EMDR Therapy Online — Utah and Washington

What is EMDR?

EMDR is a therapy developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro after she noticed that certain eye movements seemed to reduce the emotional charge of disturbing memories. It has since become one of the most extensively researched trauma therapies in the world, recommended by the World Health Organization, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the American Psychological Association as a frontline treatment for PTSD.

The core idea is simple: when something traumatic happens, the brain sometimes can't fully process the experience. Instead of being filed away as a memory, it stays "live" — which is why a smell, a sound, or an offhand comment can suddenly throw you back into the feelings of an event that happened years ago. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, audio tones, or tapping) while you briefly hold the memory in mind. This appears to engage the same memory-consolidation machinery your brain uses during REM sleep, allowing the stuck memory to finally be processed and stored normally.

After successful EMDR, the memory is still there — you don't forget what happened — but it loses its grip. Clients often describe it as "I know this happened to me, but it doesn't own me anymore."

Who is it for?

EMDR is well-supported as a treatment for:

• PTSD and complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
• Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, medical events)
• Developmental and childhood trauma
• Anxiety and panic with a trauma component
• Phobias rooted in a specific past experience
• Grief that feels stuck or frozen
• Performance anxiety tied to past failures or humiliations
• Negative core beliefs ("I'm not safe," "I'm not enough") that won't shift through talk alone

What does a session look like?

We meet via secure video. The first few sessions focus on history-taking and building stabilization skills — grounding, resourcing, and a clear sense of what we're going to target. We don't jump into reprocessing on day one.

Once we begin reprocessing, a typical session looks like this: I'll ask you to bring up a specific memory along with the image, the body sensation, and the negative belief attached to it. Then we begin sets of bilateral stimulation — typically following a moving dot on the screen, listening to alternating tones, or doing a self-administered butterfly hug. Between each set, you briefly notice what came up. We continue until the disturbance level drops and a new, adaptive belief takes hold.

Sessions are usually 50–60 minutes, though for active reprocessing some clients prefer 75-minute sessions. You'll never be pushed faster than your nervous system can go.

My training & approach

Training: EMDRIA-certified Phase 1 and Phase 2, plus advanced attachment training. Practicing EMDR since 2014.

I work from an attachment-aware, parts-informed lens — meaning I pay close attention to how early relationships shaped your nervous system, and I work gently with the protective parts of you that may have learned to manage pain by avoiding it. Reprocessing only happens once we have the resources in place to do it safely.

Frequently asked questions

Does EMDR work over video?

Yes. Online EMDR has been studied extensively and shows outcomes comparable to in-person sessions. Bilateral stimulation is delivered via on-screen visuals, audio, or self-tapping (butterfly hug) — all of which are clinically validated.

How long does EMDR take?

It varies. Single-incident trauma can sometimes resolve in 6–12 sessions. Complex or developmental trauma typically takes longer because there are more memory networks to process. We discuss expected timeline during your consultation.

Will I have to relive the worst moments of my life?

Not in the way most people fear. EMDR uses brief, structured exposure to a memory while engaging bilateral stimulation — you stay grounded in the present the entire time. The goal is to process the memory, not re-experience it as if it were happening again.

Is EMDR just for big-T trauma?

No. EMDR works on any memory or experience that still feels "stuck" — that includes what people sometimes dismiss as small things (a critical comment from a parent, a humiliating moment in school, a breakup). If it still has a charge, it can be processed.

Can EMDR make things worse before they get better?

You may feel emotionally raw between sessions, especially early on — this is the brain continuing to process. We build in stabilization skills before we begin trauma reprocessing, and we go at a pace your nervous system can handle.

Do I need to talk about every detail of what happened?

No. EMDR doesn't require detailed narrative storytelling the way some talk therapies do. You only share what feels necessary. Much of the work happens internally as you focus on the memory and the bilateral stimulation.

How is EMDR different from talk therapy?

Talk therapy primarily engages thinking and language. EMDR engages the brain's natural information-processing system — the same one that runs during REM sleep — to help "stuck" memories resolve at a neurological level, not just a cognitive one.