Clinically Reviewed by: Elyse Kaplan, LCSW-C, EMDR-Certified Practitioner at the Counseling Center Group | Published: September 16, 2026 | Last Reviewed: September 2026
Key Takeaways
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy that uses guided bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess “stuck” traumatic memories. The World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Defense all recognize it as a primary treatment for PTSD.
- Treatment follows an eight-phase protocol, typically delivered in seven or more weekly 50- to 90-minute sessions. A Kaiser Permanente-funded study found 100% of single-trauma survivors and 77% of survivors of multiple traumas no longer met diagnostic criteria for PTSD after a mean of six sessions.
- Beyond PTSD, EMDR is used for anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and relationship strain rooted in past experiences. It targets the memory driving the symptom, not just the symptom itself.
- EMDR is the strongest fit when a specific memory, event, or pattern still triggers a strong emotional or physical reaction; it isn’t primarily a talk-through-your-week therapy.
- At The Counseling Center Group, EMDR is delivered by trained clinicians, paced to what you can tolerate, and can be combined with CBT or DBT-based skills when useful, with a no-cost rematch if the fit isn’t right.
Some memories don’t stay in the past. A smell, a tone of voice, or an offhand comment can pull you right back into a moment you thought you were done with, and no amount of reasoning your way through it seems to close the door for good. That isn’t a flaw in how you’re coping. It’s how the brain stores an experience it never finished processing.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy exists to close that door. Using a structured eight-phase protocol, EMDR helps the brain finish processing a distressing memory so it stops replaying itself in the present. At The Counseling Center Group, we believe you shouldn’t have to keep managing the same memory for years when the right treatment can help your brain file it away for good.
The Power of EMDR Therapy
EMDR is a structured, evidence-based treatment that helps the brain reprocess memories that are still driving present-day distress, rather than asking you to manage the symptoms those memories produce. It was developed in 1987 and has been studied and refined for nearly four decades.
The World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Defense all recognize EMDR as a primary treatment for PTSD. Endorsement from three independent bodies is part of why EMDR, not talk therapy alone, is often the first therapy recommended for trauma.
What Sets EMDR Therapy Apart?
EMDR is built on a specific premise: a traumatic memory can get “stuck” in the brain’s memory network, still carrying the original emotions, physical sensations, and negative beliefs attached to it, even years later. Because the memory hasn’t been fully processed, it keeps intruding on the present instead of settling into the past the way an ordinary memory does.
Treatment follows an eight-phase protocol that addresses the past events that created the memory, the current triggers that activate it, and the future situations you want to handle differently. Each session uses bilateral stimulation, typically guided eye movements, though alternating sounds or taps work too, while you briefly focus on the memory, which appears to help the brain finish processing it. This is what separates EMDR from other trauma therapies that work primarily through discussion or exposure.
Most clients need seven or more 50- to 90-minute sessions. A Kaiser Permanente-funded study found that after a mean of six sessions, 100% of single-trauma survivors and 77% of survivors of multiple traumas no longer met diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Marcus, Marquis & Sakai, 1997).
Why CCG Uses EMDR
CCG invests in EMDR because we believe some memories don’t just need to be talked about. They need to be reprocessed at the level where they’re actually stored. Our EMDR-trained clinicians pace each of the eight phases to what you can tolerate, so reprocessing moves as quickly as it safely can, not faster. If your therapist isn’t the right fit, we’ll rematch you at no cost.
Can EMDR Therapy Be Done Virtually?
Yes. EMDR follows the same eight-phase protocol and is led by the same clinician whether you meet in person or over secure video. CCG’s EMDR-trained therapists guide the same bilateral stimulation, eye movements, tapping, or alternating tones through telehealth sessions. A 2023 systematic review in Frontiers in Psychiatry found remote EMDR produced PTSD symptom reductions comparable to in-person delivery.
Elyse Kaplan, LCSWC, an EMDR-certified clinician at CCG, hears the same surprise in nearly every consultation: clients assume the eye-movement component of EMDR only works in person, sitting across from a therapist in an office. It doesn’t. In a virtual session, clients follow a clinician’s finger, a moving light on the screen, or alternating tones through headphones, and the brain processes the memory the same way it would in the room.
