What is EMDR, and how does it work?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro, and it has since become one of the most researched treatments for trauma, recommended for PTSD by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes stores the experience raw, with the original images, body sensations, and beliefs still attached, instead of filing it away as an ordinary memory. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, usually guided eye movements or gentle tapping, while you hold a difficult memory in mind. That process stimulates and accelerates the brain's natural healing, reducing the emotional charge of the memory and integrating it into your overall life experience.
You do not have to narrate every detail of what happened for EMDR to work. For many of my clients, that is a relief.
What can EMDR help with?
I use EMDR with adults working through:
- Post-traumatic stress after a single event, such as an assault, a car accident, or a medical emergency
- Childhood experiences that still shape how you see yourself
- The aftermath of an abusive relationship, including memories that surface long after it ends
- Triggers that feel out of proportion to the moment you are actually in
- Anxiety, shame, or grief that stays knotted to specific memories
If you are not sure whether what you went through “counts” as trauma, that question itself is worth a conversation. What matters is whether the experience is still affecting your daily life.
What does EMDR look like in practice?
We do not start with the hardest memory in the first session. EMDR follows a phased structure: first your history and what you want from the work, then building grounding and coping resources, and only then reprocessing. During reprocessing you hold a target memory in mind while following a back-and-forth cue in short sets, noticing what shifts between them. My job is to keep the process steady and to slow it down when it needs slowing.
For most clients, EMDR happens inside ongoing individual therapy, woven into the rest of our work rather than replacing it. Some memories resolve in a few sessions; older, layered experiences take longer, and I will be honest with you about what to expect.
What is an EMDR intensive?
An intensive is a full day of EMDR, 9:00am to 5:00pm with regular breaks, focused on a specific traumatic memory or a tightly connected set of them. Intensives take place in person at my Denver office, on Fridays and Saturdays only. They are designed for people who are not my ongoing clients. Maybe you already have a therapist you trust who does not offer EMDR, or you want focused trauma work without committing to weekly sessions. Your therapist stays your therapist; I handle the EMDR piece and coordinate as needed. Intensives are $1,200, and payment plans are available.
How much does EMDR cost? Do you take insurance?
Individual sessions are $180. I am private pay and do not bill insurance directly. If you attend weekly therapy, I can provide a superbill to submit for out-of-network mental health benefits, which depending on your plan can mean 60 to 100% reimbursement once your deductible is met. EMDR intensives are $1,200, with payment plans available; because of the session length, insurance plans do not reimburse them. Sliding scale spots are sometimes available; please ask.
Do you offer EMDR in person and online?
Both. My office is at 1330 N Logan St in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood, a short walk from Uptown and North Capitol Hill. I also work with clients anywhere in Colorado over secure video, and the weekly EMDR protocol adapts well to that format; many clients complete the entire process online. Intensives are the exception: they are in person only.