Online EMDR Therapy
Heal from trauma with online EMDR therapy
from Couples Learn
Are you tired of feeling triggered and being quick to anger in relationships? Do you feel like you’ll never escape the pain of a past trauma? Have you tried individual therapy before only to fall back into old patterns?
When you’re struggling with anxiety, trauma and attachment issues, it’s easy to feel like nothing will help. Perhaps you’re stuck in a pattern of choosing the wrong relationships. Maybe you just want a past trauma to have less of an impact on your day to day life. Maybe you’re not even sure why you’re triggered but you know it’s affecting your ability to maintain positive relationships.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. And there is help. That’s where online EMDR therapy from Couples Learn comes in.
Is online EMDR therapy right for you?
If you’re living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or struggling to work through relational trauma, online EMDR trauma therapy could help. While many patients use EMDR for PTSD treatment, there are many other uses for this unique therapy.
Working with an online EMDR therapist might be right for you if you…
Have a hard time committing to relationships
Need a lot of space or freedom in relationships
Are highly reactive in an argument, from zero to 60
Feel anxious about the stability of your relationship
Struggle to give your partner the benefit of the doubt
Tend to choose unhealthy relationships
What Is Online EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, is a research-backed therapy proven to be effective for those who have experienced trauma.
Trauma changes the brain and body in real ways. During trauma, our brain processes and stores memories incorrectly, which can make past memories feel very present and emotionally charged. If triggered, you may react the way you did at the time of the trauma. EMDR therapy helps the brain re-process and re-organize traumatic experiences so that they lose their emotional charge.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
If you’ve ever dreamed about a conflict from your day, then you’ve experienced your brain processing and learning from a painful experience.
EMDR counseling is designed to mirror the brain’s natural healing process by using physical experiences called bilateral stimulation. During EMDR, your therapist will guide you through eye movements, listening to tones or taps that alternately stimulate left and right brain.
This process helps the brain re-process painful memories of trauma and move them to a more functional – and less emotional – part of the brain.
What is an EMDR Session Like?
Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require extensive conversation about a traumatic incident in order to be effective.
During an EMDR session, you’ll be asked to think about a target image, memory or event, and to notice the feelings, sensations and emotions you experience while thinking about it.
Your EMDR therapist will then guide you through the bilateral stimulation, activating the memory network associated with that target memory. This process continues until the painful memory or trauma is re-processed and stored properly, causing it to feel less disturbing.
Is Online EMDR Effective?
Want the benefits of EMDR and the accessibility and convenience of online therapy? Online EMDR could be right for you! Online EMDR has been found to be as effective as in-person EMDR in most cases.
Doing online EMDR at home may actually be even more effective and comfortable than in-person therapy for some patients who have experienced trauma, since you’ll be in a safe, familiar space.
In EMDR online sessions, bilateral stimulations may be performed through eyes movements, physically tapping your legs or shoulders with your hands or listening to left and right audio tones through headphones.
EMDR vs Attachment Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR)
If you’re frequently triggered in your everyday life but not sure you can point to a specific traumatic experience that may be affecting you, you might be struggling with complex PTSD which is often the result of relational trauma from childhood.
When we talk about trauma, we often think of big “T” traumas, typically one time incidents that are obviously traumatic. But there are plenty of other smaller traumas you may have experienced in childhood that could be impacting your life, and especially your relationships, today.
Big “T” Trauma
Car accidents
Combat
Natural disaster
Sexual assault
Armed robbery
Little “t” Trauma
Sibling trauma
Relationship loss
Emotional abuse
Bullying or harassment
Relational trauma
Attachment-Focused EMDR Online
If you’ve experienced little “t” trauma, you may not even think of your experiences as traumatic. You may look back on your childhood and think you had everything you needed. But experiences like divorce, authoritarian parenting, emotional abuse or neglect may have impacted you in ways you aren’t consciously aware of. Just because you had all your physical needs met, doesn’t mean you were nurtured emotionally.
If you’re struggling to maintain positive relationships as an adult and dealing with feelings of resentment, avoidance, emotional shutdown, or other attachment issues, attachment focused EMDR could help.
Attachment EMDR focuses on the attachments you form with parents and caregivers during childhood. In attachment focused EMDR, your therapist will incorporate additional talk therapy into each session to help address the impact of painful childhood experiences on the brain and on your attachment style.