Virtual EMDR is a strong fit if you:
- Have a demanding work or family schedule and need to fit sessions between meetings without a commute
- Feel more able to access difficult memories in a familiar, private space
- Live outside commuting distance from a CCG office but within one of our licensed states
- Manage a mobility limitation, chronic illness, or caregiving responsibility that makes travel difficult
In-person EMDR is a strong fit if you:
- Want a therapist physically present to help you stay grounded during intense processing
- Prefer in-room tools, like tactile buzzers, for bilateral stimulation
- Don’t have a private, distraction-free space at home for sessions
- Are earlier in stabilization and benefit from the structure of an office visit
Your clinician will walk through both formats at your consultation and can adjust as needed. Many CCG clients move between virtual and in-person EMDR sessions as their schedule, location, or comfort level changes.
Benefits of EMDR: Rewriting Your Story
EMDR isn’t limited to a single diagnosis. Because it targets the memory network underneath a symptom, it’s used for trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and relationship patterns that trace back to earlier experiences. Here’s what the evidence and our clinical experience show about each.
Lessening the Impact of Trauma
EMDR’s most established use is trauma and PTSD. It works by directly reprocessing the traumatic memory, reducing the emotional charge attached to flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive anxiety, rather than only teaching you to manage them when they surface.
Best for: PTSD, single-incident trauma, and lasting effects from a specific distressing event.
Quieting Anxiety
For anxiety and phobias rooted in a specific past experience, EMDR addresses the memory driving the fear response instead of only the symptoms it produces day to day.
Best for: anxiety or phobias you can trace back to an identifiable event or pattern.
Breaking the Chains of Depression
EMDR also treats depression connected to unresolved experiences, reprocessing the memories underneath persistent low mood so relief isn’t limited to symptom management.
Best for: anxiety or phobias you can trace back to an identifiable event or pattern.
Enhanced Emotional Regulation
EMDR changes how the brain responds to triggers, which is why clinicians use it for the anger, panic, and emotional dysregulation that often accompany PTSD, not only for the original traumatic memory itself.
A 2001 review article by Shapiro outlined this broader range of clinical applications, and it continues to shape how EMDR is applied for emotional regulation today.
Best for: anger, panic attacks, and emotional dysregulation that follow a past traumatic experience.
Rebuilding Shattered Relationships
Unprocessed trauma doesn’t stay contained to the person who experienced it. It shows up in trust, communication, and the ability to be vulnerable with the people closest to you. By reprocessing the underlying memories, EMDR can rebuild the capacity for connection that trauma eroded.
Best for: relationship strain connected to past trauma, abuse, or attachment injuries.
Is EMDR Right for You?
EMDR is a strong fit if a specific memory, event, or pattern still drives how you feel or react today. It is less suited to open-ended exploration or to a period of acute instability. Your clinician screens for readiness during the first phase of treatment and will tell you directly if another approach is the better starting point.
EMDR is a strong fit if you:
- Have a specific memory, event, or pattern of events that still triggers a strong emotional or physical reaction
- Have tried talking through an experience without feeling like it changed how you react to it
- Are managing PTSD, phobias, or anxiety tied to an identifiable past experience
- Want a structured, time-limited approach rather than open-ended talk therapy
Another approach may be a better starting point if you:
- Want to build day-to-day coping skills for anxiety or stress without a specific memory driving it; CBT or DBT-based skills training may be a more direct fit
- Are managing active psychosis, severe dissociation, or an unstable substance use crisis; EMDR requires stabilization first, and your clinician will screen for this
- Want to explore broader patterns in relationships or identity over time; traditional psychotherapy may be a better starting point
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlock the benefits of EMDR
EMDR doesn’t erase what happened to you. It changes how much power that memory has over your life today, so it becomes something you carry instead of something that runs the show.
At CCG, EMDR is available in person across Maryland, including Bethesda, Rockville, and Gaithersburg; Washington, D.C.; Virginia, including Arlington and Alexandria; New York; New Jersey; and Miami, Florida, and virtually for clients who prefer telehealth.
Contact The Counseling Center Group to schedule a consultation with an EMDR-trained clinician and find out whether EMDR is the right next step for you.
Sources
- World Health Organization (2013). Guidelines for the management of conditions specifically related to stress.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs & U.S. Department of Defense (2023). VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder.
- American Psychological Association. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
- Marcus, S., Marquis, P., & Sakai, C. (1997). Controlled study of treatment of PTSD using EMDR in an HMO setting. Psychotherapy, 34(3), 307–315.
- Shapiro, F. Clinical applications of EMDR. EMDR Institute.
- EMDR International Association (EMDRIA).
- National Institute of Mental Health. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). Guidelines for Virtual EMDR Therapy: A Report of the Virtual Training and Therapy Task Group.
- Kaptan, S. K., Kaya, Z. M., & Akan, A. (2024). Addressing mental health need after COVID-19: a systematic review of remote EMDR therapy studies as an emerging option. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1336569.
