EMDR THERAPY · SAN MATEO
You understand why you feel this way. So why do you still react this way?
You know the relationship wasn’t right for you, and seeing their name still makes your stomach drop. You know what happened is over, but something can still bring you right back to how it felt.
Understanding what happened doesn’t always change how you react to it. Your mind knows it’s over, but your body can still respond as though it isn’t. EMDR can help you process those experiences so they no longer have the same hold on you.
EMDR isn’t only for major trauma.
Sometimes what stays with us isn’t one catastrophic event. It may be something smaller that happened repeatedly, or one experience that changed what you came to expect from yourself or other people.
EMDR may be useful for things like:
WHAT EMDR ACTUALLY IS
You’re awake the whole time. You can pause or stop whenever you want.
We identify an experience, reaction, or belief that still feels stuck. While you hold parts of it in mind, I guide you through bilateral stimulation, usually eye movements.
You don’t have to tell me every detail of what happened for us to work with it.
The goal isn’t to erase the memory or convince you it wasn’t painful. The memory is still there, but it loses it’s punch. It doesn’t affect you in the same negative way or set off the same emotional or physical reaction. After successful EMDR processing, many people describe the memory as feeling farther away, less vivid, and no longer painful in the same way. You know it happened, but it feels like a memory, and that’s all.
How I decide when to use EMDR.
EMDR is part of much of my work, but I don’t use it with everyone or in every session. I don’t start by asking “How can we use EMDR here?” I start with what you need.
We also don’t go looking for trauma. Sometimes an earlier experience is clearly connected. Sometimes it’s something recent. We work with what’s actually affecting you, not with what seems significant enough to qualify.
Processing can sometimes continue after the session. You may notice dreams, memories, or emotions surfacing during the week. If that happens, we’ll talk about it. I’ll also explain what to expect before we begin processing rather than after.
EMDR is a powerful tool, but it’s still just one part of the work. What matters is using it thoughtfully, when it fits you and what we’re working on.