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What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) is a specialized trauma therapy that helps clients overcome traumatic experiences that are at the core of their distress. Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, it is a highly effective and thoroughly researched (evidence-based) approach for healing from trauma and PTSD. It uses bilateral movements such as eye movements or other bilateral movements, including gentle tapping, to help clients reprocess traumatic experiences. According to the World Health Organization, EMDR therapy is one of the recommended treatments for trauma-related difficulties and has been proven to be more effective for overcoming trauma than other types of therapy, such as CBT.
What Can EMDR Help with?
For more than 40 years, EMDR therapy has been used to help people heal from trauma and other distressing life experiences.
People often seek EMDR when past experiences continue to affect how they feel, think, respond, or relate to others in the present. This may include symptoms such as:
Flashbacks, intrusive memories, or unwanted reminders of the past
Always feeling on edge or waiting for the other shoe to drop
Difficulty trusting people or feeling close to others
Difficulty with vulnerability
People-pleasing or difficulty setting boundaries
Emotional outbursts or difficulty managing strong emotions
Feeling numb, detached, disconnected, or “checked out”
Shame, self-blame, or self-criticism you can’t seem to shake
Low self-worth or feeling like something is “wrong” with you
Negative beliefs about yourself or the world or negative self-talk
Recurring relationship patterns you don’t understand
Sleep difficulties or disturbances
EMDR may be helpful for people experiencing these difficulties in connection with:
PTSD or Complex PTSD
Childhood trauma or neglect
Emotional or physical abuse
Sexual abuse or assault
Intimate partner violence
Racial trauma
Traumatic accidents, such as car accidents
Relationship difficulties arising from past traumatic or adverse experiences
Parenting difficulties connected to experiences from your own childhood
Natural disasters and the impacts of violence or war
You don't have to name it to heal it.
In EMDR, you don’t need to have a clear memory or a defined traumatic incident to begin EMDR.
Some of our clients come to EMDR knowing exactly what they want to work on — often after years of talk therapy, still feeling stuck. But many arrive unsure of what’s behind their distress. They just know they’re struggling — feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or not like themselves.
In the early sessions of EMDR therapy, your therapist will help you explore the experiences and patterns that may be affecting you in the present, and together you’ll identify what to work on—at a pace that feels comfortable to you.
Wherever you are, we’ll meet you with compassion, care, and the clinical expertise to support your healing.
Easy Online booking, No Phone Tag, No Waitlist
Schedule a Consultation with our Holistic EMDR Therapists
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Erika Arnold-McEwans, LICSW
Holistic EMDR Trauma Therapist & Attachment-informed Psychotherapist
DC & VA, Online Only
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John Hardenbergh, LICSW
Holistic EMDR Trauma Therapist & Attachment-informed Psychotherapist
DC, In-person & Online
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Veronica Thornton, LPC
Holistic EMDR Trauma Therapist & Mental Health Counselor
DC, Online Only
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Ashley Badgley, LGPC
Holistic EMDR Trauma Therapist & Gender-Affirming Psychotherapist
DC, In-person & Online
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Christen Yu, LGPC
EMDR Trauma Therapist & Culturally Responsive Psychotherapist
DC, In-person & Online
We are an LGBTQIA2S+ affirming, BIPOC-inclusive, Health at Every Size (HAES) supportive, Body-positive, and Sex-positive practice committed to creating a welcoming space for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR
How does EMDR work?
Our brains have a natural capacity to process experiences and integrate new information. But when something traumatic or overwhelming happens, our brain and body can go into fight, flight, freeze, or other survival responses to protect us. Sometimes, even after the experience has passed, parts of it can continue to feel very present. Emotions, physical sensations, images, or beliefs connected to what happened may still be activated by situations in our lives today.
EMDR helps the brain revisit and reprocess these “stuck” experiences in a more adaptive way, from the safety of the present, so they no longer carry the same emotional and physical intensity.
