EMDR Therapy
Sometimes understanding what happened isn't enough to change how it still affects you.
You may understand intellectually why you feel or react a certain way. You may have talked about an experience many times. You may even recognize where a pattern began.
And yet something about it still feels stuck.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapeutic approach that can help people process distressing experiences and memories that continue to affect them in the present.
I am trained in EMDR and have found it to be a valuable part of my work with clients—both those who come to therapy specifically looking for EMDR and longer-term clients when our work reaches a place where talking alone may not be getting us where we need to go.
What makes EMDR different?
Most traditional talk therapy depends heavily on conversation. We talk about what happened, explore how you feel about it, ask questions, notice patterns, and try to understand the connections between your past and your present.
That work can be incredibly valuable.
EMDR gives us another way to work.
Rather than relying entirely on me to ask the question that leads us somewhere important, EMDR uses a structured process that allows your own thoughts, emotions, memories, and associations to emerge.
That's one of the things I find most compelling about it.
I've seen EMDR take therapeutic work in directions that neither the client nor I necessarily anticipated. Sometimes material emerges that we hadn't reached through our previous conversations, even after working together for a long time.
The structure comes from the EMDR process. Where that process takes you comes from you.
How does EMDR work?
That's actually a more complicated question than you might expect.
EMDR has been studied extensively and is an established psychotherapy for trauma and PTSD, but researchers are still studying exactly why and how some components of the treatment work.
During EMDR, we identify experiences, memories, beliefs, emotions, or physical sensations connected to what is troubling you. The process then uses bilateral stimulation, often through guided eye movements or other alternating stimulation, while you notice what comes up.
You don't need to force yourself toward a particular insight or figure out what you're “supposed” to think about next. Part of the process involves noticing where your own mind goes.
Over time, a memory that once triggered an intense emotional response may still be something you remember—but it may no longer have the same power over you.
EMDR isn't only about one dramatic traumatic event
When people hear the word trauma, they sometimes think only about catastrophic events.
But experiences don't have to fit a particular definition before they're worth exploring.
Earlier relationships, rejection, loss, bullying, frightening experiences, shame, family experiences, or other painful events can influence how you see yourself and respond to situations today.
We'll talk about what's affecting you and decide together whether EMDR may be an appropriate part of your therapy.
EMDR as part of a therapeutic relationship
I don't see EMDR as something I simply “do to” a client.
Trust matters.
Before beginning EMDR processing, we'll spend time understanding what brings you to therapy, making sure you understand the process, and preparing for the work. We'll continue talking about what you're experiencing and integrate what emerges into the larger therapy.
For some people, EMDR may become a significant part of our work. For others, we may use it at particular points alongside more traditional therapy.
The approach should serve you, not the other way around.
Interested in EMDR?
You don't need to know whether EMDR is right for you before contacting me.
If you're curious about EMDR—or you've done talk therapy before and feel there may be something you haven't quite been able to reach—we can talk about what you're experiencing and whether EMDR might be useful.
I provide online therapy, including EMDR when clinically appropriate, to clients located in:
California • Arizona • Colorado • Maine
Medicare and select insurance plans accepted.