EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, research-backed therapy that helps the brain reprocess experiences it never fully digested, so they stop driving how you feel today. It is best known as a treatment for trauma and PTSD, and it is also one of the most effective tools we have for anxiety, negative core beliefs, and the stuck patterns that insight alone hasn't shifted.
What EMDR helps with
People come to us for EMDR with a wide range of concerns:
- Distressing experiences that still feel current, no matter how much time has passed
- Anxiety that doesn't respond to reasoning
- Pervasive beliefs like "I'm not good enough" or "I always mess things up," even when you know they aren't logical
- Patterns in relationships that keep repeating
- The aftermath of smaller, cumulative hurts: steady criticism, dismissal, years of feeling less-than
You don't need a single dramatic trauma for EMDR to be useful. We wrote about why here.
What sessions look like
EMDR at Heldwise starts the way all of our work starts: with understanding you. Before any reprocessing, we take time with your history, the patterns that bring you in, and what you want to be different. That foundation is what makes the deeper work safe and effective.
When you're ready, we choose targets together: the memories, beliefs, and feeling states at the root of what's stuck. In reprocessing sessions, you bring a target to mind while following gentle bilateral stimulation, usually guided eye movements or alternating taps. You stay awake, aware, and in control throughout. Many people notice the emotional charge around old material soften within a handful of sessions.
EMDR within integrative therapy
We don't use EMDR as a standalone technique. Our work is grounded in psychodynamic therapy and EMDR together: psychodynamic therapy maps where a pattern came from and what it means, and EMDR works at the level where the pattern is stored. When other approaches help, including ACT, CBT, attachment-based therapy, and somatic work, we weave them in. The frame is always relational: two people working together on what matters to you.
Working with us
We are based in New York City. Specialized integrative trauma therapy sessions, including EMDR, are $250.
If you're wondering whether EMDR fits what you're dealing with, send us a note. We're happy to help you think it through.