Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
If you find yourself replaying traumatic memories, feeling on-edge, avoiding reminders of your experience, or struggling with negative beliefs about yourself, EMDR may help you process what happened and move toward healing.
what is EMDR therapy?
When you experience trauma or chronic stress, especially around major life shifts like pregnancy, postpartum, or loss, your body can carry the imprint long after the moment has passed. You might feel stuck in survival mode, on-edge, or disconnected from your own body. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach designed to help the brain process and heal from distressing or traumatic experiences. EMDR is recognized as an effective therapeutic approach for trauma, anxiety, and depression, and is safe during pregnancy and postpartum.
EMDR is rooted in the Adaptive Information Processing model, which holds that the brain has an innate capacity to process events in a healthy, adaptive way. This natural processing ability gets disrupted by trauma and stress. EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation via eye movements, tapping, or sounds, to "unlock" traumatic memories, and process them in a way that feels adaptive. While EMDR does not erase traumatic memories, it helps you think about them differently, and lessens how disturbing they feel in the present moment. For example, your narrative about the event may shift from, "I'm powerless" to something like, "I'm safe now," or "I can handle this."
EMDR for perinatal trauma
It is estimated that one in three birthing people describe their birth as traumatic. Birth trauma can occur whenever a person experiences birth as frightening, overwhelming, helpless, violating, or emotionally devastating. Even when everyone is healthy, birth trauma can still occur.
Common examples of birth trauma include C-section, vacuum or forceps delivery, NICU stays, medical complications, severe pain, feeling ignored or dismissed by medical providers, premature birth, and threat to the baby or mother's life. EMDR can also be effective for other reproductive traumas, including pregnancy and infant loss, infertility, and previous traumas that have resurfaced during the perinatal period.
I completed EMDR training through the Touchstone Institute, which is an EMDRIA-certified training program that focuses on EMDR during the perinatal period. I receive ongoing consultation for EMDR to ensure that I provide high-quality, compassionate EMDR treatment. If you're curious about whether EMDR is right for you, please reach out to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation.
contact
To learn more about EMDR therapy, please complete this form. I will do my best to respond within two business days.