EMDR is a structured 8 phase therapy modality. It differs from talk therapy as there is little talking beginning in phase 4.

Sometimes talk therapy can do wonders and sometimes it doesn’t. Trauma tends to get stuck in the body. When you think about a stressful or traumatic event right now, do you notice your chest tightening, your breath catching, or your stomach clinching? Depending on the degree of trauma, it can be difficult to get rid of these physical symptoms, along with the psychological symptoms, by talking about it. Sometimes talking about the trauma can actually make it feel worse. EMDR is a cognitive and somatic (of the body) approach to treating trauma and sometimes a somatic approach is needed in order to heal from PTSD symptoms. Also, sometimes EMDR can alleviate symptoms more quickly than talk therapies, although this is not always the case.

BLS stands for bilateral stimulation. This is part of phase 4 of EMDR where you move your eyes back and forth following a dot moving on the screen or listening to a beep back and forth with headphones in. During BLS, both hemispheres of your brain are being activated at once due to the back-and-forth stimulation of the eye movement, the beeping, or the back-and-forth tapping. Stimulating both sides of the brain has been proven to reduce the stress and reactivity related to certain memories and situations. This is why you will be thinking about the distressing event or situation while doing the BLS. As we do more and more sets of BLS, you may notice that the memory (the target) we are working on becomes harder to focus on or feels less intense to think about, which is the goal!

Before starting the BLS, I will ask you to think about the memory or stressful event and to rate how distressing it feels in the present moment to think about it on a 0-10 scale where 0 is not distressing at all or neutral and 10 is highest distress possible. As we do sets of BLS, that number should start to decrease and once it gets to 1 or 0, we know the memory has been reprocessed and we are ready to move on to phase 5.

No. EMDR cannot and does not cause you to forget a memory or event. A stressful or traumatic event may be less frequently thought about after reprocessing because it will be a memory like all other memories and will no longer have an effect on your present day life like it had before.

No. You are fully present and in control the entire time. The only time you may struggle to be fully present is if you easily dissociate or have a dissociation disorder. If this is the case, we can still do EMDR but more measures will be put into place to help ground you if you do dissociate. I screen every client for dissociation tendencies before reprocessing.

No. EMDR can’t change something that is logical, rationale, or true. For example, if your parents physically abandoned you when you were 5, we can’t change your cognitive thought, “My parents abandoned me” to “my parents didn’t abandon me”, because unfortunately they did. What EMDR can do is change your belief about yourself in this situation such as “My parents abandoned me, therefore I’m unlovable”, to “I am a lovable person regardless of my parents abandoning me”.

An EMDR intensive allows you to work through an issue at a more rapid speed than a one hour session once a week.

Typically EMDR works best when there is more time to reprocess in one sitting, such as 90 minutes instead of 50 minutes. As you may see with a 50 minute session, can take some time to start reprocessing the big stuff and before you know it, 50 minutes is up. Those 50 minutes also include time at the beginning and end of the session to check in with how you have been doing since our last session and to close at the end. Depending on the person, this may not give you enough time to fully reprocess a target.

No, 3 hours or 3 days of therapy will not solve all your problems. An intensive can help us dig in deeper than a 50 minute session allows, whih can help speed up the therapy process. But it does solve all issues at once.

You may complete all the targets in a single session or there might be a need for an additional session to ensure thorough processing. We will determine where you are at in your progress toward your goals. We will assess your self-care plan in the hours or days following your processing session and determine whether to schedule another processing session or proceed with your follow-up closure session.

Approach the days surrounding the intensive as your personal retreat. Expect to feel tired afterward, so it's advisable not to plan important meetings or social events. Instead, schedule activities you find relaxing and enjoyable, such as massages, yoga, or hiking.

Health insurance do not cover EMDR intensives.

Intensives and all other therapy sessions are done virtually through video. You must be a Washington, D.C. or Indiana resident to schedule with me.

No. The actual processing will last around 90 minutes, unless you feel you can do more. Our brains tend to tire and not reprocess as well after 90 minutes. The rest of the time will be used for preparation, debriefing, resourcing, etc. There will also be breaks included. I encourage you to sit somewhere comfy in your home with your laptop, a drink and a snack!

Absolutely! Intensives can serve as a valuable complement to your ongoing therapy. If you have any uncertainties, discuss this option with your therapist.

Of course not! You may choose to do a 50 minute or 90 minute EMDR session whenever you like. We just won’t get to tackle as much in one session as we would in an intensive in one sitting. And that’s totally okay!

Intensive can be done for an array of issues, big or small! They especially work best for those who have experienced or witnessed a sudden traumatic event such as abuse, death, a natural disaster, a serious accident, etc.

A 50% deposit is due in order to book your intensive. The rest of the payment is due the day of the session. I don’t take insurance at this time.

A 50% deposit is due in order to book your intensive spot. The remaining balance is due on Day 1 of the intensive. The deposit becomes non—refundable 7 days out from Day 1 of the intensive. If you cancel anytime before a week out from Day 1, you will receive your deposit back.