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EMDR Therapy in Ottawa

Have you ever felt stuck? Are you affected by distressing memories from your past? EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy that helps your brain process overwhelming experiences, using gentle bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements), so they don’t feel as intense. This helps the brain detach the pain from your memories, making them less emotionally charged, and easier to move forward from.

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EMDR Therapy

What can EMDR help with?

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & Complex-PTSD

  • Anxiety

  • Grief & Loss

  • Depression

  • Childhood Trauma & Abuse

  • Sexual Assault & Abuse

  • Phobias

What are the benefits of EMDR?

  • Reduction in the intensity of distressing memories

  • Improved emotional regulation

  • Feeling less stuck and more in control

  • Improvement in sleep

  • Feelings of empowerment

  • Reduced anxiety, panic, nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts

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How does EMDR work and what can I expect?

  • EMDR helps your brain process distressing memories that feel “stuck”

  • While focusing on a memory, you will engage in bilateral stimulation

  • This back-and-forth stimulation of the brain is activating the Adaptive Information Processing system, which helps the brain heal naturally

  • Overtime, the memory feels less intense and no longer triggers discomfort and strong emotional reactions

  • You stay in control the entire time and can pause whenever you need

  • You don’t have to go into immense detail about the event

  • Sessions are structured, supportive, and paced to meet your comfort level

  • Many clients will notice a reduction in distress, discover new insights, and feel a sense of relief after a few sessions

Start your healing with EMDR

EMDR Therapy FAQ

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  • EMDR can be helpful for many people. During our consultation, we can explore whether EMDR fits your needs, goals, and readiness for this type of work

  • After the completion of client history taking, stabilization, and resourcing, EMDR processing can begin. In a typical session, after briefly checking-in, you will focus on a specific memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation. This process will help your brain reprocess the distressing experience so it feels less intense. Our sessions will end with a grounding exercise to ensure stability before leaving.

  • This depends heavily on your goals, history, and the experiences you want to process. Some clients see improvement within the first few sessions, others engage in EMDR over a longer period of time. We will review progress regularly.

  • EMDR is not regular talk therapy. While you identify the memory or experience we are processing, EMDR does not require you to go into detail. Many clients appreciate that they can process experiences without having to relive them.

  • Absolutely! EMDR can be successfully conducted through adapted bilateral stimulation methods. This provides increased accessibility to clients who cannot come into the office.

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves been seen.”
— Brené Brown