EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating taps, or sounds, while you briefly focus on aspects of a distressing experience.

The goal isn't to erase memories or make difficult experiences disappear. Instead, EMDR can help reduce the distress associated with those experiences and support a more flexible, integrated understanding of what happened.

Your memories remain part of your story, but they may begin to feel less overwhelming and less connected to the thoughts, emotions, or reactions that have been keeping you stuck.

EMDR may help you better understand and process experiences that continue to influence how you see yourself, navigate relationships, and respond to the world around you.

Through EMDR, we may explore:

• Patterns that continue to show up in your life and relationships

• Beliefs about yourself that feel difficult to change

• Past experiences that influence your sense of safety and self-worth

• Emotional responses that feel difficult to understand or manage

• Experiences that may be shaping how you relate to yourself and others

Everyone's experiences are different. EMDR is not about erasing the past, but about helping you process experiences so they may have less influence over your present.

EMDR is a collaborative process, and we will move at a pace that feels right for you. We won't jump into difficult experiences before you've had time to build trust, develop coping tools, and feel prepared. Everyone's experience with EMDR is different, but our work generally involves the following phases.

1. Building Safety & Preparation

We begin by getting to know you, understanding what brings you to therapy, and exploring what you hope to work toward. Before beginning the reprocessing phase, we'll build coping tools and grounding strategies to help you navigate emotions that may come up during therapy. Feeling safe and prepared is an important part of the process.

2. Understanding Patterns & Experiences

Together, we'll explore experiences, emotions, and beliefs that may be connected to what you're experiencing today. This might include beliefs such as “I'm not safe,” “I'm not enough,” or “I have to handle everything on my own.” We'll work together to identify what feels important to you and what you would like to focus on in therapy.

3. Processing Experiences

When you feel ready, we'll begin the reprocessing phase using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or alternating taps. You'll briefly focus on an experience while noticing the thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations that come up. I'll guide you through the process, and we'll check in along the way. You remain connected to the present and in control throughout our work.

4. Integration & Moving Forward

As you process experiences, you may begin to notice changes in how you understand yourself, your past, and your present. Together, we'll explore these shifts and work toward developing more supportive beliefs and new ways of responding to yourself and others.

EMDR can be helpful for people experiencing distress related to:

• Traumatic or overwhelming experiences

• PTSD or trauma-related symptoms

• Anxiety and persistent fear

• Grief and loss

• Difficult relationships or attachment experiences

• Shame, guilt, or persistent negative beliefs about yourself

• Experiences that continue to affect you even though they happened in the past

• Patterns or reactions that feel difficult to understand or change

EMDR isn't the right approach for everyone or for every concern. We'll talk together about your goals, history, and current needs to determine whether it makes sense for you.

The timeline varies from person to person. It depends on your experiences, goals, and individual needs. Some people notice changes within a few sessions, while others benefit from a longer course of therapy. We will regularly check in about your progress and adjust our approach as needed.

You do not need a complete or detailed memory of every experience to begin exploring what brings you to therapy. We can start with what you currently notice in your thoughts, emotions, body, and relationships and determine together whether EMDR may be a good fit.

Yes, for some clients, longer sessions can provide additional space to focus on specific goals without having to stop just as deeper work is beginning.

EMDR intensives are extended sessions designed around your individual needs and goals. We’ll discuss whether an intensive format makes sense for you during your consultation.