Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy that helps individuals heal from trauma and remove the "weight" that can be carried physically, emotionally, and mentally after distressing experiences.
I am trained in EMDR and have seen clients who once felt stuck experience real relief as memories that used to hijack the present lose their charge. EMDR is different from talk therapy: rather than only talking about what happened, it helps your brain reprocess the memory itself, so it can finally be filed as something that happened — not something that is still happening.
How does EMDR work?
When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes stores the memory "unprocessed" — with the original images, emotions, and body sensations still live. Everyday triggers can then reactivate the experience as if it were happening now.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements) while you briefly hold a distressing memory in mind. This appears to unlock the brain's natural information-processing system, allowing the memory to integrate. The memory remains, but the distress attached to it fades. EMDR is recognized as an effective trauma treatment by organizations including the WHO, the VA, and the American Psychological Association.
What can EMDR help with?
EMDR is best known for PTSD, but it is also effective for single-incident trauma (accidents, assault, medical emergencies), childhood and complex trauma, birth trauma and traumatic loss, anxiety and panic rooted in past experiences, phobias, and painful memories that fuel low self-worth.
In my practice, EMDR pairs naturally with perinatal work — a frightening birth, a NICU stay, or a loss can leave exactly the kind of stuck memory EMDR is built to reprocess.
What does an EMDR session look like?
We never start reprocessing on day one. First we build safety: history, coping resources, and a clear map of what we're targeting. When you're ready, reprocessing sessions are structured and paced by you — you are in control the entire time, and we end every session grounded. Many clients notice meaningful shifts in fewer sessions than they expected, though everyone's pace is their own.