EMDR Therapy
EMDR can be used to work with
memories, beliefs, emotions, body responses,
and present-day situations. The focus might be a single event, a pattern that developed over time, a current trigger, or a belief about yourself that you want to challenge. We’ll decide together what you want to work on.
What EMDR May Help With
EMDR can be used to work with memories, beliefs, emotions, body responses, and present-day situations. The focus might be a single event, a pattern that developed over time, a current trigger, or a belief about yourself that you want to challenge. We’ll decide together what you want to work on.
Anxiety, fear, and stress responses
- Anxiety and chronic worry
- Panic and panic-related triggers
- Specific fears or phobias
- Health anxiety
- Social anxiety or fear of judgment
- Stress responses and emotional reactivity
- Feeling constantly on alert or unsafe
- Feeling frozen, overwhelmed, or unable to respond
- Avoiding situations that bring up distress
- Sleeplessness or nightmares connected to distressing experiences
- Somatic complaints or chronic pain
- Emotional distress connected to an illness, diagnosis, or medical treatment
- Body-based reactions such as tension, nausea, or a racing heart when something feels triggering
- Distress linked to sleep, rest, or feeling physically safe
Trauma, grief, and distressing experiences
- Distressing memories
- PTSD or complex trauma symptoms
- Childhood abuse, neglect, or emotional invalidation
- The effects of growing up with emotionally immature parents
- Bullying, rejection, humiliation, or betrayal
- Medical experiences, procedures, diagnoses, or health-related distress
- Accidents, frightening events, or experiences involving danger
- Grief, bereavement, or painful aspects of a loss
- Vicarious trauma related to career experiences
- Workplace bullying, conflict, or career setbacks
- Experiences that still feel emotionally present, even when they happened long ago
Core beliefs and patterns in how you relate to yourself
- Shame, guilt, or self-blame
- Beliefs such as “I’m not safe,” “I’m not good enough,” or “I should have handled it differently”
- Perfectionism or fear of making mistakes
- Low self-worth or persistent self-criticism
- People-pleasing or difficulty saying no
- Feeling responsible for fixing other people’s problems
- Fear of disappointing others or being criticized
- Difficulty trusting yourself or your decisions
- Feeling helpless, powerless, or “stuck” between choices
- Performance anxiety, self-doubt, or feeling like an impostor
Relationships, parenting, and everyday triggers
- Triggers that affect parenting or relationships
- Relationship or attachment patterns connected to earlier experiences
- Difficulty with trust, closeness, conflict, or boundaries
- Strong reactions to criticism, rejection, or perceived disapproval
- Feeling emotionally reactive in situations that resemble the past
- Repeated patterns you understand intellectually but still find difficult to change
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy modality that can be used to work with distressing experiences, painful memories, current triggers, and negative beliefs about yourself. EMDR is often associated with PTSD, but it is not only for PTSD. It can be used to address a range of concerns, including anxiety, grief, perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional reactivity, and feeling stuck.
It is a structured therapy approach that uses bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds, while you focus briefly on an experience, memory, image, belief, or current trigger.
Experiences can remain distressing when they haven’t been fully processed. A memory may continue to affect your emotions, body responses, beliefs, or behavior long after the original event has passed. EMDR gives us a structured way to work with those connections so that the experience may feel less overwhelming and have less influence on how you respond now.
EMDR doesn’t erase memories or change what happened. It also
doesn’t require you to tell the story in detail over and over. We’ll talk enough to understand what you want to work on and plan for the process, then use the EMDR protocol to help you process the experience in a way that feels
manageable.
Extended EMDR Sessions
I offer 90-minute EMDR sessions, typically one to three times per week when clinically appropriate and scheduling allows. The extended format gives us more time for preparation, processing, and closure within a session. It may be helpful if you want a more focused period of EMDR work or if a standard session length feels too brief for the way you want to approach therapy.
More session time does not guarantee a quicker outcome, and not every session will include memory processing. We’ll determine the frequency and structure of sessions based on your goals, needs, readiness, and treatment plan. EMDR can also be provided as an adjunct to therapy you are already receiving, with your consent and coordination when appropriate.
How I Work With Clients
My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative and grounded in respect for your experiences.
We’ll work together to identify what is important to you, understand how the concern is affecting your life, and create a plan that fits your goals. You can ask questions, share concerns, and let me know when something feels like too much.
EMDR may be the primary focus of our work, or it may be one part of ongoing therapy. We can also incorporate IFS-informed parts work, CBT, DBT, or somatic approaches when they support what you want to address.
