Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
A powerful, evidence-based trauma therapy that helps your brain finally release what has been overwhelming your mind, body, and nervous system.
Offering EMDR therapy via secure online sessions for adults in California, Texas, Utah, Florida, South Carolina, Idaho, Maine, and Vermont.
What EMDR Actually Is (Explained Like a Real Human)
If you’re here, you may have heard something about EMDR and are curious. Or, maybe something from your past may keep coming up and you are looking for options because it’s getting too sharp, too heavy, too easy to trigger.
EMDR helps your brain finally finish processing the experiences that never had a chance to complete and consolidate into your memory without the emotional charge associated with them. It’s a structured trauma therapy approach that uses bilateral stimulation (moving your eyes back and forth, tapping, buzzers, or audio) to help your brain reprocess painful memories, reduce emotional reactivity, and build new, healthier pathways.
EMDR helps you:
reduce anxiety and panic
decrease emotional overwhelm
calm trauma responses
stop intrusive thoughts
reduce shame
improve self-worth
release “stuck” memories
feel grounded and more in control
NOTE: EMDR doesn’t erase memories — it removes their power.
A simple explanation of how EMDR works and what it can help with.
How EMDR Works
During trauma, the brain goes into survival mode. The memory never files correctly — it stays “live,” creating reactions long after the event is over.
EMDR helps reorganize that memory so it no longer feels like a threat.
EMDR uses:
bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or audio tones)
focused attention
your brain’s natural ability to heal
Think of it like moving a file that used to flash on your mental desktop all day into the right folder — still there, but no longer running your system.
How Unprocessed Trauma Gets Stuck — and How EMDR Heals It
When something overwhelming happens — trauma, a frightening event, a sudden loss, or an experience that hits your nervous system too hard and too fast — your brain goes into survival mode.
Survival mode protects you, but it also disrupts the brain’s ability to properly process and store the memory.
Under normal conditions, an experience moves through the brain, gets processed, and settles into long-term memory — where it becomes something that feels in the past.
But trauma interrupts that system.
When the brain becomes overloaded, the traumatic event doesn’t finish processing. Instead, it gets stored as a “stuck memory” — unprocessed, unintegrated, and still carrying the full emotional charge of the original experience.
That’s why trauma can feel:
intrusive
overwhelming
emotionally intense
hard to talk about
like it is happening “right now” instead of years ago
This is not a weakness.
It’s a physiological response to something too big for the nervous system to handle at the time.
Why Triggers Feel So Intense
A stuck traumatic memory contains all the sensory pieces of the experience — the emotions, the beliefs, the sensations, the fear, the physical tension, the images — still “live” in the nervous system.
Because the memory was never fully processed, the brain doesn’t store it as:
“This is over.”
Instead, the brain keeps it filed under:
“This could still be dangerous.”
So when something reminds you of the trauma — a tone of voice, a smell, a place, a situation, a feeling in your body — the nervous system reacts instantly.
This is a trigger:
not the creation of trauma, but the activation of the unprocessed memory that still carries emotional intensity.
This is why so many people with PTSD, complex trauma, childhood trauma, or high-stress careers feel:
sudden panic
shame
emotional flooding
anger
dissociation
shutdown
tension or pressure in the body
that they’re “overreacting”
It’s not overreaction.
It’s unfinished processing.
How EMDR Therapy Helps the Brain Finish Processing Trauma
EMDR therapy activates the brain’s natural information-processing system — the same system that should have handled the memory the first time.
Through bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or sound), EMDR helps the brain:
1. Reprocess the stuck memory
The brain can finally complete the memory consolidation it couldn’t do during the trauma.
2. Disconnect the emotional charge
The memory stays, but the intensity, panic, shame, or fear no longer comes with it.
3. Move the experience into long-term memory
Where it becomes “something that happened,” not something that feels current or dangerous.
4. Update negative self-beliefs
Trauma creates powerful beliefs like:
“I’m not safe.”
“I’m not enough.”
“I should’ve done more.”
“It was my fault.”
EMDR helps the brain shift into healthier, accurate beliefs like:
“It’s over.”
“I survived.”
“I’m in control now.”
“I did the best I could.”
What Healing Feels Like With EMDR
After EMDR reprocessing, people often say:
“It finally feels like the past.”
“I can think about it without shutting down.”
“I feel lighter.”
“My body isn’t reacting anymore.”
“It doesn’t control me.”
The memory doesn’t disappear.
It simply loses its power — and moves into a place where your nervous system can finally rest.
This is the core of trauma recovery:
the threat leaves your body, and the past stops running your life.
What EMDR Feels Like in Session
It’s not a jump right in method
Please Note: It takes several sessions before starting actual processing.
