You know it’s in the past. So why does it still feel so present?
Maybe you replay what happened, wondering what you could have done differently.
You find yourself apologizing when you haven’t done anything wrong. A change in someone’s tone leaves you questioning everything. Or you know you’re allowed to say no, but the guilt makes it hard to follow through.
You may understand where these feelings come from—and still feel stuck in them.
EMDR therapy offers a way to work through distressing experiences and the ways they continue to affect your life.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a research-supported therapy used to treat trauma and PTSD.
In everyday terms, EMDR helps you work through memories that still bring up distress. The goal is for you to remember what happened with less emotional intensity, so it has less influence on how you feel and respond today.
It doesn’t erase your memories or change your story. It can help change how those memories affect you.
Maybe this sounds familiar
You still hear someone’s criticism when you make a mistake.
Disagreements leave you feeling scared, overwhelmed, or quick to shut down.
A relationship has ended, but you’re still questioning yourself and what happened.
Experiences from childhood show up in your relationships or in how you feel about yourself.
Motherhood brings up feelings or memories you weren’t expecting.
You feel on edge, even during moments when you want to relax.
These experiences can have different causes. Together, we’ll explore what’s happening for you and whether EMDR fits your needs.
First, we get to know you.
We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, what feels difficult now, and what you want to work on. You don’t need to arrive with your whole story figured out.
We take time to prepare.
Before working directly with distressing memories, we’ll build ways to help you manage difficult feelings and feel more grounded. You’ll have space to ask questions and understand the process.
When you’re ready, we work through what’s still affecting you.
During memory processing, I’ll guide you to briefly focus on parts of an experience while using side-to-side eye movements or another form of alternating stimulation, such as tapping. We’ll check in throughout, and you can pause at any time.
We keep your everyday life in focus.
We’ll pay attention to what changes outside our sessions, what still feels difficult, and what support you need as we continue.
What would working together look like?
FAQs
-
No. EMDR generally doesn’t require a detailed retelling of everything that happened. We’ll talk enough to understand what we’re working on, while respecting your privacy and readiness.
-
You don’t need to decide what to call it before reaching out. We can start with how it’s affecting you now and explore which approach may help.
-
There isn’t one timeline. The length of treatment depends on your history, goals, and how much preparation and support you need. We’ll discuss a plan together and review it as we go.
-
Yes. When appropriate, EMDR can be included in individual therapy alongside space to talk through current concerns and build practical skills.