What Is EMDR Therapy—and Can It Help Me Heal?

Healing from Trauma: How EMDR Therapy Can Help You Move Forward

If you’ve experienced something overwhelming, painful, or traumatic—whether recently or long ago—you might feel like it’s still affecting you in ways you can’t always control. Maybe certain situations trigger anxiety or flashbacks, or you just feel stuck in patterns you can’t seem to change. That’s where EMDR therapy can help.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a type of therapy designed to help people heal from trauma and distressing life experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn’t require you to go into detail about the event. Instead, it helps your brain process those memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge and allows you to feel more at peace.

How Does It Work?

During EMDR, you’ll focus on a specific memory or feeling while your therapist guides you through a form of bilateral stimulation—often with side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or sounds. This process helps your brain reprocess what happened, shifting the way it’s stored so it no longer feels as painful or triggering.

Think of it like helping your brain file away a memory that’s been stuck in the “urgent” folder for too long. EMDR gives your system a chance to do the emotional processing it didn’t get to do at the time of the trauma.

Why Clients Choose EMDR

Many people are drawn to EMDR because it feels different. You don’t have to relive the trauma in full detail, and you may start noticing shifts in how you think and feel after just a few sessions. It’s been used to treat PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, grief, and even negative self-beliefs that stem from difficult life experiences.

Clients often say things like, “I finally feel like myself again,” or “That memory just doesn’t hit me the same way anymore.”

You Deserve to Heal

Trauma doesn’t have to define your life. Whether your experience was big and obvious, or something smaller that still left a mark, EMDR can help you feel more grounded, present, and free.

If you’re curious about how EMDR might help you, feel free to reach out with questions or to schedule a consultation. Healing is possible—and you don’t have to do it alone.

Cronemiller Counseling is proud to offer EMDR therapy over telehealth to Minnesota residents, including Minneapolis, Eagan, Rochester, Bemidji, Wayzata, Forest Lake, and Duluth, MN.