Understanding EMDR Therapy

Shifting trauma from a present-day threat to historical information so you can reclaim your present.

Adaptive Information Processing

Natural Recovery

The AIP model posits that the brain has a natural information processing system that leads to mental health. Traumatic events can "block" this system, causing memories to be stored in an unprocessed state.

How it works

Adaptive Resolution

EMDR facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories to bring them to an adaptive resolution. The memory remains, but the emotional charge and physical distress are completely neutralized.

Bilateral Stimulation

By engaging both hemispheres of the brain through rhythmic eye movements, sounds, or taps, we mimic the natural neurological state of REM sleep. This allows the brain's "filing system" to unlock and reorganize stuck information, moving it into long-term historical storage.

Why Memories Get Stuck

The Amygdala's Grip

When a trauma occurs, the brain's stress response can overwhelm the hippocampus, preventing the event from being properly timestamped. Instead, it lives in the amygdala as a "now" experience, keeping your nervous system in a state of constant alert.

The Window of Tolerance

EMDR builds your "Window of Tolerance," so you can process difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down.

We build mental resources and grounding tools to keep your system regulated throughout the journey.

Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.

— Gabor Maté

Success and Efficacy

90%

Symptom Reduction

Multiple studies show that up to 90% of single-trauma victims no longer have PTSD after only three 90-minute sessions. EMDR is recognized as a first-line treatment by the APA, WHO, and the VA.