Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Healing is rarely straightforward — and neither is the way difficult experiences get stored and carried. EMDR honors that complexity, working with the whole person to help the brain and body do what they were designed to do together: process, integrate, and move forward.
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy approach developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. It became widely recognized for its effectiveness in trauma healing — and that work remains central to what EMDR does well. Research has continued to expand our understanding of its reach, with meaningful application across a wide variety of client goals: complex trauma recovery, anxiety, grief, relational patterns, sexual dysfunction, performance enhancement, and more.
EMDR therapy is a fully validated, evidence-based approach recognized by SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) and included in the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. It has been validated by over 20 randomized controlled clinical trials.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR integrates elements of many traditional psychological orientations and is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. The AIP model proposes that the brain has an inherent information processing system — one that can become blocked when traumatic or adverse events occur. When that happens, memories can get stored with their original pictures, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and sensations still attached. Any reminder of the event can bring all of that flooding back into the present.
The brain-body connection is a complex one — and EMDR is a therapeutic approach that takes that complexity seriously. Rather than working around it, EMDR engages the whole person: the way we think, feel, sense, and make meaning. Many emotional and psychological difficulties are rooted in unprocessed experiences we carry like unwanted baggage — a filter that quietly shapes how we move through our relationships, our work, and our sense of self.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) — such as guided eye movements — to help the brain reprocess those stored experiences, much the way the brain naturally consolidates memory during REM sleep. Eye movements activate both hemispheres of the brain by crossing the body's midline, engaging the full brain in its optimal processing capacity. The goal is to reduce the emotional charge of difficult experiences, shift negative beliefs toward more accurate ones, and free you to engage more fully with the present.
What can EMDR help with?
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Childhood sexual abuse
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Past abuse & trauma
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Bullying
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Neglect
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Phobias & anxiety
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Perfectionism
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Grief & loss
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Sexual dysfunction
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Negative self-beliefs
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Peak performance
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Complex PTSD
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Developmental Trauma
Counseling is not about formulas or finish lines. It’s a collaborative process that honors where you've been and works toward where you want to go. As an EMDR Certified therapist and Consultant-in-Training, I maintain an ongoing commitment to the work that your process deserves.
If you're curious whether EMDR might be a fit for you, I'd welcome the conversation.