Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

What If You Didn’t Have to Feel This Way Anymore?

If you’re here, chances are something difficult—maybe even traumatic—has happened in your life. And even though time has passed, it might still feel like you’re carrying it with you every day. Maybe it’s a specific memory that has stayed with you, or maybe it’s a general feeling of anxiety, shame, sadness, or fear that you just can’t shake.

You’re not broken. Your brain is doing its best to protect you. But when painful experiences don’t get fully processed, they can keep looping in the background, affecting how you think, feel, and act—even if you’re not fully aware of it.

That’s where EMDR therapy comes in.

So, What Is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Think of EMDR as a way to help your brain “digest” difficult experiences that got stuck. Instead of having to talk about the details of your trauma over and over again, EMDR helps you process it in a different way—so it doesn’t hold so much power over you anymore.

It’s not hypnosis, and you stay in full control the entire time. You’ll be gently guided to focus on certain memories, feelings, images, or beliefs, while engaging in bilateral stimulation (tapping, eye movements, etc.). This helps your brain do the work it naturally wants to do: heal.

What EMDR Can Help With

If you’ve been through something painful—whether it was one big event or a series of small, quiet hurts—you may find yourself stuck in patterns you can’t explain. Maybe your mind keeps going back to certain memories. Maybe you feel anxious, numb, overwhelmed, or always on edge. Maybe you know you’re safe now, but your body hasn’t caught up.

If any of that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And more importantly, you’re not broken.

Your brain is doing its best to protect you. But when something traumatic or stressful doesn’t get fully processed, it can stay “stuck,” continuing to affect how you think, feel, and respond—even long after the event is over.

Areas that can be targeted through EMDR include, but are not limited to:

• Childhood experiences that still affect you
• Anxiety or panic that seems to come out of nowhere
• Low self-esteem or self-doubt
• Grief or loss that feels unresolved
• Fear of being judged, rejected, or abandoned
• Feeling stuck, frozen, or overly reactive in certain situations
• Medical or birth trauma
• Relationship patterns that keep repeating

If you’ve ever thought “I know this isn’t logical, but I still feel it”—EMDR might be the right fit for you.

What to Expect in EMDR Therapy

Healing doesn’t happen in one giant leap. It happens step by step, and you get to set the pace.

The first part of EMDR isn’t about diving into trauma—it’s about building a strong foundation. You and your therapist will work together to build trust, develop grounding tools, and decide what feels most important to focus on.

When you’re ready, your therapist will gently guide you through short moments of focusing on specific memories, emotions, images, body sensations, or thoughts while engaging in bilateral stimulation (like following a moving light or tapping). This helps your brain process and release what’s been stuck—without reliving the pain.

You Don’t Have to Relive the Past to Heal From It

One of the best parts of EMDR is that you don’t need to tell your whole story in detail for it to work. If you want to talk, that’s always welcome—but you’re in control of what you share.

The goal isn’t to forget what happened—it’s to help you stop feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or triggered by it. After EMDR, many people say they remember what happened, but it doesn’t hurt the same way anymore.

Let’s Talk About It

You don’t need to decide everything today. If you’re curious, let’s chat. We can talk about what’s been going on for you, whether EMDR is a good fit, and what your next steps might look like.