YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP RELIVING THE PAST TO HEAL FROM IT.
Trauma can shape the way you see yourself, your relationships, and the world around you—even long after the experience itself has ended.
You may find yourself replaying painful memories, avoiding certain situations, feeling constantly on edge, or reacting in ways you don’t fully understand.
Therapy can help you process what happened without allowing it to continue defining what happens next. Together, we’ll work toward helping you feel safer, more grounded, and more connected to the life you want to be living.
WHAT IS EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy designed to help the brain process experiences that still feel distressing, even when you know they are in the past.
Rather than relying only on talking through an experience, EMDR uses a structured therapeutic process along with bilateral stimulation- such as guided eye movements or alternating taps- to help you work with difficult memories, emotions, beliefs, and physical sensations.
The goal isn’t to erase the memory or forget what happened. It’s to help the experience feel like something that happened to you- not something that is still happening to you.
A different way of processing what still feels unresolved.
HOW DOES EMDR WORK?
Notice
Together, we identify the memories, emotions, beliefs, or body sensations that continue to create distress.
Your brain already knows how to heal. Sometimes it just needs help getting unstuck.
Process
While you focus on aspects of the experience, bilateral stimulation- such as guided eye movement or alternating taps- is used as part of the structured EMDR process.
RECONNECT
As processing occurs, the memory can become less emotionally intense and more connected to adaptive information and beliefs, allowing you to respond to the present without the past feeling quite so present.
You aren’t changing what happened.
You’re changing the way what happened continues to affect you.
what can emdr help with?
You don’t need to have experienced a single life-changing event for your experiences to be worthy of healing.
EMDR is often associated with trauma and PTSD, but it can be helpful for a much wider range of experiences. Sometimes what continues to affect us aren’t one major event—they’re experiences, relationships, or messages that shaped how we learned to see ourselves and respond to the world.
EMDR may be helpful for:
Trauma & PTSD
Anxiety & panic
Difficult or painful memories
Grief & loss
Childhood experiences
Relationship or attachment wounds
Low self-worth & negative beliefs
Phobias & fears
Life transitions
Experiences that leave you feeling “stuck,” even when you understand them intellectually
WHAT DOES AN EMDR SESSION ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE?
EMDR may sound unfamiliar at first, but you remain present, aware, and in control throughout the process. You won’t be hypnotized, and EMDR does not require you to describe every detail of an experience out loud.
We’ll begin by making sure you feel comfortable and prepared before any processing begins. Together, we’ll identify what you’d like to work on and establish tools to help you feel grounded and supported.
During processing, I’ll guide you through brief sets of bilateral stimulation while you notice whatever thoughts, emotions, memories, or body sensations arise. There’s no “right” way to do EMDR—you don’t need to force anything or figure out what you’re supposed to be thinking.
Do I have to tell you everything that happened?
No.
We’ll move at a pace that feels manageable, checking in
throughout the process and adjusting when needed.
Curious to learn more?
See EMDR in a different way.
This brief video from the EMDR International Association offers an accessible introduction to EMDR therapy and what the process can look like.
what healing can look like
THE MEMORY
“I can think about it without feeling like I’m right back there.”
A memory that once brought an immediate wave of fear, shame, anger, or physical distress may begin to feel more distant and manageable.
The memory may stay.
Its hold on you can change.
EMDR isn’t about forgetting what happened or pretending it didn’t matter. The goal is to help distressing experiences feel less present and less powerful, so you have more freedom in how you respond today.
THE BELIEF
“I know now that what happened doesn’t define me.”
Beliefs such as I’m not safe, I’m not good enough, or It was my fault may begin to shift toward more adaptive ways of understanding yourself and what happened.
THE PRESENT
“I can respond to what’s happening now instead of reacting from what happened then.”
Triggers may feel less overwhelming, creating more space to make choices, connect with others, and move through life without the past taking up quite as much room.
Healing doesn’t mean the past disappears.
It means the past no longer has to lead.
is emdr right for me?
You don't have to know exactly what you need before you begin.
You may be wondering whether what you've experienced is “big enough” for EMDR, whether you're ready to work through it, or whether EMDR will even make sense for you.
You don't have to figure that out on your own.
EMDR may be worth exploring if you:
Understand something logically, but still feel differently emotionally
Notice yourself having the same reaction even when you know you're safe
Avoid people, places, conversations, or situations because of what they bring up
Feel stuck in beliefs like I'm not good enough, I'm unsafe, I'm powerless, or it's my fault
Notice that experiences from your past continue to affect your relationships, confidence, or choices
Have tried talking about something but still feel like understanding it hasn't changed how it feels
You don't have to decide whether EMDR is right for you before reaching out.
We can figure that out together.
what does an Emdr session actually look like?
You are always in control of the process.
01 — We start with Safety
Before processing difficult experiences, we spend time understanding what brings you to therapy, identifying what you’d like to change, and building strategies to help you feel grounded and supported.
02 — We identify What Feels Stuck
Together, we may identify a memory, experience, belief, emotion, or body sensation connected to what is bothering you now. You do not have to share every detail of what happened in order to work with it.
03 — We Begin Processing
When you’re ready, you’ll briefly focus on what we’ve identified while engaging in bilateral stimulation—often guided eye movements or alternating tapping. I’ll periodically pause and ask what you’re noticing.
04 — We Check In Along the Way
You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout the entire process. We can slow down, pause, or stop whenever needed. There is no “right” way to experience EMDR.
You won't be pushed to go somewhere you're not ready to go. We work at a pace that feels manageable for you.
FROM REACTION TO CHOICE.
The goal isn’t to erase what happened. It’s to help the past feel like the past.
The memory is still there — but it doesn't feel like it's happening right now.
You can remember what happened without experiencing the same intensity, while beliefs like I'm not safe, I'm not good enough, or it was my fault can begin to lose their hold.
A trigger can become something you notice instead of something that takes over.
Situations that once brought an automatic emotional or physical reaction may begin to feel more manageable, giving you more choice in how you respond.
You have more room to live in what's happening now.
Instead of the past continuing to shape your relationships, choices, or sense of yourself, there can be more space to respond from who you are today.
Healing doesn't mean forgetting your story. It means your story no longer has to feel like it's still happening.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE READY.
You just have to be curious about whether things could feel different.
You don't need to know exactly what you want to work on, have the right words for what you've experienced, or be certain that EMDR is right for you. That's something we can figure out together.
Ready to take the first step?