You have been dealing with the same patterns for years: the anxiety, recurring patterns in relationships, phobias, and traumatic memories that will not go away. You have tried self-help, traditional psychotherapy, yoga… Nothing seems to help.

There is hope…

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured, body-based approach to therapy.

The theory behind it is called the Adaptive Information Processing model. The basic idea: your brain has a natural system for processing difficult experiences and filing them away as “over.” Under normal circumstances, a bad day gets processed and loses its emotional charge over time.

But with trauma — or with experiences that were too overwhelming, too fast, or too unsafe — that natural processing gets interrupted. The memory still carries the original emotional intensity and may hijack your nervous system years later.

This model helps us understand how a person's past experiences can influence current perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. When people can effectively process negative events, they can move past them, and the events become “something that happened.”

However, traumatic childhood or adult memories can become stuck. Essentially, the “past is present” in everyday life, as past disturbing events become linked to current experiences. For example, someone who experienced parental rejection and alienation may believe they are “unlovable.” Then, in future relationships, even when those relationships are loving, the person may resist intimacy because of these past experiences.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, working-memory tasks, or both, while you bring a specific memory to mind. Through this process, the memory loses its “charge.” In other words, the memory itself does not change appreciably. However, the client's experience of the memory changes significantly: the memory becomes less disturbing, and the person perceives both the memory and, ultimately, themselves differently.

One of the primary differences between EMDR and traditional psychotherapy is that there is much less talking required. Much of the work happens in silence with attention to the body and somatic attunement. This is often a breath of fresh air for people who have difficulty with verbal processing or don’t have words for what happened to them. 

What does an EMDR Therapy session typically look like?

• You and your therapist first work together to build safety, coping skills, and trust.

• You identify specific memories or experiences that continue to cause distress.

• While focusing briefly on parts of the memory (images, feelings, body sensations, or beliefs), you follow a form of gentle, bilateral stimulation—often guided eye movements, tapping, or tones.

• This back-and-forth stimulation helps your brain “reprocess” the memory so it becomes less emotionally intense and more clearly connected to the past.

You are always in control during EMDR. You do not have to describe every detail of your experience out loud. Many people find that the memory becomes less overwhelming, negative beliefs (such as “I’m not safe” or “It was my fault”) shift toward more balanced ones, and physical tension decreases.

What is EMDR Therapy used for?