EMDR THERAPY IN ST. PAUL AND ONLINE IN MINNESOTA

Effective Therapy for Real Change

When it’s getting harder to deny that something is off….

You are doing your best to feel OK most of the time, but it is getting harder and harder to deny that something is off. Everyone is talking about trauma these days, so you know you’re not the only one who’s experienced hard things.

You don’t know if what’s going on with you has to do with what has happened to you in the past, but you have a feeling it might be. 

You might be struggling with:

  1. Difficulty focusing

  2. Trouble with sleep, including nightmares, difficulty falling/staying asleep, waking up not feeling rested

  3. Feeling on alert all the time, like something bad is about to happen

  4. Irritability

  5. Feeling spaced out or away from yourself - like you’re watching yourself from afar

  6. Responses that feel bigger than the situation

  7. Not feeling in control of your emotions

  8. Feeling intense - like everything is high stakes

  9. Difficulty trusting others

  10. Memories from the past the seem to pop out of nowhere

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is an evidence-based method (read: it works) for healing from the pain associated with trauma.

We use tapping or eye movements to stimulate both sides of your brain to help you resolve or understand something in a new way. 

The desensitization part of EMDR allows you to revisit upsetting or painful experiences without the distress that’s been associated with them in the past, bringing the intense emotions of the memory down. After desensitization, reprocessing helps you understand the experience in a different way.

EMDR taps into your own body and mind’s ability to heal itself.

It’s like when you’ve had a headache, and then it’s gone. You no longer have to avoid bright lights or take painkillers or stay in quiet -- you get to live how you want to live.

The change is subtle, but powerful. It’s the absence of pain. It’s health.

What can change after EMDR:

  • No longer feeling upset or distressed when thinking of the past 

  • More positive, less judging self-narrative and self-talk

  • Better sleep, less nightmares

  • More able to stay in the present moment

  • Not feeling scared all the time

  • Feeling calm and relaxed more

  • Feel more connected and understood in relationships

Feel at PEACE with yourself.

Feel at PEACE with yourself.

How EMDR Works

Through the techniques with EMDR, we tap into your body and brain’s ability to heal itself.


PREPARE:

EMDR works to help with past, present, and future triggers of traumatic or upsetting experiences. 

In the first few phases of EMDR, we discuss your history, what is going on for you today, and what you hope to get out of EMDR in general. I will teach you specific skills to help you feel prepared to address your past experiences while feeling grounded in the present. 


RE-PROCESS:

Once you and I decide it is time, we will work together to pick what we focus on for the reprocessing phases of EMDR.

Typically, you will pick a memory and connect to the picture in your mind of what happened, and any thoughts and feelings about the memory. While holding that memory, we use tapping (called bilateral stimulation) which stimulates both sides of your brain to process through stuck memories.

Through this process, the upset feelings surrounding the memory will go down, and the thoughts you have about the memory will change (ex: it was my fault to it was NOT my fault). 


REFLECT:

In the final phases of EMDR, we check in about what has changed or resolved through using EMDR.

We also see if there are any concerns about the future and make sure you feel prepared and able to move forward with these changes in perspective.

EMDR can help you:

  • Get to the root of how you feel

  • Stop having nightmares

  • Reduce upsetting thoughts about the past

  • Improve your relationship with others, and yourself 

  • Reconnect with feelings of safety and peace

  • Identify ways the past shows up in the present

Request Appointment

 FAQs

  • It really depends on your unique experiences, including what has happened in your past. Research says that EMDR can typically take about 3-6 months. Some take less time, and some take longer.

  • Yes! EMDR works very well from the comfort of your own space.

  • EMDR has been shown to work really well with many experiences, including depression and anxiety. I’ve even used it with clients to help in decision making difficulties!

    That said, if you are interested in exploring using EMDR in therapy, you do not have to identify as having a trauma in your past.

Advanced areas of training for EMDR:

  • Attachment-focused EMDR

  • Pre-verbal trauma protocol

  • EMDR & Parts

  • EMDR for recent events

  • EMDR for perinatal trauma