As reprocessing occurs, memories can begin to feel less emotionally charged, less “stuck,” and more distant. New and more helpful insights and perspectives can emerge, and negative beliefs connected to the experience can begin to shift. The experience becomes something you can remember as part of your past, rather than something your mind and body continue to respond to as though it is happening in the present.
What is “reprocessing” in EMDR?
Reprocessing is the part of EMDR that helps your brain work through a targeted memory or experience.
During reprocessing, you'll briefly bring aspects of the experience to mind while observing bilateral stimulation to be grounded in the present. Your therapist will guide you through short sets of bilateral stimulation, pausing between sets to ask what you're noticing.
You don't have to force anything to happen or figure out what you're “supposed” to be thinking. Your therapist follows what emerges and helps guide the reprocessing as your brain makes new connections and the experience begins to shift so it no longer holds the same emotional intensity and stuckness.
What is bilateral stimulation?
Bilateral stimulation is a distinctive part of EMDR and involves alternating stimulation from one side to the other.
This can include guided side-to-side eye movements, alternating sounds, or tapping. Your therapist will help determine which form works best for you.
Bilateral stimulation is used during EMDR to help facilitate the brain's information-processing system while you attend to aspects of a targeted experience.
Can EMDR help change negative beliefs about myself?
Yes. Traumatic and adverse experiences can shape not only what we remember, but what we came to believe about ourselves because of what happened.
Experiences from the past can leave behind beliefs such as “I’m not safe,” “I’m not good enough,” “It was my fault,” or “I’m powerless.”
As experiences are reprocessed, these beliefs can begin to shift and more adaptive perspectives can emerge—for example, “I am safe now”, “I am worthy,” or “I did nothing wrong/ It wasn’t my fault”.
EMDR isn't about simply replacing a negative thought with a positive one. The goal is for the new belief to begin to feel true, rather than being something you are simply trying to convince yourself to believe and leads to positive changes in your life.
What happens during an EMDR session?
EMDR is a structured therapy that happens in phases. You don't begin by immediately diving into your most difficult memories.
Early sessions focus on understanding what is bringing you to therapy, exploring relevant experiences and patterns, identifying potential targets for EMDR, and building strategies to help you stay grounded and manage distress.
When you and your therapist determine that you're ready, you'll begin reprocessing selected experiences. Your therapist guides you through the process, checks in with you throughout the session, and adjusts the pace based on how you're responding. You are always in control of the pace in the sessions.
How long does EMDR therapy take?
There isn't one set number of sessions. The length of EMDR therapy depends on what you want to work on, your history, the number and complexity of experiences being addressed, and how you respond to treatment.
Someone working through a single traumatic event may need a different course of treatment than someone working through years of childhood, developmental, or relational trauma.
Your therapist will work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan for you.
Can I do EMDR online?
Yes. EMDR can be provided virtually, allowing you to participate from the privacy and comfort of your own space.
For online EMDR therapy, we use a specialized, HIPAA-compliant online EMDR portal designed specifically for virtual EMDR sessions. The platform allows your therapist to facilitate bilateral stimulation remotely, including visual and auditory forms of bilateral stimulation.
Your therapist will help determine which approach works best for you and prepare you for virtual reprocessing so that sessions remain structured and supported.
How might I feel after an EMDR session?
Everyone responds differently. Some people leave a reprocessing session feeling lighter, calmer, or relieved. Others may feel tired, emotionally sensitive, or notice that thoughts and feelings continue to shift after the session.
Processing can continue between sessions, so you may notice memories, emotions, physical sensations, dreams, or new insights emerging afterward.
Your therapist will help you prepare for this, develop strategies for managing distress between sessions, and pace the work according to how you're responding.
Is EMDR backed by research?
Yes. EMDR is an extensively researched psychotherapy for PTSD and trauma-related symptoms and is included in major clinical guidelines for the treatment of PTSD.
Research has found EMDR effective in reducing PTSD symptoms, and it has been studied alongside other evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapies.
Have more questions about EMDR? Check out our EMDR Therapy Blog
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