EMDR Therapy in Cincinnati, Batesville & Online

During EMDR, you focus on a memory while using gentle side-to-side movements, sounds, or taps. This helps your brain process the memory in a new way. As you do, you may notice that the memory feels less upsetting and that your beliefs about yourself begin to change.

Once you and I have done some prep work together, a session starts by picking the memory we’ll work on that day. I’ll ask a few questions first: what negative thought comes up with that memory, what feelings show up, how upsetting it feels, and what you notice in your body. Then we start the back-and-forth movement part, using a moving light, sounds in your ears, or small tappers in your hands. I’ll stay pretty quiet during this part so your brain can do its work. We keep going until the memory feels less upsetting, which can take up most of the session. After that, we use the same back-and-forth movement to help a more positive thought sink in. Last, we check your body again and keep going until you don’t feel that old tension anymore. Sometimes this all happens in one session. Sometimes it takes a few.

It depends. If we’re working through one specific event, ten sessions or fewer is usually enough. If we’re working through something from childhood, or something less specific, it can take twenty to thirty sessions. Most single memories take somewhere between one and five sessions to fully process. EMDR tends to work well because memories are often connected, so working through one can help with others too.

Yes, but much less than in regular talk therapy. EMDR works because your brain heals itself. My job is to stay out of the way as much as I can, so I ask a few questions but mostly let you stay focused inward while your brain does the work.

Yes. I’ve seen it help people feel less overwhelmed by anxiety and depression after assault, and I’ve watched clients heal from wounds that were decades old. It tends to work faster than traditional talk therapy because it targets how a memory is stored, not just how you talk about it. Most of my clients notice real changes in how they see themselves, along with fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Over the past couple of years, more and more therapists have been using EMDR online. Several research studies have been conducted at this time and have shown EMDR to be as effective online as it is in person. To see some of this research, please visit the website linked below.

It is perfectly acceptable if you don’t fully remember what happened to you. It is possible to use EMDR to address even the knowledge of what happened to you as well as the leftover ways it impacted how you view yourself or feel in your body. 

Using alcohol or drugs within 24 hours before your session can make EMDR less effective. Your brain needs to be clear to do this kind of deep processing.

It depends on the person. Some people feel less anxious right after processing just one memory. Others notice a change over a few weeks or months. It really depends on how big the memory is and how long it has been affecting you.

Over time, the memory we worked on should feel different when you think about it, less heavy, less charged. After a few memories are processed, you’ll often notice less anxiety or a better mood overall. That happens because you’re believing those old negative thoughts less, and your body isn’t reacting the same way anymore.

EMDR isn’t a good fit if you’re not in a safe place right now, physically or emotionally. Before we start, I make sure you have solid coping tools you can use if things feel hard. If someone is actively suicidal or struggles a lot with staying present and regulated, EMDR usually isn’t the right starting point.