How We Treat
EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based psychotherapy approach that helps people heal from distressing or traumatic experiences.
EMDR is a therapy designed to help your brain fully process difficult memories that may still feel “stuck.” Sometimes after overwhelming experiences—such as accidents, abuse, loss, medical trauma, or other stressful events—your brain doesn’t store the memory in a healthy way. Instead of feeling like something that happened in the past, it can feel like it’s still happening now. This may show up as anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, negative self-beliefs, or strong emotional reactions.
In EMDR therapy:
- 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.
EMDR is used for:
- Post-traumatic stress
- Anxiety and panic
- Phobias
- Grief and loss
- Performance anxiety
- Distressing life events
Somatic Based Therapy
Somatic-based therapy is an approach to healing that focuses on the connection between the mind and body. Rather than working only through thoughts and emotions, it recognizes that stress and trauma are often stored in the nervous system and expressed physically – through tension, chronic pain, or feeling constantly “on edge”.
In somatic therapy, the body becomes an important source of information. Clients are gently guided to notice physical sensations (like tightness in the chest, warmth, heaviness, or shifts in breathing) and to develop awareness of how their nervous system responds to stress or safety. The goal is to help regulate the nervous system, release stored survival responses, and restore a sense of safety and balance.
Common elements may include:
- Tracking body sensations
- Breath awareness
- Grounding techniques
- Movement or posture shifts
- Developing nervous system regulation skills
- Working slowly to build tolerance for difficult emotions
Somatic approaches are often used in trauma treatment because trauma is not just a story we remember—it’s also an experience the body holds. By helping the body complete and process unfinished stress responses, clients can experience deeper healing, improved emotional regulation, and a stronger sense of connection to themselves.
Mindfulness and Meditation: Therapeutic Techniques
Mindfulness and meditation are evidence-based practices that help you develop greater awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations in the present moment—without judgment.
Many people find that when they are stressed, anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed, their minds get pulled into worries about the future or regrets about the past. Mindfulness helps gently bring your attention back to what is happening right now, creating more space between you and distressing thoughts or feelings.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, with curiosity and compassion.
Rather than trying to “get rid of” difficult emotions, mindfulness teaches you how to:
- Notice thoughts without automatically believing them
- Allow emotions without becoming overwhelmed
- Recognize body sensations as temporary experiences
- Respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically
Over time, this can reduce emotional intensity and increase a sense of calm and control.
Research Supporting the Effectiveness of EMDR
Efficacy of EMDR in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder — Systematic review & meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials showing EMDR reduces PTSD symptoms compared with control conditions. Efficacy of EMDR in PTSD (PubMed)
EMDR vs Other Psychological Therapies for PTSD — Individual-participant data meta-analysis comparing EMDR with other treatments (e.g., trauma-focused CBT), reporting similar effectiveness across therapies. EMDR v. other psychological therapies for PTSD (PubMed)
Systematic Narrative Review on EMDR and PTSD — A narrative review of randomized controlled trials showing EMDR improves PTSD diagnostic status and trauma symptoms. Use of EMDR for PTSD (PubMed)
EMDR for Anxiety Disorders — Effectiveness of EMDR for Anxiety Disorders (ScienceDirect); https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32058073/
EMDR for Depression — A meta-analysis indicating significant effects of EMDR on depressive symptoms compared with control conditions. EMDR and Depression Meta‑Analysis (MDPI)
EMDR as Early Intervention — Recent meta-analysis examining EMDR delivered soon after trauma exposure, with beneficial effects on PTSD symptoms at follow-up. EMDR for Early Trauma Intervention (PubMed)