Healing from Within: EMDR Therapy
Understanding EMDR and How It Can Help You Heal
Traumatic experiences, distressing memories, and overwhelming emotions can leave deep imprints on your mental health, often persisting long after the events themselves have passed. These unresolved feelings can interfere with your daily life, causing anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, and difficulty forming healthy relationships. At Ascend Counseling, we believe that healing is possible—and that EMDR therapy provides a powerful, scientifically supported pathway to restoring emotional well-being.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is an innovative, evidence-based therapy developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. It’s designed to help individuals process traumatic and distressing memories that remain "stuck" in the brain’s neural pathways, causing ongoing emotional suffering. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR focuses on reprocessing these memories so they no longer evoke intense emotional reactions.
During EMDR sessions, your therapist guides you through a structured process that includes recalling specific traumatic memories while engaging in bilateral stimulation—such as moving your eyes back and forth, listening to alternating tones, or feeling gentle taps. This stimulation activates your brain’s innate ability to heal and reorganize problematic memories, allowing you to experience relief and new insights.
The Science Behind EMDR
Trauma and emotional distress often get stored in the brain in a fragmented or maladaptive way, making it difficult to access or process these memories during normal waking consciousness. This can cause distressing symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and emotional numbness.
EMDR works by stimulating both hemispheres of the brain, which promotes the integration of these distressing memories into adaptive, healthier narratives. This process helps reduce the intensity of negative emotions associated with traumatic memories and enables the brain to process events in a more balanced, constructive manner. Numerous scientific studies attest to EMDR’s effectiveness, making it one of the most evidence-supported approaches for trauma and related conditions.
Who Can Benefit from EMDR?
EMDR is suitable for a wide range of emotional and psychological issues, including:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): EMDR is recognized as one of the most effective treatments for PTSD, helping individuals process and diminish the impact of traumatic memories.
Childhood Trauma and Abuse: Those who experienced adverse events early in life can benefit from EMDR’s gentle reprocessing methods.
Anxiety and Panic Attacks: EMDR can help identify and integrate underlying traumatic roots of anxiety, offering relief from symptoms.
Depression: EMDR can aid in resolving past emotional wounds that contribute to feelings of helplessness, worthlessness, or despair.
Phobias and Fears: Specific fears rooted in past experiences can be diminished through EMDR processing.
Grief and Loss: EMDR can assist in processing complicated grief reactions, helping individuals find peace with their loss.
Complex Emotional Wounds: EMDR isn't just for specific traumas—it's also effective for unresolved emotional issues and patterns that influence current behavior.
What Does a Typical EMDR Session Look Like?
Your EMDR therapy journey begins with a thorough assessment. Your therapist will collaborate with you to identify specific memories, beliefs, and triggers that are causing distress. They will explain the process and ensure you’re comfortable with each phase of treatment.
The eight phases of EMDR therapy include:
History Taking and Treatment Planning: Gathering background information and identifying target memories.
Preparation: Building a trusting relationship, teaching relaxation and self-soothing techniques.
Assessment: Identifying specific images, beliefs, emotions, and bodily sensations linked to the target memory.
Desensitization: Engaging in bilateral stimulation while focusing on the target memory, allowing the mind to process and reframe it.
Installation: Strengthening positive beliefs and coping statements to replace negative ones.
Body Scan: Checking for residual physical sensations related to the target memory.
Closure: Ensuring the client feels safe and grounded after each session.
Reevaluation: Monitoring progress and planning future sessions if necessary.
Throughout the process, your therapist provides support and guidance. The bilateral stimulation helps your brain process distressing memories in a way that’s both effective and safe, leading to emotional relief over time.
Why Choose EMDR?
At Ascend Counseling, our team of highly trained and certified EMDR therapists is dedicated to providing a safe, supportive environment for healing. We understand that trauma and emotional wounds affect each person differently, which is why we tailor our approach to meet your unique needs and pace. Our clinicians take a trauma-informed perspective, ensuring that every session is conducted with utmost compassion, patience, and sensitivity.
We believe that healing from trauma is not a one-size-fits-all process, which is why we focus on building trust and establishing a secure therapeutic alliance first. Our therapists work closely with you to set clear goals, identify specific memories or beliefs you want to address, and create a customized treatment plan. This collaborative approach helps you feel empowered and actively involved in your healing journey.
Our team stays current with the latest research and best practices in EMDR therapy, continually refining our skills to offer the most effective and caring treatment possible. We are committed to stopping the cycle of distress and empowering you to reclaim your life from painful memories.
Many clients experience rapid, meaningful relief after just a few EMDR sessions—finding that emotional symptoms, flashbacks, and negative beliefs diminish significantly. Our goal is to help you process and integrate challenging memories, reduce their impact, and support your ongoing emotional growth, resilience, and well-being.
Choosing EMDR at Ascend Counseling means choosing a dedicated, empathetic partner in your healing process—someone who understands the profound impact trauma can have and who believes deeply in your capacity to heal and thrive. If you're ready to take that step toward emotional freedom, we’re here to support you every step of the way.
