Ariel Kivela
 
Retreat (Treated & Untreated)
 
Treated: oil on canvas; Untreated: acrylic on paper
 
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a trauma therapy that helps the brain process memories that have not been fully stored as “past.” When trauma is unresolved, the memory can remain fragmented (held in the body, emotions, images, and sensations) so triggers can make it feel like the danger is happening all over again. Through bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps the brain reprocess those memories and store them more like a completed file in a filing cabinet: still part of your story, but no longer scattered across the mind and body in a way that controls the present.
During my EMDR work, my therapist, Renee Seglar, would ground me by asking me to visualize a “safe place.” I painted the smaller piece (Untreated) in 2021 during treatment. The larger piece (Treated) was painted after. As a survivor of SA, EMDR changed my life.
 
@captainkeevs, @arielkivela
 
 treated ($850) untreated ($100)