Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Some memories don't settle on their own.
EMDR is a structured, highly researched treatment for posttraumatic stress. Offered in person on Vashon Island and by telehealth across Washington.
What EMDR is
Most bad experiences fade. You remember what happened, but it stops taking over your body every time something brushes up against it. Some traumatic memories don't fade. They stay close and loud, and reminders of that traumatic event can make you feel like you're re-experiencing that event, like it's happening again.
EMDR helps you process traumatic memories so that you can put them in ‘long-term storage,’ where they no longer hold power over you.
Hard experiences often leave negative beliefs behind — I'm not safe, it was my fault, I am too much — and those tend to outlast the memory itself. EMDR helps enable your brain's natural capacity to heal and free you from these traumatic self beliefs.
EMDR is recommended for posttraumatic stress by the World Health Organization, the VA, and the American Psychological Association.
How the treatment is structured
History and planning
We map what happened, what it costs you now, and which memories are driving the present-day symptoms.
Preparation
Before processing any traumatic memories, you will build the skills to stay grounded and manage distress during the treatment.
Reprocessing
You use bilateral stimulation to transform negative self beliefs into positive ones, and to heal traumatic memories.
Integration
Work through current and future triggers to tolerate distress and live the life you want to live.
Who EMDR is for
EMDR was built for posttraumatic stress and the evidence is strongest there, but the reach is wider than that. It is worth asking about if any of this sounds like you:
- Intrusion. Images, flashbacks, or nightmares that show up uninvited. A memory that feels like now instead of then.
- Avoidance. Places, people, and conversations you steer around — and a life that has quietly gotten smaller because of it.
- Body-level reactions. Startling easily, checking exits, sleeping badly, bracing for something you can't name.
- Panic or a specific fear. Driving, flying, dentists, needles, bridges — a reaction that is wildly out of scale with the actual risk and has not budged for being explained.
- A belief about yourself you can't argue with. You know on paper that it wasn't your fault, or that you are not fundamentally defective. It hasn't made a dent.
One more: therapy that stalled. If you have been at this a while, can lay out your history clearly, understand exactly where it came from — and none of that has changed how it lands in your body — that is a common reason people try EMDR. Insight and relief turn out to be different things, and talking is not always what gets you the second one.
Trauma is also not only the obvious kind. A car accident, a medical scare, a birth that went sideways, a death, a childhood of never quite being able to relax — any of it can leave the same residue.
Teens and young adults
EMDR adapts well to adolescents, and plenty of teenagers find it easier than talking. A fifteen-year-old who will not describe what happened to an adult may well be willing to hold it in mind for thirty seconds at a stretch.
With teens the preparation phase usually runs longer, and parents get looped in on purpose: what the work involves, what it might look like at home for a week or two, and how to back it without asking for a debrief after every session.
How we offer it
EMDR happens in standard weekly 60-minute sessions, inside ongoing individual therapy rather than as a bolt-on service. The early sessions look like ordinary therapy — history, skills, getting steady — and reprocessing starts when you are ready for it, not on a schedule.
How long it takes depends on what we are working on. A single event in an otherwise sturdy life can resolve in a handful of reprocessing sessions. Something that started early and ran for years takes a good deal longer, and more of that time goes into preparation.
When emotional dysregulation is the louder problem, we usually build DBT skills first and bring EMDR in once there is a floor under you. Getting that order right is most of the job. More about DBT here.
We see clients in person on Vashon Island and by telehealth across Washington state. See the FAQ for fees, insurance, and logistics.
Our training
Patrick Phelan, LMHC is currently learning EMDR in consultation with an EMDRIA trainer.
Common questions
Do I have to talk about what happened?
No. You need to be able to bring the memory to mind. You do not have to describe it out loud in detail, and some people say very little during reprocessing beyond what they are noticing.
What does an EMDR session actually feel like?
You hold a memory in mind through short sets of bilateral stimulation, and between sets you say in a sentence or two what came up. Emotion and physical sensation are common. Most people describe it as tiring rather than overwhelming, and we leave time at the end of every session to settle before you go.
How many sessions does it take?
It depends what we are working on. A single event in an otherwise sturdy life often resolves in a handful of reprocessing sessions once preparation is done. Trauma that started early and ran for years takes considerably longer, with more of that time spent in preparation.
Does EMDR work over telehealth?
Yes, with adaptations — an on-screen cue or self-administered tapping in place of following a hand. We decide together whether it is the right format for you, and some people prefer to do the early work in person. Telehealth is available anywhere in Washington state.
Is EMDR covered by insurance?
There is no separate billing code for EMDR — it is billed as standard individual psychotherapy, so it is covered the same way any other session under your plan is. We are in network with Regence, Premera, LifeWise, and most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. Self-pay is $180 per 60-minute session.
Can teenagers do EMDR?
Yes. We see clients aged 12 and up, and EMDR adapts well to adolescents — some teens find it easier than talking. The preparation phase usually runs longer with teens, and parents are brought into the planning.
Is Patrick certified in EMDR?
Not yet. He has completed the first weekend of EMDRIA-approved basic training, with the second weekend and required consultation hours still ahead, and is seeing EMDR clients under consultation. EMDRIA certification is a further credential beyond basic training, requiring additional consultation hours and completed client work.
Is EMDR right for you?
Whether EMDR is the right place to start is a fine question to show up with.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation — half an hour to talk about what has been hard and what approach actually fits. You do not have to explain what happened in order to have that conversation.