Can EMDR therapy make me feel worse before I feel better, or are there side effects?

Temporary emotional sensitivity, vivid dreams, or light fatigue after a session are normal—they indicate your nervous system is actively processing stuck material between sessions. However, EMDR should never destabilize your life. As an experienced EMDR therapist in Brentwood, LA, I never rush into raw trauma work. We spend time stabilizing your nervous system and building robust somatic tools first, ensuring you process heavy memories safely without getting overwhelmed.

I see you offer telehealth throughout California. How does bilateral stimulation work online?

Virtual EMDR is just as clinically effective as in-person therapy. During online telehealth sessions across California, we use specialized virtual bilateral stimulation (BLS) tools including visual light bars on screen, alternating auditory tones through headphones, or guided self-tapping. Whether you work with me in my Brentwood office or via secure telehealth, the core neurobiological mechanism that processes stuck memories remains identical.

Do I have to talk about my trauma in detail during our sessions?

No. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require you to rehash agonizing details out loud. You simply hold a target memory, negative belief, or physical sensation in your mind while we run bilateral stimulation. Your brain does the heavy lifting internally, allowing you to unburden deep trauma cleanly without retraumatizing yourself through endless verbal retelling.

You mention ensuring I am "resourced first." What does the resourcing phase actually look like?

Resourcing is the foundational prep work (Phase 2 of EMDR) that guarantees your nervous system stays grounded. Before targeting painful memories, we build your internal toolkit using somatic grounding techniques, safe-state visualizations, and clear session boundaries (including an immediate stop signal). We only advance to trauma processing when your system is steady, regulated, and fully equipped to handle emotional shifts.

What does an Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) session feel like compared to standard EMDR?

Standard EMDR typically targets single-incident traumas like accidents or acute events. Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) is tailored for developmental trauma, childhood emotional neglect, or relational wounds where no single memory exists. In an AF-EMDR session, we actively integrate the therapeutic relationship, somatic awareness, and custom resource interweaves to repair the deep, lingering impact of feeling unseen, unprotected, or chronically alone.

Will EMDR erase my memories or change my personality?

No. EMDR will not erase your memories or change who you are. It systematically digests the visceral, high-intensity charge locked inside a traumatic memory. After successful EMDR processing, you still remember what happened, but the memory shifts into a neutral historical fact rather than a present-day threat driving panic, hypervigilance, or anxiety. It strips away the survival weight so your authentic self can step forward.

TRAUMA & PTSD THERAPY · LOS ANGELES

Trauma & PTSD therapy in LA. Specialist
work, not generalist talk

Trauma therapy in Los Angeles with Susan Quinn Therapist, LMFT EMDRIA-certified, 30+ years treating single-incident trauma, complex PTSD, and developmental trauma. Brentwood office and telehealth across California.

Single-Incident

& Complex PTSD

Evidence-Based

EMDR + AF-EMDR

20+ Years

in Trauma Practice

TRAUMA THERAPY WITH SUSAN QUINN

Trauma Doesn't Belong in Generalist Hands.

Trauma changes how the brain and nervous system store and respond to experiences, which is why effective treatment requires specialized trauma-focused care not just general talk therapy.
My practice is centered around EMDR and Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR), evidence-based approaches designed for PTSD, developmental, and relational trauma. We begin with preparation, nervous system regulation, and emotional safety before moving into processing, creating a grounded and supportive path toward healing.

WHAT TRAUMA THERAPY IN LA ADDRESSES

The Forms of Trauma this
Practice Treats.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Acute and chronic. Flashbacks, intrusive memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance.

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).

Trauma that was chronic, relational, and often began in childhood. The trauma that lives in templates, not only memories.

Childhood trauma.

Abuse, neglect, emotional unavailability, witnessing violence — the experiences that shaped how you operate before you had words.

Single-incident adult trauma.

Accidents, assaults, medical emergencies, sudden losses, natural disasters, violent crime.

