go beyond traditional talk therapy.

EMDR therapy in Pasadena, CA and throughout California.

You’ve tried everything you can think of to feel better, but nothing’s working.

Maybe you’ve been to therapy before, but you weren’t convinced it was working for you. Talking about your traumas only seemed to make things feel worse, despite your hope things would change. Or, perhaps you’ve spent years in talk therapy and still feel triggered by things that happen at work and in your relationships. You’ve put in great work in your healing journey and thought things would feel different by now.

But you’re still feeling…

Frustrated by how your past traumas are impacting your present.

Disconnected in your relationships with friends, family, and lovers.

Overwhelmed by minor conflict, small mishaps, and daily responsibilities.

EMDR therapy can help you move beyond the past for a better present.

EMDR is an evidence-based method that helps people heal from trauma and other adverse life experiences.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR) therapy is a somatic therapy modality developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s.

    This evidence-based method is proven to significantly reduce trauma-related symptoms and is shown to be more effective than other trauma treatments.

    When we experience something traumatic, the memory can get locked at the forefront of our mind with the same sights, sounds, smells, and even sensations (we often call these triggers).

    This is because the mind wants to stay alert for any threats that might feel similar to past trauma so you can stay safe. However, what often ends up happening is we find ourselves constantly experiencing trauma responses at inappropriate times.

    EMDR uses a series of bilateral movements to open up your memory network and properly process the memory.

  • EMDR utilizes a series of bilateral movements to help you process traumatic memories.

    In practice, this means that you will either be guided through a series of eye movements or alternate tapping on your shoulders while walking through a traumatic memory. In doing so, your brain’s memory network is able to properly process the traumatic memory.

    We will begin by engaging in talk therapy sessions where we look at your history, goals for treatment, and build a treatment plan. This treatment plan will include specific memories you want to target in EMDR.

    Then, we will begin the reprocessing phase of treatment — this is when you are actively using the bilateral movements in session to process the memory.

    Each memory can take between 4 and 10 sessions to fully process, though, this truly varies for everyone. We will continue talk therapy after each memory is processed to help you integrate the insights gained from the experience.

  • EMDR desensitizes you to past trauma. This doesn’t mean you forget the memory. Instead, it means you are no longer activated by it.

    Here’s one way to think about it:

    If a traumatic experience is a sentence in a chapter in the book of your life that you keep rereading over and over, life after EMDR feels like you are in a new chapter altogether. You know the traumatic event happened, you can see how it has shifted your life, but you’re no longer stuck reliving it.

    In short: EMDR gifts you freedom from trauma-related symptoms.

  • Yes. I have advanced EMDR training, including specialized training on working with complex PTSD and dissociative identity disorders.

At the end of the day, I want you to know:

No trauma is too big to be healed. You can be freed from the pain of the past.

Is EMDR right for you?

EMDR is a good fit for you if you…

  • Have experienced trauma. Examples include sexual assault, narcissistic abuse, attachment trauma, childhood abuse, and race-based trauma.

  • Are struggling with the impacts of trauma-related symptoms like flashbacks, constant triggers, nightmares, panic attacks, and disruptions in your daily life.

  • Notice it is hard to feel connected in your relationships.

  • Feel stuck, even though you’ve tried various healing modalities.

What we’ll work on

With EMDR, you can…

Experience lasting healing from past traumas.

Learn how to better cope with life’s difficulties.

No longer feel like you’re responding to trauma instead of the present moment.

Gain new coping skills to help you usher in this new season of life.

Your story is welcome here.

Your story is welcome here.

Questions?

FAQs

  • The number of EMDR sessions you’ll need will vary. Typically, one traumatic memory can be processed within 4 to 10 sessions.

    However, we will engage in talk therapy beforehand as part of our preparation and may continue talk therapy after the memory has been processed to help you integrate your insights.

    Furthermore, the number of traumatic memories that will be processed varies by each person.

    Once we’ve completed a few sessions and I have an overview of your history, I can give you a better estimate of how long EMDR treatment may be. Above all, I recommend releasing pressure on any particular timeline and instead committing fully to the process.

  • EMDR is great for those who have a trauma history, have tried talk therapy and felt something is missing, or just feel that there is something deeper they’d like to access. During our consultation call or in our therapy sessions, we can discuss more if EMDR therapy in Pasadena, CA is right for you.

  • Yes! There is no difference in the efficacy of EMDR therapy when done in-person or virtually. The decision will come down to personal preference — some prefer to do EMDR therapy in California from the comfort of their home while others prefer in-person EMDR therapy in Pasadena, CA.

  • Yes! A big part of EMDR is targeting the negative belief that accompanies the traumatic memory and replacing it with a positive belief. I am trained in adaptations to do this and have found this approach to be deeply impactful.