If you’ve been carrying the weight of a painful experience, whether it happened recently or years ago, and traditional talk therapy hasn’t quite gotten you where you want to be, EMDR therapy for trauma might be worth considering.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the most thoroughly researched treatments for trauma and PTSD. It’s endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. But you don’t need a formal PTSD diagnosis to benefit from it. EMDR can help with anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, and a range of other issues where past experiences are still affecting your present.
How EMDR Works
The basic idea behind EMDR is that traumatic or distressing experiences can get “stuck” in your brain and body in a way that keeps them feeling raw and present, even long after the event is over. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements — to help your brain reprocess those memories so they lose their emotional charge.
It’s not hypnosis. You’re fully conscious and in control the whole time. And you don’t need to talk through every detail of your difficult life experiences, which is one of the reasons people who’ve found talk therapy difficult sometimes respond well to EMDR.
Most people describe the experience as intense but manageable, and many notice meaningful shifts within just a few sessions.
What We Treat with EMDR
Our EMDR-trained therapists work with clients on trauma and PTSD, childhood experiences that are still affecting adult relationships and patterns, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, disturbing memories that intrude on daily life, and feelings of being “stuck” emotionally or spiritually. If you’re not sure whether EMDR is the right approach for your situation, that’s okay - your therapist can help you figure that out.
EMDR at Stonegate
Over half of our therapists are trained in EMDR and use it regularly in their clinical work. We also offer Brainspotting, a related approach that some clients find helpful either alongside or instead of EMDR. Your therapist will recommend the approach that makes the most sense for what you would like help with. And if you're a Christian and want to know where faith can show up in trauma work, learn more about how we approach faith and counseling.
Stonegate Counseling is located in Watkinsville, GA—about 7 miles from UGA—serving clients from Athens, Oconee County, and beyond.
Taylor, Alison, Donna, and Thorn are all trained in EMDR, and Donna is trained in Brainspotting.
Contact us to schedule a session or to ask whether EMDR might be a good fit for you.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of the most thoroughly researched treatments for trauma and PTSD. It’s endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. But you don’t need a formal PTSD diagnosis to benefit from it. EMDR can help with anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, and a range of other issues where past experiences are still affecting your present.
How EMDR Works
The basic idea behind EMDR is that traumatic or distressing experiences can get “stuck” in your brain and body in a way that keeps them feeling raw and present, even long after the event is over. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements — to help your brain reprocess those memories so they lose their emotional charge.
It’s not hypnosis. You’re fully conscious and in control the whole time. And you don’t need to talk through every detail of your difficult life experiences, which is one of the reasons people who’ve found talk therapy difficult sometimes respond well to EMDR.
Most people describe the experience as intense but manageable, and many notice meaningful shifts within just a few sessions.
What We Treat with EMDR
Our EMDR-trained therapists work with clients on trauma and PTSD, childhood experiences that are still affecting adult relationships and patterns, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, disturbing memories that intrude on daily life, and feelings of being “stuck” emotionally or spiritually. If you’re not sure whether EMDR is the right approach for your situation, that’s okay - your therapist can help you figure that out.
EMDR at Stonegate
Over half of our therapists are trained in EMDR and use it regularly in their clinical work. We also offer Brainspotting, a related approach that some clients find helpful either alongside or instead of EMDR. Your therapist will recommend the approach that makes the most sense for what you would like help with. And if you're a Christian and want to know where faith can show up in trauma work, learn more about how we approach faith and counseling.
Stonegate Counseling is located in Watkinsville, GA—about 7 miles from UGA—serving clients from Athens, Oconee County, and beyond.
Taylor, Alison, Donna, and Thorn are all trained in EMDR, and Donna is trained in Brainspotting.
Contact us to schedule a session or to ask whether EMDR might be a good fit for you.