EMDR Therapy in Jackson, MS
When the Past Still Feels Present
Sometimes you know something is over, but your mind and body don't seem to know it.
A memory, conversation, relationship, sound, or situation can bring up fear, shame, anger, or distress that feels much bigger than what's happening now. You may know you're safe, yet still react as though the past is happening again.
EMDR therapy can help you process experiences that still feel unresolved so they have less power over your life today.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based therapy used to treat trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
During EMDR, your therapist helps you focus on aspects of a distressing experience while engaging in bilateral stimulation, often through guided eye movements or other forms of alternating left-right stimulation.
The goal isn't to erase what happened. It's to help you process the experience so remembering it no longer brings the same level of emotional or physical distress.
What Can EMDR Help With?
EMDR is best known for treating trauma and PTSD, but it may also help when past experiences continue to affect your emotions, beliefs, relationships, or reactions.
EMDR therapy may be used for:
Trauma and PTSD
Childhood trauma
Painful or distressing memories
Triggers and strong emotional reactions
Anxiety connected to past experiences
Shame and negative beliefs about yourself
Experiences of abuse, loss, or betrayal
Fears connected to difficult experiences
Your therapist can help determine whether EMDR is appropriate for you and how it may fit into your treatment.
Do I Have to Tell the Whole Story?
No.
EMDR does not require you to describe every detail of a painful experience out loud, and you won't be asked to immediately revisit your most difficult memories.
Trauma therapy begins with understanding your history, building trust, and making sure you have the stability and support you need before processing painful experiences.
What Happens During EMDR?
EMDR is more than eye movements. It follows a structured process that includes understanding your history and current concerns, preparing for trauma processing, identifying experiences and beliefs that may be keeping you stuck, processing those experiences, and noticing how your responses change.
Your therapist will work at a pace that takes your history, needs, and readiness into account. EMDR may also be integrated with other trauma-informed approaches when appropriate.
EMDR and Complex Trauma
When trauma was repeated, happened within important relationships, or began early in life, treatment may be more complex than processing a single memory.
Complex trauma can affect your sense of safety, relationships, emotions, beliefs about yourself, and the ways you learned to protect yourself. EMDR may be incorporated into a broader treatment plan that includes developing safety, emotional regulation, and an understanding of your protective patterns.
The goal isn't to rush through your past. It's to help what happened then have less control over your life now.
EMDR Therapists at Watershed Counseling
Several Watershed therapists provide EMDR as part of trauma treatment.
Jennifer Harris, LPC-S provides EMDR and brings extensive experience treating trauma and complex trauma.
Alleen McLain, LPC provides EMDR for teens and adults experiencing trauma, PTSD, and complex trauma. She offers counseling in English and Spanish.
Candi Crawford, LPC provides trauma-informed counseling and EMDR for clients working through trauma and painful experiences.
Our Client Care Coordinator can help match you with a therapist whose experience and approach fit your needs.
EMDR Therapy in Jackson, Mississippi
Watershed Counseling offers EMDR therapy in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of our trauma-informed counseling services.
You don't have to know whether EMDR is the right treatment before reaching out. Tell us what you're experiencing, and we'll help you connect with a therapist who can discuss your options.