EMDR was developed and tested for the treatment of trauma and PTSD.


Trauma is defined as a person’s experience of a situation, not the situation itself. No two people will have the exact same reaction to a given situation, and no reaction is “wrong” or shameful.

Two types of trauma


There are 2 types of traumas; small t traumas and large T traumas.  Small t traumas may not be thought of as trauma because they are not the dramatic ones such as natural disasters, sexual abuse, or combat trauma. Small t traumas can occur from being bullied, labeled as in “shy’ or “lazy” etc., and from chronic neglect or rejection. When these things happen regularly in childhood they often cause anxiety and depression.

They are all treated by EMDR because they have the same effect on a person. Trauma causes fragments of memories to get encapsulated in the neurons of the brain, instead of being processed through like ordinary experiences. This encapsulated material will cause a person to be anxious and avoid certain situations that they might not even know remind them of troubling memories. EMDR relieves the person of these effects. You can read more about EMDR at EMDR.COM

EMDR is one of the evidence based therapies recommended for the treatment of PTSD by these organizations:

US Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense

APA ( American Psychological Association)

ISSD (International Society for Traumatic Stress
In my private practice I work with many small t traumas that cause people to have limiting beliefs about themselves. As children we are so sensitive to approval and acceptance that when we don’t get what we need in the right amounts, we often feel unworthy and flawed. These beliefs of not being good enough get imprinted in the subconscious and are accepted as true. They then become self fulfilling prophesies.
EMDR treatment involves back-and-forth eye movements, alternating sounds, and/or vibrations that stimulate the brain to resolve disturbing emotions. It was developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro, to help patients deal with disasters and post traumatic stress reactions. It was thoroughly researched with Viet Nam veterans, and shown to be 80% more effective in processing trauma than other therapies.

EMDR video https://www.pinterest.com/pin/52987733088912850/

The Essence of Therapy is to Combine Methods that Best Serve the Client.


I use a variety of therapeutic methods in my client-centered approach. I find the mind-body therapies such as EMDR, EFT, and Somatic Therapies to be the most effective in getting the client to be able to change how they feel about themselves and develop self confidence. To empower my clients to be to release painful emotions at will in the very moment that they come up, I teach them EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) as well.