EMDR Therapy in El Dorado Hills, Marin, SF + Online

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy is an evidence-based therapy that uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones, to help your brain reprocess memories that are stuck in your nervous system. Rather than relying on talking through the details of a painful experience, EMDR works at a neurological level to help the memory lose its emotional charge. You can read more about the process in our ‘How Does EMDR Work?’ section above.

Traditional talk therapy works primarily with the mind, using conversation and insight to make sense of your experiences. EMDR takes a different approach. While you do briefly access the memory, the primary mechanism is bilateral stimulation, which helps your brain reprocess the experience at a neurological level. Many clients find that EMDR helps them move through material faster than talk therapy alone, and without needing to narrate every detail of the event.

EMDR follows a structured eight-phase protocol:

1. History and Treatment Planning Your therapist learns about your history and helps you identify the memories you want to work with.

2. Preparation You build grounding and coping tools so your nervous system is resourced for the work ahead.

3. Assessment Together, you identify the specific memory, the negative belief attached to it, and the positive belief you want to move toward.

4. Desensitization The core processing phase, where bilateral stimulation helps your brain reprocess the memory.

5. Installation The positive belief is strengthened and integrated.

6. Body Scan Your therapist helps you look for any residual tension or activation held in the body.

7. Closure Each session ends with grounding to help you leave the session feeling resourced and contained.

8. Reevaluation At the start of the next session, your therapist checks in on what's shifted since the previous session and what you feel ready to dive into next.

In practice, the experience often feels more fluid than a numbered list. Your therapist guides the process, and you're always in control of the pace.

EMDR is one of the most extensively researched treatments for trauma. It's recommended by the World Health Organization, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Multiple randomized controlled trials have found that 84-90% of single-trauma survivors no longer met the criteria for PTSD after just three 90-minute sessions. A Kaiser Permanente-funded study found that 100% of single-trauma survivors and 77% of those with multiple traumas no longer had PTSD after six sessions (Shapiro, 2014). For complex or longstanding trauma, the timeline is longer, but the evidence for EMDR's effectiveness is strong and well-documented.

This varies depending on what you're working on. Some clients experience significant shifts within 3-6 sessions of focused EMDR work, especially for single-incident trauma. More complex or longstanding patterns may benefit from a longer course of treatment. EMDR can also be woven into ongoing therapy as one tool among several, rather than used as a standalone treatment. Your therapist will check in regularly about what's working and adjust the plan as needed.

No. One of the benefits of EMDR is that you don't need to provide a detailed verbal account of what happened. You hold the memory briefly while the bilateral stimulation helps your brain do the processing work. Your therapist will guide you through the process, and you're always in control of how much you share.

We offer both EMDR and Brainspotting at The Holistic Counseling Center, and both are powerful approaches for processing trauma.

EMDR follows a structured eight-phase protocol with bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements). It targets specific memories one at a time and works with identified negative and positive beliefs. The structure provides a clear container and roadmap for the work, which many clients find grounding.

Brainspotting uses your eye positions to access the subcortical brain for reprocessing and is more open and intuitive. Rather than following a set protocol, it allows the brain to gather and connect multiple threads simultaneously. Many clients find Brainspotting gentler and more free-flowing, while EMDR's structure feels more anchoring.

Both can lead to deep healing. If you're not sure which approach is right for you, our intake coordinator can help guide you during your consultation call. And once you're working with a therapist, they'll talk through the options with you and help you find the path that fits your nervous system and your goals.

Absolutely. At The Holistic Counseling Center, we integrate EMDR as part of our holistic approach to psychotherapy. Our therapists often combine it with modalities like IFS, somatic therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches to support a more complete healing experience. We find that EMDR is most effective when it's part of a larger therapeutic context rather than used in isolation.

You don't have to leave your current therapist to try EMDR. If your therapist doesn't offer EMDR, you can work with one of our EMDR therapists alongside your existing therapy. This is sometimes called adjunctive EMDR, where EMDR is used to process specific memories or stuck points while your other therapist continues the broader work. We're happy to collaborate with your current provider to make sure your care feels coordinated and cohesive.

EMDR is well-established and has been extensively researched for over 30 years. It's recognized as a safe and effective treatment by major health organizations worldwide. That said, processing trauma can bring up intense emotions, which is why working with a properly trained, licensed therapist matters. Our EMDR therapists are trained to pace the work so you stay within your window of tolerance and always leave sessions feeling grounded and contained.

Yes. EMDR can be adapted for virtual sessions using screen-based bilateral stimulation, alternating taps, or audio tones. Many clients experience effective processing through online EMDR. We offer both in-person and virtual EMDR therapy sessions.

We offer EMDR therapy in-person at our offices in El Dorado Hills, San Anselmo (Marin County), and San Francisco, and online throughout California. During your consultation call, we'll help you find the format and location that works best for you.

Look for a licensed mental health professional with specialized training in EMDR. At The Holistic Counseling Center, our EMDR therapists are licensed to practice psychotherapy and have completed advanced EMDR training. If you have questions about our therapists' training and experience, we're happy to discuss that during your consultation call.

Schedule a free consultation call. We'll talk about what's going on in your life, discuss whether EMDR might be a good fit, and look at logistics like scheduling and fees. If it feels right, we can get your first appointment on the books within a few days.