Get your life back.
EMDR Therapy for when life hands you something difficult
Serving Knoxville, Nashville, and online across four states
Tennessee I California I Nevada I Virginia
You are not alone through this.
You’ve experienced something upsetting, and it’s still affecting you. You are feeling stuck, not like yourself, and are more sad, upset, or angry than you used to be. Maybe you’re having memories or worries about the future pop into your head at the most unexpected times. Sometimes you feel like it’s happening all over again, and all you want is to just stop thinking about it. You drift off and have a hard time focusing at work or with your family, and you find yourself lonely and feeling detached even when other people are around.
You are so worried about the future that sometimes it’s paralyzing. You are caught up in the “what if” and it’s hard to imagine any outcome other than the worst one. You wish those thoughts and images would just go away. You want to feel better, but it’s hard to imagine how you can get there.
Heal from the past, live fully in the present
Maybe something has happened such as…
Sudden death of a friend, family member, or colleague
Accident such as car or bike crash, dog bite, or sports injury
Stressful or scary medical procedure, including traumatic births
Natural disaster or house fire
You experienced or you saw something violent
Or maybe you have a fear of something in the future such as…
Public speaking event
Fear of flying, riding in a car, or being on bridges
Test anxiety
Upcoming medical appointment
Athletic performance anxiety
Fear something will happen (such as gun violence) but it hasn’t
You can feel like yourself again.
find hope
Therapy can help you heal from the past, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being. You will gain insights, understand yourself better, and perhaps even work to integrate the events you’ve experienced into a new path forward. You will learn skills to copy with future challenges in an effective way and build resiliency. You will work towards gaining emotional intelligence, improving your relationships with others, and finding meaning in life.
In our sessions, I primarily work with the EMDR method (Eye Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing). Research supports that people often feel results with EMDR in relation to traumatic experiences much sooner than with other forms of therapy. The risk of developing PTSD can be greatly reduced by EMDR therapy even before symptoms begin.
During EMDR, people often report that they feel as though the distressing event is “far away” in their mind they feel lighter and less weighed down. This will give you greater capacity to handle life events and daily stressors.
EDMR can help you…
Heal from past events
Reduce stress
Feel “lighter”
Build confidence
Increase emotional intelligence
Sleep better
Feel more calm and relaxed
Improve relationships
Develop health boundaries
Be a problem solver
Have hope for the future
How does EMDR work?
EMDR helps to remind your brain that terrible events from the past are no longer happening and builds resiliency for the future. Our brain stores memories much like a filing cabinet. When we sleep at night, researchers belief that our day-to-day events get “filed” in our memory system during REM sleep. When we have something upsetting happen, sometimes those life events don’t get properly filed back in our brain’s filing system. They can get stuck and feel like they’re still with us. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to mimic REM sleep to help our brains do what it naturally does - file life events into our brain without an emotional upset attached to them. It’s not that we forget past events; it’s that we heal from them so we can live more fully in the present.
EMDR can also help with ongoing stress in your life or worries you may have about the future. Your brain may have tangled up what you believe about yourself and how you interact with the world because you have been through highly distressing events. In neuropsychology, there’s a saying “what wires together, fires together.” EMDR will help your brain detangle these beliefs so you can experience life in a calm, regulated way.
What can I expect?
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In our first sessions, we will focus on important life events, recent experiences that have brought you to therapy, and collaboratively set goals for our time together. You do not have to discuss details of any specific events for EMDR to be effective, as our work together with aid the brain in doing what it naturally does already.
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The next phase will focus on building specific tools to prepare for EMDR and enhance your internal resources. We will practice using these tools and resources in sessions and identify opportunities to use them between sessions. You will learn methods to activate your parasympathetic nervous system to tell your body when to relax by slowing down your heart and breathing rate. You will also build emotional intelligence in this phase by learning to identify emotions and implement skills to regulate emotional intensity.
