Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy for healing trauma—including birth trauma, relational wounds, and other distressing life experiences. Whether you're navigating postpartum overwhelm, attachment injuries, or long-standing patterns that feel hard to break, EMDR offers a path toward relief and reconnection.

Our experiences shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world. Many people come to therapy feeling stuck—aware of their patterns, even understanding their roots, but still unable to shift them. EMDR helps change the beliefs that keep you stuck by identifying where they began, processing the emotional charge, and reinforcing more adaptive, compassionate truths.

Who is EMDR for?

EMDR is for anyone navigating the emotional impact of trauma—whether recent or long-held. It’s especially helpful for:

• Birth trauma and postpartum distress

• Relational and attachment trauma

• Abuse, neglect, or childhood wounds

• PTSD and complex PTSD

• Anxiety, depression, and phobias

If you’ve ever felt stuck in patterns you understand but can’t seem to change, EMDR may help you shift those deeply rooted beliefs and responses.

What Does an EMDR Session Look Like?

EMDR therapy is known for its use of eye movements or tapping, but its more than that; it’s a structured, 8-phase process designed to support emotional safety, healing, and long-term change. Whether you're working through birth trauma, relational wounds, or early attachment injuries, each phase is tailored to your unique needs.

Here’s what the EMDR process typically includes:

  1. History Taking
    We begin by exploring your story—gathering information about past experiences, current symptoms, and identifying potential targets for EMDR processing. This phase also includes assessing whether EMDR is a good therapeutic approach for you, ensuring that there are no medical issues or other factors indicating that EMDR might not be advisable for you.

  2. Preparation
    This phase focuses on building trust, emotional safety, and coping strategies. You’ll learn tools to stay grounded and regulate your nervous system before we begin any trauma work. The purpose here is to ensure that you can tolerate distress or difficult emotions that may come up while processing.

  3. Assessment
    Together, we explore recent and past experiences to help us identify the specific memory or experience to process. Additionally, we work on identifying the negative belief tied to that memory and the positive or neutral belief you’d like to hold instead.

  4. Desensitization
    Using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones), we begin processing the memory. This consists of activating the memory and holding it in mind while engaging in eye movements, tapping, or listening to auditory tones. This helps reduce emotional intensity and changes how the memory is stored in your brain along with the beliefs that are tied to that memory.

  5. Installation
    Once the distress has decreased, we strengthen the positive or neutral belief you’ve chosen—helping it feel more true and integrated. We do this by using bilateral stimulation to reinforce the positive belief.

  6. Body Scan
    We check in with your body and encourage you to notice any lingering tension or discomfort. This helps ensure the memory has been fully processed, both emotionally and somatically. Any lingering physical sensations are a potential indication that we need to reassess or continue processing.

  7. Closure
    At the end of each session, we make sure you feel grounded and safe. Coping strategies are reviewed and visualization techniques may be used to help contain the memories so that you can choose to access them when you are in the safety of your session. After each session you’ll leave with tools to support yourself between sessions.

  8. Reevaluation
    In future sessions, we continue to assess to ensure that the distress is resolved and the positive belief remains strong. We also identify new targets if needed.

How can EMDR help you?

Many clients describe feeling stuck in patterns they understand but can’t seem to shift. They know their negative thoughts aren’t true or logical—yet those thoughts still shape how they feel and respond. That’s because trauma isn’t just about what happened—it’s about how your brain learned to protect you in the aftermath.

EMDR therapy helps gently reprocess those experiences, so your nervous system no longer reacts as if the past is still happening. It works to replace deeply ingrained negative beliefs with more adaptive, compassionate truths—especially when insight alone or traditional talk therapy hasn’t been enough.

Whether you’re a new parent healing from birth trauma, someone navigating attachment wounds, or simply ready to feel more grounded and free, EMDR offers a path forward.

At Calma Counseling, we offer virtual and in-person EMDR therapy in Essex County, NJ, in a space designed for comfort and emotional safety. Whether you're a new parent healing from birth trauma, or someone navigating relational or attachment wounds, EMDR can help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

Ready to Start Healing?