How I work
EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. I am EMDR certified, and I use it when a memory is still doing work in the present that it has no business doing.
What actually happens in a session?
We hold a specific memory in mind while you follow a repeated left to right movement, usually my hand, a light bar, or alternating taps. Then we stop, and you tell me what came up. We do that in short sets, over and over.
It sounds strange written down. Most people find the doing of it far less strange than the description, and you stay awake, in control, and able to stop at any point.
Do I have to tell you the whole story?
No. That is one of the reasons I use it. EMDR does not require a detailed retelling, which matters for people who have spent years avoiding the retelling.
You choose how much you say out loud. I need enough to know where we are, not a transcript.
What is it supposed to change?
The memory does not disappear, and I would not promise you that. What tends to shift is the charge on it: the way it arrives uninvited, the way your body reacts before your thinking catches up.
People often describe it afterwards as something that happened, rather than something that is still happening.
How do you decide whether to use it?
We do not start here. First we build enough steadiness that going near difficult material is safe, which is usually DBT skills work, and we agree together that this is the right next step.
If EMDR is not a fit for what you are carrying, I will say so, and we will use something that is.
Often paired with
- DBT skills, so there is something to hold onto between sessions
- CBT, for the beliefs a memory left behind
- Mindfulness, for staying in the present while the past is in the room
Ready when you are.
Therapy starts with a conversation. Send a short message and tell me what is going on, in your own words. We meet in person in Omaha, and online across Nebraska and Rhode Island.
Start a conversation