The Benefits of Online EMDR Therapy
Feel more in control in your life & relationships
Break free from the impact of past trauma
Experience fewer psychological trauma symptoms
Discuss traumatic experiences without feeling triggered
Heal and change your unhealthy relationship cycles
Reduce unhealthy coping (drugs, alchohol, over-working)
Better manage conflict in relationships
Form stronger attachments in relationships
Feel more confident and secure in your life & relationships
Getting Started is Easy
Schedule free 30-minute chat
We make it easy to know if it’s the right fit.
Get expert advice
Begin receiving expert advice from licensed professionals.
Get ongoing support
Get weekly, bi-weekly or monthly ongoing support with us.
Still not sure if online EMDR therapy is right for you?
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you think online EMDR therapy might help you. Maybe you know that past traumas are impacting your ability to live life to the fullest. Maybe you’re struggling with depression, anxiety or flashbacks.
If you’re still unsure whether EMDR is right for you, it’s probably fear that’s holding you back. You may have spent years pushing away your feelings about a traumatic event. You may be worried that bringing those experiences back to the surface will only make things worse.
But let’s be real: if this trauma was really in the past, you wouldn’t be researching trauma treatment right now.
You’ve already gone through the worst of it and you survived. Now we just need to get your brain and your body on the same page so you can stop feeling triggered by the past and start feeling more secure and confident in your life and relationships.
Learn More About Online EMDR Therapy
Explore EMDR therapy with Couples Learn therapist Shawntres Parks and discover if an EMDR therapist could be right for you.
Online EMDR Therapy FAQ
What kind of problems can EMDR treat?
EMDR was designed to help patients heal from trauma and has been shown to be effective in treating many symptoms of past traumatic experiences, including anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
But EMDR can also be effective in treating many other conditions, including:
- Relationship challenges
- Insecure attachment
- Personality disorders
- Panic attacks
- Complicated grief
- Body dysmorphic disorders
- Phobias
- Eating disorders
- Performance anxiety
- Stress reduction
- Addictions
- Pain disorders
Does EMDR work?
Yes! Numerous studies have shown that EMDR can significantly reduce the present-day impact of traumatic events. According to the EMDR Institute, Inc., some studies have shown that 84-90% of single-trauma victims no longer experience PTSD after only three 90-minute sessions.
Another study funded by Kaiser Permanente found that 100% of single trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims were no longer diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute EMDR sessions. Click here to read even more about EMDR therapy on our blog.
How long does EMDR take?
It depends. EMDR therapy is broken down into eight phases, beginning with preparation and assessment before moving into treatment. Treatment usually takes an average of about 12 sessions, but many patients begin to see results and experience fewer symptoms of trauma after only a few sessions.
A typical EMDR session lasts about 60 to 90 minutes, and may be incorporated into other therapeutic treatment plans or used on its own to heal from trauma.
Can EMDR make trauma worse?
If you’re struggling with symptoms of post-traumatic stress, it’s normal to be worried about bringing up those painful memories during an EMDR session. But an EMDR session is an opportunity to resolve issues from childhood or a traumatic experience and reduce their emotional charge.
While an EMDR session may feel raw or very emotional in the moment, you’ll reduce the impact of traumatic events in the long term.
What if I can't find EMDR therapists near me?
Whether you’re looking for EMDR therapists in Los Angeles or in other areas of the country, if you want the convenience of doing EMDR sessions at home, then working with an online EMDR therapist could be a good fit.
At Couples Learn we offer both EMDR and attachment EMDR online. And virtual EMDR sessions are just as effective as in-person sessions. In fact, online EMDR could be even more effective than in-person therapy if you’ve experienced trauma, since you’ll be able to do your sessions in a safe, comfortable space.
How much does EMDR therapy cost?
The cost of your treatment truly depends on your unique needs, but services typically range from $175-$375 per session depending on which of our therapists you work with and the length of the session. Our masters-level therapists (LMFT and LCSW) will be on the lower end of the price range and the doctoral level (Psy.D. and Ph.D.) will be on the higher end of the price range.
Please set up a free 30 minute consultation to learn more about the rates for online EMDR therapy.
Our Online EMDR Los Angeles Therapists
Dr. Sarah Schewitz
Dr. Sarah Schewitz is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Couples Learn, a successful online therapy practice for individuals and couples. Dr. Sarah has advanced training as an attachment-focused EMDR therapist, with a focus on healing from trauma and improving relationships.
Michelle Liva, LMFT
Michelle Liva is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in Trauma Recovery. Michelle is an attachment-focused EMDR therapist who helps clients understand how their early childhood experiences impact their adult romantic relationships.
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