Healing Trauma at the Root

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy that uses bilateral stimulation to heal the root of trauma, not just the symptoms. EMDR is a way for you to revisit trauma — with the support and resources you didn't have originally— in order to change the way you feel about its emotional impact.

EMDR doesn’t change what happened to you, yet it changes the way the trauma lives inside you. By supporting your mind and body to metabolize and make sense of the distressing memory, it allows the past event to become integrated into your narrative rather than controlled by it. The intention is for the sharp edges to soften into something you can hold, as the emotional charge fades and limiting beliefs loosen their grip.

What is trauma?

Trauma is the way your body relates to your present moment based on what it has learned from the past. It is a natural response to anything that is too much, too soon, too fast, or not enough for too long for your nervous system to handle. Trauma is not the event itself but instead, the survival response that gets locked inside your body and mind around real or perceived threats. This can distort your sense of self and how you view others and the world, causing you to react to the present as if past threats are still happening.

Why revisit trauma?

When trauma remains unprocessed, it can continue to interfere with daily life. You may experience unexplained physical symptoms or react with intensity that doesn't match current circumstances. You may view your possibilities through a narrowed lens, expecting less, playing small, and undermining your own success to stay within the bounds of what trauma taught you was safe.

How EMDR Works

Your nervous system has a built-in capacity to make sense of and store memories. When trauma overwhelms this natural system, memories get stuck with their original emotional charge, frozen in time.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to restart your nervous system's natural processing. Bilateral stimulation means activating both sides of your brain in an alternating pattern. In my office, I use guided eye movements where you follow a ball moving across a computer screen, or tactile stimulation through handheld buzzers or butterfly tapping (gentle alternating taps on your knees or upper chest).

Bilateral stimulation mimics what happens naturally during REM sleep, when your brain processes daily experiences. As you recall a traumatic memory and experience bilateral stimulation at the same time, your nervous system is granted the ideal conditions to metabolize what was too overwhelming to process before. The memory gets properly organized and filed where it belongs in your past, losing its power to overwhelm you in the present.

What EMDR Treats

EMDR can support with ANY event in which you internalized a limiting or disempowering belief about yourself, other people, or the world at large. This might show up in your life as depression, anxiety, PTSD, phobias, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, grief, panic attacks, and more.

A Gentle, Paced Approach

I'm committed to moving at a pace that honors your nervous system, ensuring you feel prepared and resourced before we begin processing work. We'll spend time building your emotional toolkit and strengthening your sense of safety first. Your nervous system sets the pace. This foundational work is essential for lasting healing.

Building Resources

EMDR doesn't just address painful memories, it can also be used to strengthen positive experiences and feelings. We use bilateral stimulation to enhance internal resources like safety, strength, confidence, and joy, making these resources easily accessible when you need them most.