Medical trauma.

Procedures, ICU stays, traumatic births, hard diagnoses, what the body remembers.

Vicarious and secondary trauma.

First responders, clinicians, attorneys, journalists, caregivers — the weight of others' trauma absorbed over time.

Grief and complicated loss.

Loss that stays acute, complicated grief, traumatic bereavement.

IS THIS TRAUMA THERAPY PRACTICE RIGHT FOR YOU?

An Honest Assessment of Fit

My trauma practice is specialised. Here’s where it tends to be the right place — and where it isn’t.

This practice may be a good fit if

You're looking specifically for EMDR or a trauma-focused approach, not generalist talk therapy.
You've done therapy before and want something that addresses what hasn't moved.
You can identify trauma discrete or chronic that's still affecting your present.
You want a defined, evidence-based treatment arc with measurable outcomes.
You value working with someone who's specialised in trauma for 20+ years.
You're at a stable enough place in life to do this work.

Another option may fit better if

You're in active crisis that needs higher-level care first.
You're seeking primarily medication management that requires a psychiatrist.
You're looking for couples or family therapy as the primary modality.
You want short-term, symptom-only work without addressing underlying trauma.
You'd be better served by a higher-frequency program (PHP/IOP) for severe symptoms.

TRAUMA THERAPY - COMMON QUESTIONS

What People Ask First.

Can EMDR really help with anxiety?

Yes. EMDR works particularly well for anxiety that has roots — anxiety connected to earlier experiences, even if you can’t always trace the connection consciously. Most chronic anxiety has roots like this. EMDR addresses what your nervous system learned to fear, not just the present-day trigger.

What kinds of anxiety does EMDR treat?

Generalised anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, performance anxiety, specific phobias, health anxiety, separation anxiety, and the chronic hypervigilance that often follows trauma. EMDR is also effective for the anxiety that develops around a difficult life event — a diagnosis, a loss, a betrayal — and won’t quiet after the event has passed.

How is EMDR for anxiety different from CBT?

CBT helps you identify and challenge the thoughts that fuel anxiety. It’s effective for many people. EMDR works at a different level — it addresses the underlying nervous-system imprint that’s generating the anxious thoughts in the first place. For some clients, CBT is enough. For others, the anxiety responds to EMDR after CBT has only managed it.

FROM CLIENTS

In Their Own Words.

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AREAS SERVED

A Brentwood practice.
 With telehealth across CA.

My office sits on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood minutes from Santa Monica, West LA, and Beverly Hills. For clients across California, telehealth makes the same work possible from home.

Brentwood

Primary office · 90049

Santa Monica

20 min · Telehealth

West Los Angeles

20 min · In-person

Beverly Hills

20 min · Telehealth

Pacific Palisades

20 min · Telehealth

Culver City

20 min · Telehealth

Start with a Conversation.

No commitment, no paperwork. A chance to talk through what you’re carrying and see whether EMDR and whether I might be the right fit.

Trauma & PTSD therapy in LA. Specialist work, not generalist talk

Single-Incident

Evidence-Based

20+ Years

Trauma Doesn't Belong in Generalist Hands.

The Forms of Trauma this Practice Treats.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).

Childhood trauma.

Childhood trauma.

Single-incident adult trauma.

Single-incident adult trauma.

Medical trauma.

Medical trauma.

Vicarious and secondary trauma.

Vicarious and secondary trauma.

Grief and complicated loss.

Grief and complicated loss.

An Honest Assessment of Fit

This practice may be a good fit if

Another option may fit better if

What People Ask First.

In Their Own Words.

A Brentwood practice. With telehealth across CA.

Brentwood

Santa Monica

West Los Angeles

Beverly Hills

Pacific Palisades

Culver City

Start with a Conversation.

Trauma & PTSD therapy in LA. Specialist
work, not generalist talk

The Forms of Trauma this
Practice Treats.

A Brentwood practice.
 With telehealth across CA.