EMDR Therapy in Colorado and Online
When your body remembers what your mind tries to move past
Do old experiences seem to echo into the present day, even when you’re trying to do things differently?
Experiences from early relationships or painful moments from childhood to adulthood can linger in the body long after we’ve “moved on” mentally. They influence how safe connection feels, how we respond under stress, and how at ease we are with ourselves.
You may have insight. You may have done meaningful work already. And still, your body reacts as if something isn’t finished.
EMDR doesn’t ask you to explain or relive everything again. It supports your nervous system in doing what it couldn’t do at the time, allowing healing to happen at a deeper, more lasting level.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trauma therapy that helps the brain and nervous system integrate experiences that were overwhelming, threatening, or unresolved.
When something happens that overwhelms your ability to cope, your system may hold onto it in the form of sensations, emotions, or reflexive responses. Even years later, those responses can show up automatically.
EMDR helps your system finish processing what couldn’t be completed at the time, allowing memories to lose their charge and feel more firmly in the past.
As memories are reprocessed in EMDR, they become less reactive and less intrusive, allowing greater regulation, flexibility, and presence.
The past becomes part of your history, not your nervous system’s present reality.
Activate the Brain’s Natural Processing System: EMDR works with the nervous system rather than against it. Trauma responses are understood as adaptive neurological patterns to past experience.
Use Bilateral Stimulation to Process Memory: Through guided bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps the brain reprocess experiences that were stored under threat, allowing them to integrate more fully.
Reduce Automatic Stress Responses: As processing occurs, emotional and physiological reactivity decreases. The nervous system becomes more flexible, improving regulation and present-moment awareness.
Integrate Without Erasing: EMDR helps you shift the emotional charge of memories. Experiences become part of the past rather than something the brain continues to signal as current danger.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR may be a good fit if you…
Feel emotionally reactive even when you “know better”
Experience anxiety, shutdown, or hypervigilance without clear triggers
Have sexual, relational, medical, or developmental trauma
Struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, or self-criticism
Feel disconnected from your body or emotions
Are tired of managing symptoms rather than resolving them
You don’t need a single “big” trauma to benefit. Complex, cumulative experiences can also be addressed using EMDR and adjunctive approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Therapy
FAQs
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Yes - research supports that online EMDR is just as effective as in-person. I offer EMDR via telehealth to clients across all PSYPACT states.
Instead of following a light bar or my hand, we use body tapping or other digital approaches to bilateral stimulation. Most clients adapt to it quickly and find it just as effective.
If you're not sure whether online EMDR would work for you, we can talk through it during your free consultation.
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It depends on what you're working on. For a single distressing event (like an accident, a medical procedure, or one specific traumatic experience), many people see significant relief in as few as 3 to 6 sessions. For complex or childhood trauma, or when there are many interconnected memories to process, treatment typically takes longer - often several months of regular sessions.
We'll talk about your history and goals early on and give you a realistic sense of the timeline. EMDR isn't a quick fix, but it also tends to move faster than many people expect.
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No - unlike traditional talk therapy, you don't have to narrate every detail of what happened to you.
In fact, some EMDR processing happens with very little verbal description at all. You'll hold the memory in mind while we work through it together, but you won't be asked to retell your story over and over.
For people who have felt retraumatized by having to explain their experiences in detail, this can be a real turning point.
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Starting therapy is as simple as reaching out for an initial consultation. During this call, we’ll talk about your goals and how EMDR therapy might help.
From there, we’ll schedule our first session and begin the journey together.
Let’s connect.
Ready to get started? The next step is to schedule a free consultation call.
During this call, we’ll talk about what’s bringing you to therapy and what you’re looking for, and I’ll answer any questions you may have before the longer initial appointment.
I look forward to meeting you!
You are also free to contact me via phone or email via the information below.
Email
amanda@amandaetiennepsyd.com
Phone
+1 (914) 620-2405
At this time, I work with clients virtually in all PSYPACT states.