emdr therapy
Find relief from
what you've been carrying
Help your nervous system feel safer so you can move through life with more calm,
confidence, and control.
Your reactions don’t match the moment, but you can’t seem to stop them
Your mind keeps going long after the moment has passed. You replay conversations, question what you said, and wonder if you missed something.
Your body feels tense and on edge, even when nothing is actually wrong. You try to relax, but something in you is always scanning, anticipating, or bracing for what might happen next.
Maybe you notice:
overthinking conversations long after they happen
reacting more strongly than you intend
struggling to relax or feel fully present
repeating relationship patterns that don't make sense
feeling stuck in survival mode
It's frustrating because these reactions can feel automatic, even when they don't make sense to you.
You can understand something logically,
but your body and emotions don’t always get the message.
There’s a reason this keeps happening
When you've been through experiences that felt overwhelming, stressful, or emotionally painful, your brain doesn't always get the chance to fully process them. Instead of becoming something that feels like it's in the past, those experiences can remain stored in a way that keeps your nervous system on alert.
This is simply how the brain is designed to work. Its job is to protect you. Sometimes, though, it continues responding to old experiences even after the danger has passed.
That's why you can know you're safe, understand something logically, and still find yourself overthinking, shutting down, people-pleasing, or reacting more strongly than you want to.
EMDR helps your brain process those unresolved experiences so they begin to feel like something that's in the past, rather than something your nervous system is still responding to in the present.
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy that helps your brain process unresolved experiences using a technique called bilateral stimulation, which involves gently engaging both sides of the brain through eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds.
Rather than spending every session talking through the past, EMDR helps your brain process experiences in a different way. As those experiences are reprocessed, they often become less emotionally charged, making it easier to respond to the present instead of reacting from the past.
Throughout the process, I'll guide you step by step, checking in regularly and moving at a pace that feels comfortable for you. EMDR isn't about reliving painful memories, it’s about helping your brain process them in a way that feels manageable and supported.
What begins to shift
As your brain begins to process experiences that have stayed "stuck," you may start to notice meaningful changes in how you think, feel, and respond to everyday life.
Before:
You replay conversations for hours.
Your body is always bracing for what’s next.
Small situations trigger big emotional reactions.
You constantly question yourself.
Setting boundaries feels overwhelming.
You’re getting through each day.
After:
You can let interactions go and stay present.
You feel calmer and more grounded.
You have more space between a trigger and your response.
You trust yourself more.
You can say no with less guilt.
You have the energy to be present for your life.
How we work together
We'll work with what's underneath the patterns, not just the patterns themselves.
Together, we'll explore the experiences that continue to shape how you respond today. Instead of trying to control your thoughts or force yourself to react differently, we'll help your nervous system process what it hasn't had the chance to fully work through.
Using EMDR, we'll work to:
Identify the experiences that are still influencing your present-day reactions
Understand how those experiences shaped the beliefs and patterns you carry
Help your brain process unresolved experiences so it no longer feels emotionally "active"
Create more flexibility, calm, and confidence in your everyday life
EMDR isn't about forcing change or "fixing" yourself; we’re giving your brain the opportunity to finish processing what it couldn't before, so your reactions begin to match your present instead of your past.
Over time, many clients notice they spend less energy managing their anxiety, overthinking, or emotional reactions and more energy feeling present, connected, and like themselves again.
EMDR doesn't erase your memories or
change who you are.
EMDR helps your brain process painful memories differently, so they no longer feel like they're happening right now.
You'll still remember what happened, but those memories no longer have to carry the same emotional weight
or shape how you feel and respond today.
HOW EMDR AND IFS WORK TOGETHER
Some experiences leave more than painful memories behind
Some experiences don't just leave painful memories behind—they also shape the ways you've learned to protect yourself.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us understand the protective parts of you that developed in response to those experiences—like the part that feels responsible for everyone else, the part that pushes you to be perfect, or the part that stays on high alert to keep you safe.
EMDR complements that work by helping your brain and nervous system process the experiences those protective parts have been carrying for so long.
Together, these approaches help us understand not only what happened, but how it continues to affect you today.
As painful experiences are processed and protective parts no longer have to work so hard, change isn't just something you understand intellectually—it begins to feel different in your body, your relationships, and your daily life.
Frequently asked questions about EMDR therapy
FAQs
-
Traditional talk therapy often focuses on understanding thoughts and behaviors. While insight is important, many people find that insight alone doesn’t fully change emotional reactions. EMDR works directly with how memories are stored in the brain, allowing those experiences to be processed so your nervous system can respond differently moving forward.
-
No. EMDR is not hypnosis, and you'll remain fully awake, aware, and in control throughout the entire session.
You'll be able to talk, ask questions, take breaks, or stop at any time. My role is to guide the process at a pace that feels manageable and supportive. You'll never be asked to do anything you don't feel ready for.
-
No. One of the things many people appreciate about EMDR is that you don't have to share every detail of what happened for the therapy to be effective.
We'll move at a pace that feels comfortable for you, and you'll never be asked to do or share anything you're not ready for. My role is to help you feel supported and safe throughout the process.
-
During EMDR therapy, we identify experiences connected to the patterns or reactions you’re experiencing today. While you focus on aspects of the memory, we use bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping) to help the brain process it. Over time, the memory becomes less emotionally activating and your responses begin to shift.
-
No.
EMDR is one part of my approach, but it's not the only thing we’ll do together.
I also work from an Internal Family Systems (IFS) perspective, which helps us understand the protective parts of you that developed over time.
Some sessions may focus on EMDR, while others may involve slowing down, exploring those parts, building insight, or strengthening the resources you need before processing deeper experiences.
Our work is always guided by what feels most helpful for you, not by following a rigid structure.
-
Yes.
Many of my clients have been to therapy before. They may have gained insight, understood where their patterns came from, and learned helpful coping skills, but they still find themselves reacting the same way in certain situations.
Understanding something intellectually doesn't always change how your nervous system responds.
EMDR helps your brain process unresolved experiences so those patterns no longer feel like they're running automatically. Rather than simply understanding why you react the way you do, you begin to experience those situations differently.
-
Absolutely.
Many of the women I work with don't think of themselves as having experienced trauma. Instead, they've lived through years of chronic stress, difficult relationships, emotional neglect, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or environments where they learned they had to stay on guard.
Those experiences can have a lasting impact on your nervous system, even if you've never labeled them as "trauma."
EMDR can help your brain process those experiences so they no longer feel like they're shaping how you respond in the present.
You don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode.
If you're ready to understand what's been keeping you stuck, I'd love to help.