ONLINE EMDR THERAPY IN VIRGINIA
HEAL THE MEMORIES THAT KEEP holding you back
An evidence-based approach to healing trauma at the root, so you can stop managing symptoms and start moving forward.
what is EMDR THERAPY?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based therapy designed to help your brain process traumatic memories that got stuck. When something overwhelming happens, the memory can become frozen in your nervous system, still carrying the same emotions, body sensations, and beliefs from the moment it occurred. That is why something from years ago can still feel like it is happening right now.
Using bilateral stimulation such as guided eye movements or tapping, EMDR helps your brain finish what it could not back then, so painful memories lose their emotional charge and stop running your life. Unlike traditional talk therapy, you do not have to retell your story over and over to heal. EMDR is recognized as an effective trauma treatment by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and has been researched for over 30 years worldwide.
WHAT CAN EMDR help with?
EMDR was originally developed to treat PTSD, but decades of research have shown it to be effective for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, childhood trauma, complex PTSD, attachment wounds, and relationship challenges. At Coherent Mind Trauma Counseling, I use EMDR specifically to address the ways unresolved trauma shows up in how you feel about yourself and how you relate to others.
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Growing up in an unstable, abusive, or emotionally neglectful environment leaves marks that don't just go away with time. EMDR helps process the memories and experiences at the root of complex trauma, so you can start to feel safe in your own skin again.
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If your relationships keep hitting the same walls, or you find yourself stuck in patterns of anxiety, withdrawal, or disconnection, the source often traces back to early relational experiences. EMDR helps heal those wounds so you can show up differently in the relationships that matter most.
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Many men carry the impact of trauma without ever having had a space to address it. EMDR offers a direct, action-oriented path to healing that doesn't require you to sit and talk about your feelings for months before anything changes.
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When your identity has been a source of rejection, shame, or harm, the trauma runs deep and it's layered. EMDR helps process the wounds underneath the anxiety, the hypervigilance, and the disconnection, so you can live more freely and authentically.
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When anxiety has been running in the background for as long as you can remember, it's often more than a stress response. It's your nervous system still reacting to experiences that taught it the world isn't safe. EMDR gets to the root of what's driving the anxiety so it can resolve rather than just be managed.
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Depression rooted in trauma or attachment wounds doesn't always respond to medication or talk therapy alone. EMDR works with how your brain and body are holding onto the experiences fueling the heaviness, the numbness, and the disconnection, so the weight can lift from the inside.
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When unresolved trauma or attachment wounds are driving the cycle between you and your partner, communication skills alone won't hold. EMDR can be integrated into couples work to heal the individual wounds fueling the relational dynamic, so you can actually reach each other again.
“The goal of EMDR treatment is to rapidly metabolize the dysfunctional residue from the past and transform it into something useful.”
— Francine Shapiro, Developer of EMDR
what to expect DURING AN EMDR SESSION
EMDR can feel different from any therapy you have experienced before. We begin by building a real understanding of your history and how your past experiences connect to what you are struggling with now. Before any deeper processing begins, you will learn grounding and stabilization skills to help you feel safe and resourced, both in session and in your daily life. This foundation is essential to effective trauma resolution. When you feel secure in the process and in our relationship, the real healing work becomes possible.
When you are ready, we move into processing. Clients often notice real shifts happening in the moment. A tightness in the chest loosens. A belief like "I am not good enough" starts to lose its grip. A memory that once flooded you with emotion begins to feel further away, like something that happened rather than something still happening to you. Throughout every step, I help you understand what is happening in your brain and body, because when healing makes sense, it tends to go deeper.
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Phase 1: History and Treatment Planning We explore your history and identify the memories and experiences that are connected to your current struggles. Together, we map out a plan for where to focus.
Phase 2: Preparation I teach you grounding and stabilization tools so you feel safe and resourced before we begin processing. This is also where I explain how EMDR works so there are no surprises.
Phase 3: Assessment We identify a specific memory to target, along with the negative belief, emotions, and body sensations connected to it.
Phase 4: Desensitization Using bilateral stimulation (guided eye movements or tapping), we process the memory. This is where the emotional charge begins to decrease.
Phase 5: Installation As the distress fades, we strengthen a positive belief to replace the old one. This shift often happens naturally as the memory is reprocessed.
Phase 6: Body Scan We check in with your body to see if any tension or discomfort remains connected to the memory. If so, we continue processing until it resolves.
Phase 7: Closure Every session ends with grounding to make sure you leave feeling stable and settled, whether or not processing is complete.
Phase 8: Reevaluation At the start of the next session, we check how the previous work is holding and identify what to focus on next.
why EXTENDED EMDR SESSIONS?
If you have been in therapy before, you may know the frustration of finally getting somewhere important, only to hear "our time is up." Most therapy sessions are 45 to 50 minutes. At Coherent Mind Trauma Counseling, sessions are 90 minutes and can extend up to 2 hours. That time matters. It gives us room to move through a complete processing cycle, from activation through resolution, and to close each session with proper grounding so you leave feeling settled rather than still activated.
Between sessions, your brain keeps working. Clients often notice new insights, shifts in perspective, and less reactivity to things that used to set them off. Extended sessions give each visit the space it needs so that the healing happening between appointments has a strong foundation to build on.
IS EMDR right for you?
You don't need to have a specific diagnosis or a perfectly clear picture of what happened to you. If you're dealing with anxiety that won't let up, relationships that keep falling into the same patterns, a sense of being stuck or disconnected, or a feeling that something from your past is still affecting your present, EMDR may be a good fit. Here are some of the questions people commonly ask before getting started.
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No. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn't require you to retell your story in detail or relive what happened. You'll identify the memory we're working with, but the processing itself is guided by your brain, not by narration. Many clients find this to be one of the most relieving parts of the experience.
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That's completely okay. Trauma is stored in the brain and body, not just in conscious memory. You don't need a complete narrative for EMDR to work. We can work with fragments, body sensations, emotions, or even patterns you've noticed in your life that seem connected to something deeper.
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Talk therapy typically focuses on insight and understanding through conversation. EMDR works differently. It uses bilateral stimulation to help your brain reprocess memories that are still stored in a raw, unresolved state. Rather than analyzing your story, we work with how it lives in your nervous system, which is why clients often experience shifts that feel different from anything they've experienced in traditional therapy.
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Yes. Virtual EMDR is well-supported by research and can be just as effective as in-person sessions. I use bilateral stimulation methods that translate seamlessly to an online format. All you need is a private space, a stable internet connection, and a device with a screen.
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It depends on your unique history and what we're working with. Single-event trauma may resolve relatively quickly. More complex or developmental trauma, especially when attachment and relational patterns are involved, typically requires more time for thorough preparation and processing. We'll talk about pacing in your consultation, and your treatment plan will always be tailored to what you need.
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Many of my clients come to me after years of talk therapy that helped them understand their story but didn't change how they feel. EMDR works differently because it accesses the part of the brain where trauma is actually stored, beneath the level of conscious thought. If you've done the insight work but still feel stuck, EMDR may be the missing piece.
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You're always in control. We go at your pace, and I check in with you throughout the process. You can pause or stop at any time. We also spend time early in our work together building grounding and stabilization skills so that you have tools to manage whatever comes up, both in session and between sessions.
