Frequently Asked Questions

It is so understandable that discussing trauma is hard! This is expected. Luckily, there are many techniques available to assist individuals who avoid trauma work for this reason! The beauty of EMDR is that it does not require disclosing every detail. It does require not avoiding the material that creates problems for you. In many cases, a trauma can be resolved without telling me a piece of information that you prefer to keep private. For others, being able to verbalize what happened is part of the work. Please also know our work occurs within a safe, non-judgmental relationship. I have heard it all when it comes to trauma and I am here to support you in the process. At the end of the day, you have to decide if you are ready to do trauma work and if it is a good time in your life to do so. “The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma.” – Judith Herman

Reprocessing the memory of a traumatic experience to make it become less charged & more integrated into your life story is a significant benefit of EMDR. However, it is useful in many other ways. Sometimes, ongoing experiences can be related back to a hallmark memory or image that captures the essence of the problem. Sometimes people do not have any memory, such as is the case with trauma that occurs before the age of 4 or 5. EMDR can target the physical sensations in the body and the resulting felt sense about it. Or perhaps it was a period of time and/or series of upsetting events that left you with negative beliefs that have resulted in feeling depressed or anxious. For individuals who have had an upsetting childhood due to issues with caregivers, parts work paired with EMDR allows the healing to occur on many different levels. See the EMDR intensives page for more info.

That’s ok! The bilateral stimulation used in EMDR can be done with hand buzzers, tapping and audio noises as well as eye movements.

You can learn more about EMDR from emdria.org.

Short answer: Nope! This is a personal decision. Many clients are referred for an EMDR intensive because the trauma is the stuck point in their work with another therapist. We will work solely on resolving the traumatic material. If you would like to keep the support with your current therapist, you are welcome to because EMDR doesn’t interfere with most other therapy. It can often enhance it. I am also happy to collaborate with your current provider as needed. Some clients continue seeing their therapists at the same frequency during their intensive. Some clients choose to reduce the frequency of visits with their current therapist while doing an intensive to maintain contact. It is not realistic emotionally, time wise and financially for some clients to do both at once. And, I have also had clients who suspend work with their therapist during their EMDR intensive work and resume when we are done if they still need ongoing support or have additional treatment goals. Many clients also decide they no longer need ongoing, regular therapy after completing intensive treatment as well. It all depends on your needs and preferences.

I am not currently in network with any insurance companies. Despite research supporting EMDR and the intensive format, insurance has many limitations that interferes with what is clinically recommended. Insurance will often only pay for a single session in a day. I am more than happy to provide you with a statement to submit to your insurance company. I strongly advise you to inquire with your insurance company to see if you have out of network mental health benefits, your deductible and what services they cover before starting. Knowing this information will allow you to make an informed decision. It is also worth considering how much your benefits actually cover. Many people discover that intensives are still more cost effective based on the amount their insurance will reimburse or what your copay would be with an in network provider doing weekly sessions for a longer duration.

Good question! This is exactly what our initial phone call is for! During this 15-20 minute call, I will explain the process, get some brief information on what you are seeking therapy for and answer your questions and concerns. Feel free to write your questions down to make sure you get them all answered before we speak. Please note the purpose of the initial call is for us to determine if this is the appropriate fit for you prior to setting up a thorough intake assessment, which is what an initial appointment is ultimately for. I intentionally will only obtain brief information about your treatment goals out of respect for you. If we do decide to move forward, you deserve the proper time and place to share your story with the goal of beginning our work together. Opening up about painful topics isn’t effective if you decide this is not the best fit. That is more effective to do with the provider that you do this work with.

If you would like to further explore how your experiences have impacted you & if EMDR may be a good fit for you, please take my self-assessment quiz. Tap into your own wisdom to decide whether or not this will be a helpful tool for you. If you think it may be too triggering, take care of yourself & wait to discuss these issues in therapy. For those who decide to take the quiz, you are welcome to bring it to your first appointment although it is not necessary. We will be exploring all of these issues at the in person assessment.