1. History Taking - We Start With Your Story
In the beginning sessions, we talk about:
what brought you in
the stress, trauma, or experiences affecting you now
your symptoms, triggers, and patterns
how this impacts your daily life
We identify the memories, moments, or themes that EMDR can help you process.
All of this is done at a pace that feels safe.
2. We Build the Tools You Need to Feel Safe and Steady
Before processing, you learn grounding and regulation strategies to use during processing and at home.
We also talk through how EMDR works, what to expect, and how to pause or slow down anytime.
This step makes sure you feel prepared, supported, and in control. We will spend quite some time in this section for safety reasons. We will also decide which fits better for you, eye movements or tapping, and we will set that up before we ever start processing. With eye movements, you will watch a ball bounce across your screen. For tapping, you will literally tap, rhythmically, on your body.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have a history of seizures, epilepsy, eye issues, migraines, TBI, or dissociation, we may need to utilize tapping only. This will be discussed and assessed during history taking.
3. We Choose the Target You Want to Work On
To set up a memory or issue for EMDR, we identify:
the image or moment that stands out most
the negative belief attached to it
the healthier belief you want instead
the emotions and physical sensations connected to it
This creates a clear, structured roadmap your brain will follow during processing.
4. Reprocessing — Where the Shift Happens
Using bilateral stimulation (eye movements or tapping), your brain starts to process the memory in a way it couldn’t at the time it happened.
You’re not re-living the trauma.
You’re letting your brain finally finish the work it wasn’t able to do back then.
You may notice:
the emotional intensity dropping
new insights coming up
the memory feeling farther away or less sharp
the nervous system calming
This all happens naturally — you just notice what shows up, and I guide the process.
5. Strengthening the New, Healthy Belief
As the distress decreases, we reinforce the positive belief you chose (“I’m safe now,” “I’m in control,” “It wasn’t my fault”). This helps your system hold onto the new truth.
6. Checking In With the Body
Trauma often leaves traces in the body.
We do a body scan to see if anything still feels tight, heavy, or unsettled.
If so, we process those sensations until they clear.
This ensures the change isn’t just cognitive — it’s somatic.
7. Closing Each Session With Grounding
Every session ends with:
calming
grounding
nervous system regulation
making sure you feel steady and able to return to your day
You leave sessions centered, not overwhelmed.
8. Checking Progress at the Next Session
At the start of the following session, we:
check how things landed
reassess the memory
confirm the positive belief still holds
see if the body is clear
If the target is complete, we move to the next one.
If not, we continue until your system is fully done with it.
The Goal
Not to erase your memories — but to help your brain store them without the fear, shame, or emotional charge so you can feel more grounded, stable, and in control of your life again.
You stay in control at all times. We move at your pace — never faster.
What EMDR Helps With
EMDR therapy is highly effective for both trauma and non-trauma concerns. Clients in high-stress careers especially benefit from this approach due to the brain-body focus and rapid relief.
EMDR can help with:
PTSD
childhood trauma
sexual trauma
emotional neglect
panic and anxiety
high-pressure work stress
relationship trauma
medical trauma
grief
perfectionism
shame
phobias
chronic overwhelm
first responder trauma
rumination
intrusive thoughts
Why EMDR Works So Well
Trauma isn’t just a memory problem — it’s a stuck-processing problem. When an experience overwhelms the system, it doesn’t integrate correctly.
EMDR works because it:
reduces emotional reactivity
shifts negative beliefs
integrates the memory
supports nervous system regulation
helps your body feel safe again
Many clients say:
“I can finally think about it without shutting down.”
What to Expect During EMDR Treatment
EMDR vs. Traditional Talk Therapy
Talk therapy increases insight.
EMDR changes the emotional charge.
Many clients use both — insight + integration.
EMDR is structured, supportive, and predictable. The process includes:
Phase 1 — History + Planning
We identify themes, patterns, and target memories.
Phase 2 — Stabilization + Skills
We build grounding and internal resourcing so you feel steady.
Phase 3–8 — Reprocessing
You hold the memory lightly while we use bilateral stimulation. Your brain does the rest.
You stay in control, and we always move at the pace your system can handle.
FAQ
EMDR Frequently Asked Questions
Will EMDR make me relive my trauma?
No. You stay aware but not overwhelmed.
Do I have to talk about the trauma in detail?
No. You share only what you want.
How long does EMDR take?
It varies — some people feel shifts within a few sessions.
Is EMDR safe for complex trauma?
Yes, with proper stabilization.
What if I get overwhelmed?
We stop, ground, slow down — you’re always in control.
Does EMDR work with fragmented memories?
Absolutely.
Is EMDR evidence-based?
Yes — recommended by APA, WHO, VA, DoD.
Can EMDR be done online?
Yes — virtual EMDR is effective and research-supported.