy life while still honoring your values and your family structure, your cultures and all that stuff? And I feel being humble allows me to do that. And being fully aware that yes, this the lens that I was taught through was not my lens. Now my ethnic lens, not my cultural lens, so I had to once learn that like, okay, come back into me, and how do I remake this some stuff, so don’t put so much Oh, for some things still, actually bring it to life with the clients that I work with?
Kim Howard 14:38
Yeah, that’s a wonderful answer. Thank you. Do you have a favorite free EMDR related resource that you would suggest either for the public or other EMDR therapists?
Nancy Andino 14:47
Google and EMDRIA. The EMDRIA library, it has so much information you can find so many things in it and I love that is open so I’m able to use it. I use it a lot in the community, right? EMDRIA Community, EMDR community, what have I see, let me look up into that a little bit.
Kim Howard 15:09
I’ve worked in associations for a long time, mostly throughout my career, my 30 year plus career and and that is a huge driving factor for people to join organizations is to join other people who have like interests, whether it’s personal or professional, and to learn from each other. And that almost can’t you almost can’t put a price tag on that, because you’re, you’re taking all these other people’s experiences and education, and they’re helping you to solve a problem, and you in turn do the same. And that’s almost an invaluable membership.
Nancy Andino 15:43
Yes, yeah, it really is. And that comes back, right, we have to be able to build community in order to be able to learn more and have received the support because as an EMDR, therapist, one thing support is needed. Right? It’s needed, because we’re going to have bloopers. And bloopers can be big, like, what do I do? It’s completely okay. We’re going to do this now. That is incredibly helpful. So yes, the community is very much a necessity.
Kim Howard 16:16
Yeah, thank you. Nancy, what would you like people outside of the EMDR community to know about EMDR and anxiety?
Nancy Andino 16:23
That it the same way and anxiety is full-body experience. And when I say full body is literally from head to toe EMDR allows you to be able to read processes from head to toe, actually from toe to head. It allows us to be able to integrate it in such a manner that you are the one that has the control is not me doing it for you is you being able to allow yourself to heal yourself, because you are the one that is guiding us in this process. And I feel that EMDR allows…is a whole body experience, where I feel we can bring in the whole aspect of holistic, right? Because it’s we’re literally going by what the client is experiencing. And we’re also coming into visualization. So there’s creativity that also comes with this. It was visualized, right? We’re creating future memories, who got this right? into the future, and let’s see how, like what, yes, we’re gonna create a scenario and then, right, so the power of our bodies to be able to do this EMDR allows us to do that. And even when I always say, as a therapist, it’s our responsibility to continue learning. Right? So And okay, I am training EMDR, then I am certified and in from a therapist, then other Gestalt therapists, then you have all these things that you get to marry and utilize it. And EMDR has been an incredible compliment, and leading tool that I use.
Kim Howard 18:22
We talked about this before on this podcast, where therapists really have to approach each client individually. And whatever treatment plan they have in place is tailored to that person. And what works with one person may for one issue may not work with the same person with the same different person with the same issue. And yeah, you guys really have to go in there and just look at everybody sort of as a custom client.
Nancy Andino 18:44
Absolutely. My practice: Tailored.
Kim Howard 18:48
Yes. Yes.
Nancy Andino 18:50
We’re tailoring this to you is like, yeah,
Kim Howard 18:53
A great name for a practice. If you weren’t an EMDR therapist, what would you be?
Nancy Andino 19:01
I would still be in the health field, I would feel like I will be in the teaching field or bringing people together to have experiences something along those lines. I, this is what I feel I was meant to be, I still feel it. I am still very much grateful for it. And I’m still getting surprised because I was like 15-years-old. I’m gonna do this. And I’m still here. I don’t get bored with clients. I enjoy working with all my clients. So I’m like I am doing what I was meant to do.
