EMDR
EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapy for adults
in Calabasas and Southern California
What is EMDR?
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a technique designed to help individuals process and heal from traumatic experiences.
EMDR is a highly evidence-based, trauma-focused psychotherapy, widely recognized as a first-line treatment for PTSD by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and Department of Veterans Affairs. It is supported by extensive research showing it effectively reduces PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and depression.
It involves guiding the patient through a series of eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation while they recall distressing memories. This process can help reduce the emotional charge associated those memories, allowing for healthier coping mechanisms and emotional healing.
Why EMDR?
There are several common ways EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is used in therapy, especially relevant to trauma, grief, and complex presentations:
Processing single-incident trauma
EMDR helps clients reprocess specific distressing memories (e.g., accidents, assaults, medical trauma, sudden loss) so they become less emotionally charged and no longer trigger intense reactions.
Treating complex and developmental trauma
For clients with childhood neglect, abuse, or attachment wounds, EMDR targets early relational memories, negative core beliefs (e.g., “I’m unsafe,” “I’m not enough”), and patterns that still affect adult relationships.
Reducing anxiety and panic
EMDR can target the first time anxiety or panic was experienced, as well as recurring triggers, helping decrease physiological reactivity and anticipatory fear.
Addressing grief and complicated loss
Clients can process painful moments related to loss, unresolved goodbyes, traumatic aspects of death, or guilt and regret that block natural grieving.
Healing negative self-beliefs
EMDR works directly with entrenched beliefs such as “I’m broken,” “I’m powerless,” or “I don’t matter,” replacing them with more adaptive, compassionate beliefs.
Supporting attachment and relationship issues
EMDR can process memories connected to rejection, abandonment, betrayal, or emotional neglect that shape how clients relate to others.
Chronic pain and somatic symptoms
By targeting trauma stored in the body, EMDR may reduce pain intensity or distress associated with conditions that have a stress or trauma component.
In-Person and Virtual Therapy Options Available
My office is located in Calabasas, CA 91302. I provide in-person therapy to patients in Calabasas and the surrounding areas, including Westlake Village, CA, Oak Park, CA, Agoura Hills, CA, Thousand Oaks, CA, Woodland Hills, CA, Tarzana, CA and Encino, CA. I also offer virtual therapy sessions to individuals located anywhere within the state of California.