What It’s Like to Work With Me
I see therapy as a partnership. We’ll observe the concern together and make decisions together about how to approach it. EMDR provides structure for the work, while your needs, feedback, and goals guide the pace.
You remain aware of the present during EMDR. The process is not hypnosis, and you don’t lose control or have to follow a particular train of thought.
During processing, you focus briefly on agreed-upon aspects of an experience while using bilateral stimulation. We pause regularly so you can notice what is coming up and tell me how you are doing.
EMDR may bring up emotions, memories, images, or body sensations. You can ask to pause or stop at any point. Preparation and closure are part of the process, and we’ll talk about what support may be helpful during and between sessions.
The EMDR Process
EMDR therapy follows eight phases. We may spend different amounts of time in each phase, and we can return to preparation or support whenever needed. The process is individualized; it does not mean every session will focus on a distressing memory.
History and Treatment Planning
We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, how the concern affects you, and what you hope will change. We may explore relevant experiences, relationships, patterns, and current stressors. Together, we’ll identify possible areas to work on and decide whether EMDR fits your goals.
Preparation
I’ll explain EMDR and answer your questions. We’ll discuss how to pause or ask for a change and identify strategies that help you stay connected to the present and manage distress. This may include grounding, noticing your surroundings, identifying sources of support, or using IFS-informed parts work to understand concerns about the process.
Assessment
If you decide to work on a particular memory or experience, we’ll identify what part of it to focus on. We may notice an image or moment, a belief about yourself, the emotions that come up, and any body sensations connected to it. You don’t need to retell the whole experience in detail.
Desensitization and Processing
You briefly focus on the agreed-upon memory, experience, or target while following bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping. We pause between sets so you can notice what is coming up. I’ll check in with you, and you can tell me what you need. There is no one “right” response to the process.
Installation
When it fits the work, we’ll focus on a more supportive belief you want to hold about yourself in relation to the experience. Examples might be “I have choices now,” “I can take care of myself,” or “I deserve to be treated with respect.” The belief should feel relevant to you, rather than like something you’re expected to say.
Body Scan
We’ll check whether you notice any distress or tension in your body when you bring the experience to mind. This is not a test you can pass or fail. It helps us notice your response and decide whether further attention is needed.
Closure
Before the session ends, we’ll make time to reconnect with the present and talk about how you are feeling. We’ll consider what support might be helpful after the session and what to do if difficult feelings or memories come up.
Reevaluation
At a later session, we’ll review how you have been doing and whether the target still feels distressing. We may continue with the same concern, focus on a related memory or current trigger, or adjust the plan based on what you need.
Common questions about therapy
Is EMDR only for PTSD?
Nope! EMDR is widely known as a PTSD treatment, but it is a therapy modality that can also be used to work with distressing memories, current triggers, negative beliefs, emotional reactions, and other concerns. We’ll decide together what you want to address and whether EMDR is a good fit.
Will I have to talk about every detail of what happened?
Nope! We’ll discuss enough to understand what you want help with and plan the work, but you don’t have to repeatedly tell the full story. During processing, you focus on an agreed-upon memory or experience, and we check in regularly.
Can EMDR be my primary therapy?
It can be a primary focus or one part of broader therapy. The right structure depends on your goals and needs. We can also discuss how EMDR might fit alongside counseling you are already receiving.
Do I need to do homework between sessions?
EMDR does not require you to write out or repeatedly review your memories between sessions. We may discuss practicing a coping or grounding strategy if that would support your goals.
Can EMDR help with chronic pain or somatic symptoms?
EMDR may be used to address distress, memories, triggers, and beliefs connected to pain or health experiences. It does not replace medical care or treat the underlying medical condition.
Can EMDR help with OCD?
EMDR can be considered as part of care for someone with OCD, particularly when distressing memories or trauma-related concerns are also present. ERP remains the first-line psychotherapy for OCD, and EMDR is not a replacement for ERP when treating OCD symptoms.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no single timeline that fits everyone. The number of sessions depends on your goals, what you want to work on, your circumstances, and how you respond to the process. We’ll check in about your progress and adjust the plan together.
Can EMDR be done through telehealth?
Yes. EMDR is widely provided through telehealth, and we can complete the EMDR process virtually. Bilateral stimulation can include following a visual cue on your screen, alternating sounds, or tapping. We’ll make sure the approach works for you and that you have a private, comfortable space for sessions.
What if I can’t picture the memory clearly?
You don’t need to have a vivid mental image. People remember and experience things in different ways. We can work with what you do notice, such as a thought, feeling, body sensation, or sense of what the experience means to you.
Are you EMDRIA certified?
I have completed EMDR training and am working toward EMDRIA certification.