EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a structured therapy developed in the late 1980s that helps your brain digest painful memories the same way it naturally digests ordinary ones, so they stop hijacking your present.

When something overwhelming happens, the memory can get stored in a raw, unprocessed form: the original images, body sensations, emotions, and beliefs locked together. Years later, a smell, a tone of voice, or a familiar dynamic can re-trigger the whole package as if it’s happening now. This is the Adaptive Information Processing model that EMDR is built on, the idea that the brain wants to heal, but some memories need help getting unstuck.

In session, you do not have to begin with a clear memory. Sometimes we start with a memory, but we can also begin with a body sensation, a feeling, a fear, or even a phobia. While you stay grounded in the present, I guide you through bilateral stimulation, such as gentle side-to-side eye movements, taps, or sounds. This helps the brain process what has been stuck, so the emotional charge can soften and the experience can become something your nervous system no longer has to keep reliving.