EMDR in Orange County
Evidence-based reprocessing for memories the brain didn't get to file the first time — the kind that keep firing the body even when the event is long past.
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy for processing distressing memories, developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. It uses bilateral stimulation — eye movements, alternating taps, or alternating tones — while a memory is briefly held in mind, helping the brain shift stuck material into something that no longer fires the same way.
The premise sounds odd until you see it work: some memories get filed correctly by the brain, and you can recall them without your body reacting to them. Other memories get stuck. The image, the body feeling, the belief about yourself, all stay live, ready to fire as if the event were happening now. EMDR is a structured way to help those memories finish processing.
It's recognized as an effective treatment for PTSD by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among others. The strongest evidence is for trauma, but the same processing model is used for related patterns where a specific event or set of events sits underneath the symptom.
The protocol is the structure.
EMDR follows a defined 8-phase protocol. The reprocessing most people picture — the eye movements — happens in phase 4. The first three phases set it up so phase 4 is safe and useful. The last four lock the work in and check that nothing was left half-done.
- 1PhaseHistory & Treatment Planning
Mapping the territory — what you bring, what's getting in the way, what we'd target. This isn't reprocessing yet; it's the work that makes reprocessing safe.
- 2PhasePreparation
Building the resources you'll use during processing. Grounding skills, a calm-place exercise, a stop signal. You don't start phase 4 until phase 2 is solid.
- 3PhaseAssessment
Picking one specific memory and identifying the image, the negative belief, the body sensation, and a positive belief to move toward. The target is set.
- 4PhaseDesensitization
The reprocessing itself. You bring up the memory briefly, run a set of bilateral stimulation, notice what comes, and let the next thing surface. Repeat until the charge on the memory drops.
- 5PhaseInstallation
Strengthening the new, adaptive belief you identified in assessment — letting it become as available as the old one used to be.
- 6PhaseBody Scan
Checking the body for residual tension when you hold the memory and the new belief together. If anything's still firing, we work it.
- 7PhaseClosure
Containment before the session ends. You don't leave mid-processing without a way back to baseline. Self-soothing resources go with you.
- 8PhaseReevaluation
At the next session, we check — does the target still feel processed? Did anything else surface during the week? What's the next target?
The memory stays. What changes is the charge.
One of the most common misunderstandings about EMDR: people expect the memory to disappear. It doesn't. After reprocessing, you remember the event — you just remember it differently. The image is less vivid. The body doesn't lock up the same way. The belief about yourself that lived in the old version ("it was my fault," "I'm not safe," "I'm broken") loses its grip, and a more accurate one takes its place.
The work isn't to forget. It's to update.
We don't get rid of the memory. We let the brain finish processing what it didn't get to process the first time. — EMDR clinical principle
The strongest research base is in trauma and PTSD. The processing model is also used for the wider set of patterns where a specific event or set of events sits underneath the symptom. Each label below will link to its specialty page when those pages exist.
Not currently EMDR-certified through EMDRIA. Trained in the 8-phase protocol and using it within individual therapy where it fits.
Honest about what this is and isn't.
Janie is trained in EMDR and uses the 8-phase protocol with clients where it's clinically appropriate. What that means: when a stuck memory or set of events is sitting under what you're working on, EMDR can be part of the work, and it'll follow the same structured phases described above.
What it doesn't mean: EMDRIA certification. That's a separate credential requiring additional supervised hours past basic training and ongoing consultation. If EMDR certification is specifically important to your situation, raise it in a consultation and Janie can give you her honest read on fit, or point you toward a certified clinician if that's the better match.
The brain can finish what it didn't finish.
Start with a free 15-minute consultation. We'll talk through what you're working on and whether EMDR is the right method for it.
Are you an EMDR-certified therapist?
Janie is trained in EMDR and integrates it into her individual work where it fits. She is not currently EMDR-certified — that's a separate credential through EMDRIA that requires additional hours and consultation past initial training. If EMDR certification is important to you specifically, ask in a consultation and Janie can give you her read on whether her training matches what you're working on or whether you'd be better served by a certified clinician.
What does bilateral stimulation actually do?
The honest answer: the research is clearer that EMDR works than on exactly why. The leading theory is that bilateral stimulation — eyes tracking side to side, alternating taps, or alternating tones — taxes working memory while you hold a distressing image in mind, which seems to let the brain process the memory the way it processes ordinary information. After reprocessing, the same memory is still there; it just doesn't fire the body the same way.
Is EMDR only for trauma and PTSD?
It was developed for trauma and that's where the strongest evidence base is, but EMDR is also used for anxiety patterns, phobias, grief, depression that traces to specific events, and the stuck loops that came out of earlier experience but don't read as 'capital-T trauma.' In a consultation Janie can give you her honest read on whether your situation fits.
Will I have to talk through every detail?
No. EMDR is not detailed narrative therapy. The processing phase asks you to briefly bring up an image, a body sensation, a belief, and let the bilateral stimulation do the work between sets. You don't have to tell the whole story out loud. For people who've found re-telling re-traumatizing, this is often a relief.
How long does EMDR take?
It depends. A single, well-defined recent event can sometimes resolve in a handful of sessions. Older or layered material takes longer because there's more to process and stabilization comes first. The first phases are about understanding what you bring and preparing, not jumping into reprocessing on day one — and the pacing is set by what's safe and useful for you, not by a fixed schedule.