EMDR Counseling
in Marietta and Roswell
EMDR therapy, an evidence-based approach that can aid in healing the effects of trauma.
Have You Been Negatively Impacted By Trauma?
Do the lingering effects of trauma continue to affect your daily life? Perhaps as much as you try to push away disturbing memories, some resurface without warning. Something as benign as a sight or sound encountered in the present can immediately take you back to a past event you’d rather forget.
When a traumatic memory comes rushing back, your body may respond like it’s happening all over again, reliving the distress in real time. That’s because the way trauma is stored in the brain often differs from other memories. Rather than getting filed away into long-term memory where its emotional intensity will gradually fade, trauma becomes etched in our psyche, impacting both body and mind.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a gentle, evidence-based therapy that helps the brain heal from painful or traumatic experiences that continue to cause distress. This approach utilizes bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, to help the brain reprocess “stuck” memories so they feel more distant and less triggering.
With EMDR treatment, you don’t have to talk about every detail—instead, your mind naturally integrates the experience and replaces old beliefs with a sense of safety and self-compassion. Many people find that after EMDR therapy, they feel calmer, lighter, and more in control of their emotions and reactions.
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How Is EMDR Treatment Incorporated Into Therapy?
EMDR therapy is a gentle process that can be conducted either in person or virtually. After selecting a troubling memory to work on, your therapist will guide you to focus on that memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as back-and-forth eye movements or finger tapping.
The simple yet effective method of bilateral stimulation simultaneously activates both hemispheres of the brain, allowing you to passively observe the thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations associated with the memory. Engaging the brain in this way helps the nervous system release the memory’s “stuck” emotional charge, allowing healing to happen naturally and deeply.
After EMDR, clients often experience a significant decrease in emotional reactivity to triggers, an increased ability to manage anxiety or intrusive thoughts, and a more balanced perspective about past experiences. Notably, they leave sessions with tools to ground themselves, a strengthened sense of internal safety, and a clearer, more adaptive understanding of their own story.
Another reason clients respond so favorably to EMDR is that they can decide how much of their memories they want to share with their therapist. With EMDR, there’s never a concern about reliving trauma by having to talk about it.
Who Can Benefit From Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy?
EMDR is a good option for clients of any age who seek relief from the emotional intensity of their memories and a greater sense of freedom, peace, and self-understanding. Many individuals incorporate EMDR into therapy sessions to alleviate past traumas, anxiety, grief, or distressing experiences that still feel unresolved, whether due to a single event or a series of painful moments.
Working with a counselor trained in EMDR, clients can gain a greater sense of calm, emotional regulation, and control over their thoughts and reactions. They learn that distressing memories can be safely revisited and reprocessed without becoming overwhelming.
Research supports EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences. [1] Due to its effectiveness, EMDR has been endorsed by many national and international organizations, including The American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs/Dept. of Defense, and the World Health Organization. [2]
Why We Incorporate EMDR Therapy Into Our Practice
The decision to offer EMDR at our practice was inspired by both the personal experience of our EMDR-trained therapists and a desire to share this cutting-edge treatment with clients. We have experienced first-hand how deeply EMDR can touch the parts of us that words alone can’t reach—the body memories, the shame, the places that simply need to feel safe again. As trauma-focused therapists, we want to offer the same depth of healing and freedom to our clients.
At Awaken Counseling, our therapists have witnessed profound results using EMDR with their clients. We have been encouraged by how deeply EMDR supports healing from trauma and emotional pain. Clients often share that they feel lighter, calmer, and more connected to themselves as they move through this work.
Even if you’ve tried other therapies and still feel stuck, there is hope. Healing doesn’t happen overnight, but every small step you take toward awareness and safety matters. EMDR helps your mind and body release what’s been holding you back so you can begin to feel lighter, calmer, and more connected to yourself. Over time, the pain that once felt unshakable can soften, and you can start to trust that real, lasting healing is possible.
Learn How EMDR Therapy Can Help You
If you would like to find out more about EMDR therapy with Awaken Counseling, you can click here to schedule a free 15-minute call.