Kim Howard 19:35
That’s interesting that you knew at such a young age that you were going to be a therapist, because that’s generally people or children, I think kind of pick out those therapists aren’t necessarily seen in the population, right? It’s usually that oh, you’re a police officer, firefighter, whatever, your lawyer, the accountant, maybe I don’t know, things that people see those jobs doing. You don’t necessarily see The therapist. So that is really interesting. It’s such a yes. No, I think it’s cool. I mean, it’s very insightful.
Nancy Andino 20:07
I never even know what to say. But I’m gonna do this, like, clearly remember, we were in our Brooklyn apartment and my auntie came over and my mom and I have baked the cake. And they wanted to eat my cake. I’ll share my cake.
Kim Howard 20:24
And I don’t share dessert, either, Nancy Oh, no, no…
Nancy Andino 20:28
I was like, why would I you when you can have your own? And my, my, I don’t know if it was my mom or my aunts that I asked him. I was like, in Spanish, I’ll tell them what I’m going to be working with people who are having hardships and, you know, with people that aren’t have been in prison, or people that have addiction, and, and they looked at me like, What? Like, yes, that’s what I’m gonna be doing. That’s exactly how it’s been. Right? I work in addictions, and I run methadone clinics, and I’ve got things and I have my practice. So it’s amazing. I’m aligned.
Kim Howard 21:03
It’s amazing. That’s great. No, it’s fantastic. I love it.
Nancy Andino 21:07
Yeah, yeah.
Kim Howard 21:08
Is there anything else you would like to add, Nancy?
Nancy Andino 21:10
Well, whoever is listening, whether it’s therapists or clients to be as curious as possible, because curiosity allows us to be able to learn so much, kind of like we’re removing judgments and removing shame. And we are allowing ourselves to be present and inquire. And as when we are when we are inquiring from a lens of like, I just want to learn more. We can bring in so much. Yeah, absolutely. Bringing in so much we are able to share even more.
Kim Howard 21:41
Yeah, absolutely. That’s why I like to travel. I mean, I don’t travel as much as I would like to, but you have the opportunity to go whether it’s to a different state, or to a different country. And you see how people are living their lives, the food that they eat a pair or their art or their music and you learn to engage with one another. Yeah, it’s really a it’s beautiful, and it’s amazing. And who wouldn’t want to do that? I mean, seriously, some people don’t want to. Yeah, no, I know. Some people don’t you know? Yeah. Yeah. Like, wow, why would you not want to do that?
Nancy Andino 22:19
Yeah. Right. And curiosity removes the fear.
Kim Howard 22:22
Yes, it does. The unknown. Absolutely.
Nancy Andino 22:26
Absolutely. Right. So if we’re, if we allow that to happen, then we actually get to experience less anxiety. Yeah, right. Less fears, less made up stories. I always call them like, what telenovela are we making up right now? And that the Hey, now I can get to experience and be present?
Kim Howard 22:45
Yes, absolutely. That’s a great way to end the podcast. Thank you, Nancy.
Nancy Andino 22:48
You welcome. Thank you for having me.
Kim Howard 22:51
This has been the Let’s Talk EMDR podcast with our guests, Nancy Andino. Visit www.emdria.org. For more information about EMDR therapy, or to use our Find an EMDR Therapist Directory, more than 15,000 therapists available. Like what you hear? Make sure you subscribe to this free podcast wherever you listen. Thanks for being here today.
Date
December 1, 2023
Guest(s)
Nancy Andino
Producer/Host
Kim Howard
Series
2
Episode
23
Topics
Anxiety/Panic/Phobias
Extent
23 minutes
Publisher
EMDR International Association
Rights
Copyright © 2023 EMDR International Association
APA Citation
Howard, K. (Host). (2023, December 1). EMDR Therapy and Anxiety with Nancy Andino (Season 2, No. 23) [Audio podcast episode]. In Let’s Talk EMDR podcast. EMDR International Association. https://www.emdria.org/letstalkemdrpodcast/
Audience
EMDR Therapists, General/Public, Other Mental Health Professionals
Language
English
Content Type
Podcast
Original Source
Let's Talk EMDR podcast
Access Type
Open Access