Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

You’re feeling stuck in the past.

You’ve been carrying the weight of old memories for so long. Maybe they show up in unexpected ways— anxiety that appears seemingly out of nowhere, that tight feeling in your chest when something reminds you of the past, or difficulty find a sense of peace or calm. It’s exhausting, and deep down, you’re probably wondering if there’s a way to finally feel some relief.

EMDR is about helping you process what happened so that your past isn’t in control of your life now. You’ll be able to reprocess those difficult experiences in a way that helps you feel more at peace with what happened and more connected to yourself.

Maybe you’re:

  • Having intense emotional responses that seem out of proportion to the situation.

  • Feeling like you can’t move on from the past.

  • Ready for relief.

how i can help

EMDR can help you find peace.

The theory behind EMDR is that your brain naturally wants to heal. But when something really overwhelming or traumatic happens, that experience can get “stuck” in your nervous system. Instead of being stored as a regular memory, it stays raw and unprocessed. This sets the stage for present situations to activate the same intense emotions and responses from the past.

With EMDR, you’re giving your brain a chance to finally process that experience in a safe, guided way so that the memory can move from feeling “stuck” to being stored in a healthier, more adaptive way and without the intense emotions that were once there. It’s not about erasing what happened— it’s about helping your brain understand that the past is over, and you’re ok now.

faqs

Common questions about EMDR.

  • While the name of the therapy contains the term “eye movements", research has shown that other forms of bilateral stimulation (BLS), such as tactile or auditory options, are also effective. Many of my clients prefer tappers/buzzers, which are small handheld paddles. You put one in each hand and they alternate vibrations.

    The purpose of the BLS is to activate a calming response in the nervous system and tax your working memory so that you are paying attention to 2 things at once: the distressing memory and the BLS. This “dual attention” weakens the intensity of the memory because your brain can’t fully focus on both at the same time. As a result, the memory starts to feel less vivid and emotionally charged.

  • A great thing about EMDR is that we can reprocess a memory without you sharing details about it. Some people like to share a fuller description of the memory. Others would prefer to give a very brief description. Either way, I can support you with reprocessing it.

  • The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) has lots of information about EMDR and the theory behind it. You can access that website here.

    I’m also happy to answer any questions you have during an initial consultation.

I want you to know:

Change is possible.

Let’s work together to get you unstuck from the past.