Our providers know that there is no one right therapy for everyone. While talk therapy can be a powerful tool for self-understanding and change, not everyone can access the memories and patterns that they want to change in the same way. If you have been feeling stuck in your healing journey, a more experiential process might be just what you have been looking for!
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy process that encourages your nervous system to open up to healing through repeated, small movements that connect multiple areas of your brain and body. These rhythmic movements (called bilateral stimulation) are often guided through your eyes (but can also be guided in your hands or ears) to let different parts of your mind and body talk with each other and connect in new ways. As you process what is keeping you stuck, your therapist will help you focus your attention and movements to help all the pieces of your nervous system work together toward repair. When our nervous system is working in a more connected way, it is easier to update our patterns, emotions, and perspectives to align with who we are and how we are growing.
Why would I try EMDR when other therapies have not helped?
It is normal to feel nervous, skeptical, or curious when trying a new therapy after others have not brought relief. EMDR can provide you with:
- A strong structure to rely on during your therapy that still allows you to talk about the stressors and memories most important to you,
- Tools you can use both inside and outside of therapy sessions to soothe distress at any time,
- Research-backed techniques for unlocking stuck memories and emotions,
- Lasting healing and relief from past emotional pain.
Is EMDR only for trauma?
EMDR was originally designed as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but you do not have to have PTSD to benefit from EMDR. You may find this process helpful if you:
- Have difficult memories or patterns learned from them that are keeping you stuck,
- Experience strong reactions to events in your life that do not match who you are, but do not feel controllable,
- Worry that talking about difficult events or emotions will be too overwhelming,
- Or have not been able to get to the root of your stress in regular talk therapy.
How does EMDR work at Capital Crescent Collective?
While early days of EMDR required in-person sessions in order to use special lights or other equipment, advancements in both technology and research mean that you can receive EMDR from the comfort of your own home, using your own devices, and gain the same high-quality results! Our certified and trained EMDR therapists will be available to schedule your initial appointments for telehealth (virtual) EMDR beginning in June of 2026.
- In your first sessions, you and your therapist will learn about your goals and sources of stress, build a toolkit of emotional support strategies to keep you safer as you approach difficult memories and patterns, and learn about the healing process.
- When you are ready to begin reprocessing what has been keeping you stuck, your therapist will share a link to specially designed visuals that guide bilateral stimulation and will help you learn how to use it.
- Depending on your situation, you may be recommended 80 minute sessions to allow you full time to get grounded, process your patterns or memories in a new way, reflect on what you have noticed, and recenter yourself afterward.
Interested in learning more about how EMDR can help you find peace? Send us a consultation form today to get started with the consultation process.