EMDR Therapy in Santa Monica

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a researched-based tool to help people heal from trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder [Trauma] (PTSD) symptoms.  

It’s also highly effective for addressing high stress, anxiety, depression, or grief. It helps calm distressing emotions and brings your mind and body back into harmony.  

EMDR is used by therapists worldwide and is considered one of the most effective treatments for healing problems that have not been able to heal otherwise.  

EMDR therapy is approved for use by Multiple international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the American Psychiatric Association, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other international agencies. 

AF-EMDR or Attachment focused EMDR is geared for people who have had deeply traumatic or abusive childhoods where they lacked strong, nurturing bonds with their caregivers.   

Or, they may have had ruptures in their bond with caregivers or experienced a traumatic childhood event that interfered with their development (e.g., death of a parent, parental divorce, severe illness or accident, etc.).  

AF-EMDR uses traditional EMDR while focusing on healing these deep relational wounds. 

EMDR is a proven tool for treating:  

• PTSD (e.g., caused by severe emotional trauma, abuse, etc.) 
• Chronic pain or health issues (e.g., chronic fatigue syndrome, stroke, heart disease) 
• Depression 
• Anxiety  
• Complicated grief and loss (e.g., divorce, death) 
• Trauma from ESP work (e.g., police officer, firefighter, military officer, or paramedic) 
• Other symptoms caused by emotional or physical distress and trauma (e.g., survivor of abuse or violence, natural disasters, fire, accidents, medical trauma, birth trauma) 
• Fears or phobias 

When you experience distressing or traumatic events, your brain and body often don’t process them completely. 

The earlier and the more frequent stressful events occur in your life, the more pain and trauma they bring into adulthood. When the memories from the past remain unprocessed in the brain, it can lead to reliving the past event (including the exact emotions you felt) whenever similar situations occur. 

Some disturbing events may not exist in your conscious memory, but the brain and body do not forget them.  It could be a sound, an odor, or something someone says that triggers the memory of the past event. It can be anything that reminds your brain and body of the original incident(s). 

Your reactions to similar events are automatic – your brain doesn’t know the difference between the original event and similar one that triggers symptoms such as unpleasant memories, flashbacks or nightmares. You could experience bodily reactions such as your heart racing, uncontrollable shaking, or extreme emotions like fear, anger or grief.  EMDR therapy helps your brain process the emotions in your mind and body, helping to provide relief from unpleasant symptoms. 

I’m a warm and compassionate therapist who will prioritize my relationship with you. You’ll choose the topics we work on, and we’ll work at a comfortable pace for you. [How I Work] 

I’m trained in Attachment-Focused EMDR and several other treatment methods [About] that help people resolve distressing symptoms. I can help you get relief from feelings of stress, unworthiness, and sadness through Attachment-focused EMDR therapy. 

You can have a more fulfilling life with more self-worth and more satisfying relationships. You deserve to feel safe and secure in the world. With almost 30 years of research behind EMDR, it is the go-to therapy approach of many counselors when helping trauma clients.