Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
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What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trauma-focused therapy that helps the nervous system process experiences that feel stuck or unresolved. When something overwhelming happens, the brain doesn’t always get a chance to fully process it. Instead, the experience can remain “frozen,” continuing to influence how we feel, react, and relate long after the event has passed.
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How EMDR Works
In EMDR, we work with these experiences in a structured and contained way. While you briefly bring a difficult memory to mind, I guide you through gentle bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping. This supports the brain’s natural ability to process the memory, often reducing its emotional intensity and allowing it to be integrated more fully.
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Simply Put
A helpful metaphor is a traffic jam: an overwhelming experience can block the natural flow of information in the brain. EMDR works like traffic control, helping clear the blockage so thoughts, emotions, and memories can move again.
EMDR doesn’t erase the past, but it can change how the past lives in you. Many people find that memories feel more distant, less charged, and no longer define their present.
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What EMDR can help with
EMDR is best known for treating PTSD, but it can also be helpful for other difficulties where past experiences continue to shape current patterns. This may include anxiety, panic, phobias, depression, relationship and attachment issues, low self-esteem, chronic stress, and grief or loss.
It can be especially useful when you understand why something affects you, but your body and emotions haven’t quite caught up.
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Is EMDR right for everyone?
EMDR can be very effective, but it isn’t appropriate for everyone at every stage. Because it involves engaging with distressing memories and sensations, it’s important to have enough capacity to stay present without becoming overwhelmed or dissociating.
For some people, particularly those with complex trauma or significant dissociation, it may be necessary to focus first on stabilization and self-regulation skills. This preparatory work isn’t a setback, it’s often what makes EMDR safe and effective when the time is right.
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Evidence and Recognition
EMDR is recommended by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an effective treatment for trauma and PTSD.
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