When you undergo EMDR, you access memories of a trauma event in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps you reprocess what you remember from the negative event.

That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. Remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) refers to the use of a stimulus that is presented to both sides of the body.

Bilateral stimulation is thought to work in EMDR by activating both sides of the brain which allows for the processing of memories, emotions, and incidents that are stuck in the nervous system. When we experience trauma, our brains can get "stuck" on that event and it can feel like we're reliving it over and over again. Bilateral stimulation is thought to help "unstick" those memories so that they can be processed and resolved in a more adaptive way.

EMDR can look very different from traditional talk therapy. I work to integrate talk therapy processing and EMDR together. It is considered the “gold standard” treatment for traumatic episodes and PTSD. Evidence shows it is also effective in the treatment of: phobias, philias, addiction, grief and loss, attachment disorders, depression, anxiety, etc.

I currently only provide EMDR to individual clients. I do not provide EMDR for couples sessions.