The Power of EMDR

The power of both sides of your brain, working together.

I am what is often called a wounded healer. I’ve lived through big things, and I’ve also done the work to be well. Healing isn’t just something I talk about—it’s something I’ve practiced for decades.

Fun fact: all therapists have a therapist. It’s not just encouraged, it’s an essential part of our work. To walk alongside others in their healing, we must also tend to our own.

For me, that included EMDR, a therapy modality I was introduced to over 20 years ago and still shapes who I am today.

So, what is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. That’s a mouthful, but here’s the simple version: it’s a therapy that helps your brain process hard things that may still feel “stuck.” When something overwhelming happens, your brain doesn’t always file the memory away properly. Instead, the memory can sit almost “frozen in time," not just as a story, but as feelings, body sensations, and triggers that pop up unexpectedly. EMDR helps your brain finish the job it couldn’t do at the time.

It works by using gentle, back-and-forth stimulation like eye movements, sounds, or tapping, while you focus on pieces of the memory. This process helps your brain refile the memory in a healthier place. The difference is, you don’t have to relive the event in full detail. Instead, EMDR allows you to process it while staying grounded in the present.

And the results can be transformational.

Over the years, I’ve found EMDR to be one of the most powerful tools for grief, trauma, and those lingering wounds we carry. It can take the sharp edges off old pain, help integrate new hard things, and allow everything to come together with a new understanding of your own resilience and strength.

The power of EMDR is that it changes the relationship you have with your story. It doesn’t erase what happened but it helps you carry it differently: lighter, steadier, and with more confidence in your ability to keep moving forward.