EMDR Therapy in Newport Beach, CA
Sometimes knowing why something affects you isn't enough to change how it feels.
I’m a Certified EMDR Therapist offering EMDR for adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, distressing memories, and traumatic grief in Newport Beach and online throughout California.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
A different way of working with experiences that still feel present.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based therapy designed to help the brain process experiences and memories that continue to cause distress.
Sometimes you can understand exactly what happened. You know it’s over. You know where certain reactions come from.
And yet your body still responds. A memory still feels immediate. A particular situation brings you right back there. You find yourself having the same reaction even when part of you knows you're safe now.
EMDR gives us a way to work with that.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
I'll make sure you know what we're doing and why.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation- often guided eye movements or other forms of alternating left-right stimulation- while working with specific memories, beliefs, emotions, and physical sensations.
But EMDR is much more than following something back and forth with your eyes.
Before any processing begins, we'll spend time understanding what brings you to therapy, identifying what we may want to work on, and making sure you have ways to stay grounded when difficult emotions come up.
I won't drop you into a painful memory five minutes after meeting you.
We'll prepare first. You'll know what to expect. And you'll always have a say in the pace of our work.
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Trauma doesn't have to fit one particular definition to continue affecting you.
EMDR can be used with experiences that still bring up fear, shame, anger, helplessness, physical reactions, or a sense that part of you is still back in what happened.
Our work can focus on helping those experiences feel more like something that happened in the past rather than something your mind and body are continuing to relive.
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Sometimes anxiety is connected to experiences your brain learned to treat as dangerous.
EMDR can help us work with memories, beliefs, or experiences that contribute to current fears and reactions- particularly when you understand logically that something is safe but your body doesn't seem convinced.
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When the circumstances surrounding a death were traumatic, memories of what happened can sometimes become intertwined with grief for the person who died.
EMDR can help address traumatic aspects of the loss without asking you to disconnect from the person you love or diminish your grief.
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Pregnancy, birth, hospitalization, medical emergencies, procedures, or frightening medical experiences can continue to feel intensely present long after the immediate event has ended.
EMDR may be incorporated when those memories continue to bring significant emotional or physical distress.
What Can EMDR Therapy Help With?
I use EMDR as part of therapy for adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, grief, and distressing experiences.
What Happens During an EMDR Therapy Session?
EMDR isn't something we rush into.
EMDR follows a structured process, but that doesn't mean every person's therapy looks exactly the same.
Before processing a memory, we'll talk about your history, what you're experiencing now, and what you'd like to be different.
We'll identify memories or experiences that may be connected to what you're struggling with and make sure you understand the process before we begin.
During EMDR processing, I'll guide you through brief sets of bilateral stimulation while you notice what comes up — thoughts, memories, emotions, images, or physical sensations.
You don't have to force anything to happen or figure out the “right” thing to think about.
I'll be there with you throughout the process.
Do I Have to Talk About Every Detail of My Trauma?
No.
This is one of the things some people appreciate about EMDR.
I'll need enough information to understand what you're experiencing and provide appropriate care, but EMDR does not necessarily require you to describe every detail of a traumatic experience out loud.
There may be things we talk about in depth and other things you prefer to keep more private.
We can work together to determine what feels necessary and useful.
Certified EMDR Therapy in Newport Beach
Training matters to me.
I am a Certified EMDR Therapist and have pursued advanced training so I can use EMDR thoughtfully within the larger context of therapy.
That distinction matters because I don't see EMDR as a standalone technique that we apply to every problem.
I'll consider your history, what you're experiencing now, your goals, and what feels manageable for you before recommending how we work.
Sometimes EMDR will be an important part of therapy.
Sometimes another approach will make more sense.
We'll decide together.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Therapy
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You won't be asked to recount every detail of what happened or spend an entire session retelling a traumatic experience.
EMDR does involve bringing aspects of a memory to mind, but we prepare before we begin processing. I'll explain what to expect, we'll talk about how you'll let me know if something feels like too much, and you'll remain in control of the process throughout the session.
The goal isn't to overwhelm you with the past. It's to help your brain process something that still feels too present.
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No. One reason some people are drawn to EMDR is that it doesn't necessarily require describing every detail of an experience out loud.
I'll need enough information to understand what you're experiencing and provide appropriate care, but there may be parts of your story you aren't ready to put into words- or simply don't want to.
We can work with that.
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You don't need to figure that out before scheduling a consultation.
We'll first talk about what brings you to therapy, what you're experiencing now, your history, and what you'd like to change. From there, I can help you understand whether EMDR could be useful or whether another approach may make more sense.
Being a Certified EMDR Therapist doesn't mean I think everyone needs EMDR. It's one of the tools we can consider together.
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There isn't an honest one-size-fits-all answer.
Someone working through one specific experience may need something very different from someone carrying years of trauma, multiple losses, or experiences that are closely connected to relationships and identity.
We'll pay attention to how you're responding as we go rather than working toward an arbitrary number of sessions. I won't promise you that something important will be resolved in three sessions because I haven't met you yet.
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EMDR is well known for trauma treatment, but it may also be useful when past experiences are contributing to anxiety, distressing memories, traumatic grief, or reactions connected to pregnancy, birth, or medical experiences.
What matters is understanding what is underneath the reaction you're having now and whether EMDR is an appropriate way to work with it.
For traumatic grief in particular, EMDR isn't used to make you stop grieving or feel less connected to the person you lost. We can address trauma surrounding the death while still making room for the grief and the relationship that matter to you.
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EMDR is more structured than simply talking about whatever comes to mind for an hour.
When we're ready to process a particular experience, I'll help you identify aspects of it such as the memory, emotions, beliefs, and physical sensations connected to it. I'll then guide you through short sets of bilateral stimulation, often using eye movements, while you notice what comes up.
You don't need to make anything happen or give me the “right” response. I'll guide you through the process, check in with you along the way, and we'll take it one step at a time.
Certified EMDR Therapist in Newport Beach, CA
We can start by talking about what's still sticking with you.
You don't need to decide whether EMDR is the right therapy before reaching out.
Tell me what's been happening. I'll listen, ask some questions, and we can figure out together what kind of support makes sense.