Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Telehealth for Women in Georgia
Less talking and more healing
EMDR doesn't require talking about the past to actively heal from it
In fact, talking too much can shut down the process. One of the biggest misconceptions about EMDR is that you have to sit down and tell your entire life story in detail. You don't.
I began using EMDR with clients in 2018 and I've yet to hear someone's full life story. You actually share very little information, unless you want to share more. That's usually the draw for clients who are afraid of reliving distressing memories. I don't need the details to know what we need to target for change.
EMDR can help you work with the experiences, beliefs, emotions, and body responses that are still getting activated in the present—without requiring you to relive everything that happened. Instead of spending session after session trying to make sense of the story, we pay attention to what is happening now.
What happens in your body?
What thought immediately shows up?
What do you believe about yourself in that moment?
What situations seem to bring the reaction out?
And what happens when your nervous system gets a chance to process what it has been holding onto?
EMDR does not erase your memories. It helps your brain and body recognize that what happened then is not what is happening now.
EMDR works with more than your thoughts
Sometimes your body knows something is wrong before you can explain why. Your chest tightens. Your stomach drops. Your shoulders tense. You feel restless, frozen, irritated, disconnected, or suddenly exhausted.
You may logically know you're safe while your body is acting like you're not. That's why EMDR work isn't limited to talking about thoughts. We pay attention to the whole experience — including what is happening physically — because your body is often part of the story.
You don't have to force yourself to "think positively" or talk yourself out of a reaction. Instead, we work toward helping your nervous system experience something different.
What does EMDR actually do?
Your brain has a natural ability to process experiences and move on from them. However, when something is overwhelming, frightening, painful, or happens repeatedly, that process doesn't always happen the way it should. The experience can remain "stuck."
You may not consciously think about it anymore, but your nervous system can still respond as though the danger is present. That's why something happening today can trigger a reaction that feels much bigger than the situation itself.
EMDR helps access those stuck patterns so they can be processed differently. As that happens, the goal is not simply to remember something differently. It's to experience it differently.
The belief of I'm not good enough can begin to loosen. The feeling of I have to stay in control can become less necessary. The automatic expectation that something bad is about to happen can quiet down. And the things that used to send your nervous system into overdrive may simply become... things.
What might EMDR feel like in everyday life?
The changes aren't always dramatic or obvious at first. Sometimes they're surprisingly ordinary.
- You realize you aren't replaying the conversation from three hours ago.
- Someone is disappointed with you and you don't immediately assume you've done something wrong.
- You set a boundary without spending the rest of the day feeling guilty.
- Your child is upset and you can stay present instead of becoming overwhelmed by their emotions.
- You make a mistake without immediately turning it into evidence that something is wrong with you.
- You notice yourself getting activated, and instead of automatically reacting, you have a little more space.
That space matters, because the goal is not to make you a zombie without feelings. We don't want to turn you into someone who never gets anxious, angry, or sad. A pill can numb you out.
Our goal is to give you more choice in what happens next. So you can feel the feeling less intensely and still decide how you want to respond.
What happens during EMDR?
We start with where you are and make sure you have enough stability and resources before moving into deeper processing.
When you're ready, we'll identify a specific experience, pattern, belief, or reaction that you want to work with.
You may notice thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, memories, images, or associations coming up as we work.
I guide the process, but you remain in control of what you're noticing and what you're ready to address.
You don't have to have the "right" memory.
You don't have to remember everything.
And you don't have to force yourself through something before you're ready.
The work is collaborative and guided by what your system is able to handle.
Is EMDR right for you?
EMDR can be especially helpful when you understand your patterns intellectually, but still find yourself reacting in ways you don't fully control.
It is worth exploring if you:
- Know your triggers, but feel unable to change your reactions
- Overthink situations long after they've happened
- Feel easily overwhelmed, shut down, or on edge
- Have difficulty trusting yourself or other people
- Struggle with guilt, shame, perfectionism, or people-pleasing
- Feel responsible for everyone else's emotions
- Notice that certain situations create unusually strong emotional or physical reactions
- Have experienced trauma that you know about OR patterns that suggest something deeper may be happening
- Have done therapy before and gained insight, but still feel like something isn't as good as it could be
You don't have to identify with the word trauma for this work to be relevant. You just have to recognize that something in your life isn't responding the way you want it to.
