EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR, is a treatment specialized for traumatic or high stress experiences. There are many adverse experiences one may go through, but they become traumatic when they overwhelm your ability to cope. When these experiences remain present in some way — whether that’s avoiding reminders, becoming overwhelmed and triggered by them, or experiencing disturbances like nightmares — those are signs that the traumatic experience has not fully been processed and healed. EMDR's actual clinical function is processing the specific memories or experiences underneath a pattern. Sometimes, things like overthinking, people-pleasing, and emotional dysregulation are issues you are dealing with today because there is a traumatic root cause. EMDR offers a way to allow that healing to happen. Combined with a somatic approach, EMDR is a highly effective way to take a traumatic or highly charged experience and give your mind and body a slow, safe way to process it and change how you feel about it now.

You’ve heard that “trauma lives in the body” and other buzz words or phrases like this, and something about that makes sense, but you want to know what the next step is and you want to make sure you get it right.

Some people come to me knowing they want to try EMDR or having been referred by a psychiatrist or previous therapist. For others, we may begin talking about EMDR at some point in our work together. Regardless, in our first few sessions, we’ll focus on getting to know one another and building a foundation of safety and trust. We’ll work together to explore what it is that feels stuck and what would be possible if that were to heal and resolve. We’ll always move at a pace that feels supportive for you.

From the very first session, I’ll be providing somatic tools and techniques designed to increase nervous system awareness, build self-compassion, and support regulation between sessions. I’ll offer some pieces of education along the way so we can have a shared language around your experiences and better understand how your nervous system, emotions, and relationships interact.

We can discuss whether this is something you’re interested in exploring, and I’ll share more information about what it entails and what we need to get started.