EMDR THERAPY

EMDR: Processing the Past to Change the Present

Sometimes you know exactly why something affects you - and still can't seem to change how you react.

An experience from years ago can continue to influence how you feel, respond, and relate today. A particular tone of voice, conflict, rejection, criticism, or sense of uncertainty can trigger emotions or physical reactions that feel bigger than the moment calls for.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, research-supported therapy that helps you process distressing experiences so they become less emotionally charged and less disruptive to your present.

Trauma Isn’t Always One Big Event

Trauma can come from significant events, but it can also develop through repeated experiences: criticism, emotional neglect, instability, bullying, difficult relationships, or growing up feeling that you had to be a certain way to be accepted.

You might notice:

• Anxiety or reactions that feel disproportionate to the situation

• Persistent shame, self-criticism, or perfectionism

• Difficulty trusting yourself or others

• Relationship patterns you understand but can't seem to change

• Feeling constantly on guard or easily overwhelmed

• Memories or experiences that still feel emotionally “alive”

EMDR can help address the experiences underlying these patterns—not just the symptoms they create.

What We Can Work On

Past Experiences That Still Have a Hold on You

We identify experiences that continue to shape how you see yourself, others, or the world and work to reduce the emotional intensity attached to them.

Emotional & Physical Reactivity

Sometimes your response makes sense given what you've experienced, even when it no longer fits the situation you're in. EMDR can help reduce the intensity of those reactions so you have more choice in how you respond.

Relationship & Attachment Wounds

Early experiences can shape expectations about trust, rejection, closeness, and safety. Processing those experiences can help you approach relationships from the present rather than continually responding to the past.

Shame, Perfectionism & the Inner Critic

If you learned that being successful, useful, agreeable, or perfect was how you earned safety or acceptance, those beliefs can be difficult to simply think your way out of. EMDR can help address the experiences that shaped them.

What EMDR Looks Like

EMDR isn't simply talking about what happened while moving your eyes. We first establish safety, identify what you want to change, and develop the resources you'll need for the work.

During EMDR processing, we use bilateral stimulation—such as eye movements or tapping—to support the brain's natural processing of distressing experiences.

The goal isn't to erase memories. It's to help you remember what happened without feeling like it's still happening.

Why Work With Me?

EMDR is one part of my broader approach to therapy. I combine EMDR with relational, insight-oriented work so we can address both what's happening in your life now and the experiences that may be influencing it.

And you shouldn't have to provide a cultural crash course before we can get started. I work with clients across cultures, identities, and relationship structures, including people of color, LGBTQ+ clients, children of immigrants, and people navigating non-monogamy and polyamory.

Your context matters. We can get to the work without you having to spend your therapy sessions explaining the basics of who you are.