Healing the past so it no longer lives in the present

Difficult or traumatic experiences can continue to affect us long after they are over.

You may understand intellectually that something happened in the past, yet still notice that certain situations, relationships, memories, or emotions trigger reactions that feel immediate and difficult to control.

EMDR can help the brain process these experiences differently so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach originally developed for trauma and now used to address a range of distressing experiences and emotional patterns.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation—often guided eye movements or other forms of alternating left-right stimulation—while working with specific memories, emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs.

The goal is not to erase a memory or convince yourself that something didn’t matter.

Instead, EMDR helps the brain process experiences that may feel unresolved or “stuck,” allowing the memory to remain while reducing the distress connected to it.

What Can EMDR Help With?

• Trauma or difficult past experiences

• Anxiety and fear

• Distressing or intrusive memories

• Grief and loss

• Relationship trauma

• Negative beliefs about yourself

• Shame or guilt

• Experiences that continue to trigger strong emotional reactions

• Patterns that feel difficult to change despite understanding them intellectually

You do not need to have experienced a single major traumatic event for EMDR to be

helpful.

Repeated experiences, difficult relationships, losses, rejection, criticism, or other events

can also shape the beliefs we carry about ourselves and the world.

What Does EMDR Therapy Look Like?

EMDR begins with understanding your history, what is bringing you to therapy, and

what you would like to change.

Before processing difficult experiences, we spend time developing resources and

making sure you have ways to remain grounded and regulated.

When we begin EMDR processing, we identify a specific experience along with the

thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and physical sensations connected to it.

Using bilateral stimulation, we allow your brain to make its own connections while I

guide and monitor the process.

You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout the session.

EMDR Within an Integrative Approach

EMDR does not have to exist separately from traditional therapy.

I often integrate EMDR with IFS/parts work, cognitive behavioral therapy,

psychodynamic therapy, mindfulness, and other approaches depending on what you

need.

At times, understanding something intellectually is an important part of healing. At other

times, insight alone may not change the emotional or physical response connected to

an experience.

EMDR gives us another way to work with what may be happening beneath the surface.

Is EMDR Right for You?

EMDR is not necessarily the right approach for every person or every concern.

We begin by understanding what you are experiencing and determining together

whether EMDR makes sense as part of your therapy.

There is no expectation that you begin processing difficult memories immediately.

The work moves at a pace that supports safety, readiness, and your individual needs.

You don’t have to keep reacting to the past as though it is still happening.