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Once a solid foundation of trust and safety has been built, we will move into the reprocessing phase, the “R” of EMDR. This is when our work will focus on memories, body sensations, or future fears related to the distressing events you’ve experienced or are afraid you will encounter in the future. You do not need to talk in detail about the events. I will guide you to use bilateral stimulation to access the right and left brain hemispheres, and your role is simply to notice what is happening internally to your mind and body. The bilateral stimulation works something like REM sleep to help your brain “file” memories in a new way that is more organized and with less emotional intensity attached to it. Sometimes problem-solving and reworking memories happens in this phase, too.
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It may seem impossible now - the next phase occurs when your distress level related to these events is significantly lower or has even subsided altogether. We will focus on how you would like to respond to any reminders or related events in the future. You will incorporate your internal resources, strengthen your adaptive responses, and gain confidence to move forward in life.
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Throughout our time together, we will check in regarding progress towards your goals, reflect on the overall process, and make adjustments as needed. When goals are met, we will agree on a final session and list your take-aways for continued positive resourcing and coping skills, identify opportunities to work through future stressors, and celebrate your overall progress.
MY UNIQUE BACKGROUND
Advanced Trainings
EMDR Certified
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
NBCC International Mental Health Facilitator Trainer
Trauma Recovery Network Member
Attachment-Focused EMDR
EMDR Therapy Protocols for Early Intervention & Ongoing Stress
Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol
Group Traumatic Episode Protocol
Group Resource Enhancement Protocol
Global & Local Service
Supported first responders at Ground Zero after September 11th, 2001
Taught a college study abroad course in northern Nepal with a maternal health nonprofit in 2011
Partnered with Rwandan psychologists and nonprofit staff to lead a mental health education course with survivors of the genocide in Kigali in 2017
Currently volunteer with survivors and affected family members of local and regional traumatic incidents
I can hold big stories and help you move through past events so you can re-engage with life in a connected and real way. No experience is too “small” or “not big enough” to be considered distressing to you. Your well-being is worth investing in, and I can help you get there. Schedule a consultation so we can talk further about where you are now and where you want to be.
Frequently asked questions about EMDR
FAQs
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Eye Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective therapy that helps people recover from trauma and reduce the onset of PTSD symptoms. Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980’s, it involves moving your eyes or tapping opposite sides of your body to help facilitate expedited brain processing for difficult events.
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Today, EMDR has the highest recommendation across most clinical practice guidelines for PTSD management, including the World Health Organization, U.S. Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and many other reputable organizations.
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Sometimes the brain and the body do not process upsetting events the same way as other memories. When something reminds you of the experience (a place, smell, a sensation in your body), your brain and body reach as though the event is happening again. The brain goes into survival mode and isn’t able to tell the difference between the past and the present. EMDR reminds your brain the past is not happening in the present.
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Research supports that online EMDR therapy is very effective. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, EMDR therapy has become more routine for many therapists and clients. Research is still new in this area and points to improved mental health, decreased PTSD symptoms, and relief from emotional distress.
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EMDR early intervention treatment refers to specialized procedures to treat individuals and groups after a recent traumatic event. There are specific treatments for an event within the past three months, six months, or one year. Evidence shows a significantly lower risk of developing PTSD symptoms with early intervention EMDR, and they have been widely successful all over the world.
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EMDR is very effective for ongoing stress, which can refer to any aspect of your life where you are continually exposed to or interacting with something distressing or potentially traumatic. Examples may include difficult ongoing legal issues, toxic relationships, unsupportive work or home environments, ongoing medical procedures, continual exposure to or fear of violence, and other upsetting parts of your life. Treating ongoing stress can help prevent the development of chronic PTSD and increase resiliency.
This approach is also particularly relevant for first responders, helping professionals, and community volunteers who are continually exposed to trauma and can help prevent burnout and reduce compassion fatigue.
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50-55 minute session $200
90 minute EMDR session $300
2-hour EMDR Intensive $400*
3-hour EMDR Intensive $600*
6-hour EMDR Intensive $1,200*
Less than 24 hours’ notice late cancellation fee for 55 or 90 minute sessions $95
*Longer sessions require a 50% nonrefundable deposit due at the time of booking.
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