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Seriously, What's With the Eye Movements? A Simple Explainer on EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy sounds weird. Eye movements? Tapping? For trauma? Here's an honest, jargon-free explanation of what actually happens in EMDR and why it works.
Why EMDR Feels Worse Before It Gets Better
Feeling worse after starting EMDR? A trauma therapist explains why EMDR can feel harder before it helps, and what that actually means for your healing.
I Can’t Stop Thinking About Something That Happened. Can EMDR Therapy Help Me?
If you can't stop thinking about something that happened, you are not weak or dramatic. You may have an unprocessed memory, and EMDR therapy can often help.
What to Do If You Had a Bad Experience with EMDR Therapy
If you’ve landed on this page, it probably means you’re feeling confused, hurt, or discouraged after trying EMDR therapy. We want to say right up front: we’re so sorry that happened. When therapy is supposed to offer healing and instead leaves you feeling worse, it feels especially jarring.
When Your Parent Is Your First Bully
When your parent is your first bully, something profound happens in the nervous system. The world stops feeling emotionally safe in a very early, foundational way. And that kind of wound often follows people much longer than they realize.
Dreading Family Gatherings? How EMDR Can Reduce In-Law Anxiety
A lot of people experience real anxiety about in-laws.
Sometimes it starts days before the event. You find yourself dreading the holiday, the dinner, the birthday party, the weekend visit. Your body tenses up before you’ve even left the house. You rehearse conversations in your head. You worry about what will be said, whether your partner will back you up, and how long it will take to recover afterward.
Why Your In-Laws Trigger You So Much (And How EMDR Can Help)
If you find yourself wondering, "Why do my in-laws trigger me so much?" the answer is usually deeper than “they’re annoying.”
Yes, maybe they are intrusive and critical and always seem to know exactly how to get under your skin. But when a reaction feels intense, immediate, or hard to shake, it usually means something in your nervous system is getting activated.
Does EMDR Therapy Work Online? What The Research Says
When EMDR therapy first became widely available online, many people had the same reaction:
Wait… this works over video?
EMDR therapy already feels a little unusual if you’re new to it. You think about a difficult memory while following eye movements or tapping your shoulders, and somehow the memory becomes less distressing.
How To Find a Great EMDR Therapist in San Francisco
If you’re searching for trauma therapy in the Bay Area, you’ve probably come across EMDR therapy.
Short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR is a highly researched and effective treatment for trauma, PTSD, and emotional activation, among other things.
But like any therapy, your experience depends largely on finding the right fit.
EMDR Therapy for Fear of Flying: How It Works and Why It Helps
Fear of flying is super common. It’s not just about turbulence or claustrophobia. For many people, the anxiety tied to flying can feel overwhelming, even debilitating. It can affect your ability to travel for work, see loved ones, or take vacations. Even the thought of booking a flight might cause panic, sleeplessness, or intrusive thoughts.
Can EMDR Make Symptoms Worse Before They Improve?
Trauma processing, temporary distress, and how to know when EMDR therapy is working safely. One of the most understandable concerns people have before starting trauma therapy is this: can EMDR make symptoms worse?
How Long Does EMDR Take to Work? Timeline & What to Expect
One of the most common questions clients ask in our free phone consultations is how long EMDR therapy will take. It's an understandable concern; people want relief, and they want to know what they are committing to emotionally, financially, and timewise.
How EMDR Therapy Can Prevent PTSD (Rather Than Treat It)
Something happened. Maybe it was a car accident. A medical emergency. A sudden breakup. A traumatic birth. A natural disaster.
You keep thinking about it.
Your body feels jumpy. You’re not sleeping well. You replay certain moments. Loud sounds feel louder. Your nervous system feels… off.
And you might be wondering: Do I just wait this out? Or is there something I can do now?
There is.
EMDR therapy, when used early and strategically, can help prevent acute stress from becoming long-term PTSD.
Does EMDR Therapy Work for Everyone?
EMDR therapy is often described as transformative. And for many people, it is. It’s gained a solid reputation for helping with trauma, anxiety, and distressing memories. But you might be wondering: Does EMDR therapy work for everyone?
EMDR Therapy for Trauma: Why the Body Holds More Than the Mind
You understand what happened. You can tell the story clearly. You know it was not your fault. You’ve read the books. You’ve done the insight work.
And yet.
You still have reactions that don’t fit the situation you’re in. Logically, you know you are safe. Your body does not.
This is one of the most confusing parts of trauma: the mind can move forward while the body remains vigilant. And this is why EMDR therapy can be so powerful.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Medical Trauma And How EMDR Therapy Can Help
When we hear the word "trauma," we often think of acute events: car accidents, assaults, natural disasters. But trauma also happens in examination rooms, hospital beds, and waiting areas. It happens quietly, often without language to name it. Medical trauma is real, complex, and far more common than we talk about.
Am I Doing EMDR Therapy Wrong?
If you’ve ever sat in an EMDR therapy session wondering, “Am I doing this right?” you’re in good company. This is one of the most common concerns people bring up, especially early on in the therapy process.
What Else Can EMDR Therapy Be Used For Besides Trauma?
When most people hear about EMDR therapy, they think of trauma recovery, and for good reason. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) was originally developed to treat PTSD and has decades of research supporting its effectiveness in healing trauma. But that’s not all EMDR can do.
Why EMDR Therapy Works So Well for Teenagers
We’ve seen something remarkable in our work offering therapy for teenagers: many of them respond to EMDR therapy incredibly quickly. We call clients whose brains seem to rapidly make sense of and heal from difficult experiences during EMDR therapy "super-processors." And teens seem to do this at higher rates than older therapy-goers.
Do You Have to Process Every Trauma in Your Life with EMDR Therapy To Feel Better?
Most trauma isn't simple. We often experience a series of related traumas, or experiences that are thematically linked. These themes may be loss, death, abandonment, or something more nuanced like realizing the adults taking care of you were not doing a good enough job. These themes create complex trauma networks. When considering EMDR therapy, clients often wonder if they need to process every traumatic event in their life with EMDR to feel better. The answer is simple: no, you don’t have to process everything. Here's why.
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We offer individualized teletherapy for a wide range of mental health and relational issues. Our San Francisco & Los Angeles therapists can help with anxiety, trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, LGBT gay and lesbian therapy issues, holistic therapy, enneagram therapy, therapy for lawyers, couples therapy, therapy for burnout, and therapy for teenagers. We serve many people in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles, as well as throughout California and Florida. Our team is anti-racist, body positive, LGBT and trans affirming and sex positive. You deserve to feel good!