EMDR Therapy: Rewiring the Way Trauma Lives in Your Head
What is EMDR?
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a game-changer for people tired of their past hijacking their present. Using guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories so they lose their grip on you.
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Think of it like taking an emotional scar that still feels like an open wound — and finally letting it heal. No, it’s not magic. But it is one of the most effective tools out there for getting unstuck from your worst experiences.
Where It Came From?
Developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s.
Based on her discovery of positive effects of eye movements on disturbing thoughts.
Formalized EMDR's protocol for trauma treatment.
What EMDR Can Help With
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PTSD: Loosen trauma’s grip so you can finally breathe again.
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Anxiety Disorders: Calm the mind by processing what’s fueling your fear.
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Phobias: Shrink the monster in your head until it’s no longer scary.
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Grief & Loss: Help your heart catch up to what your mind already knows.
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Disturbing Memories: Take the sting out of moments that haunt you.
How We Do EMDR at Vida
We don’t do one-size-fits-all healing. If EMDR is right for you, we integrate it into your therapy in a way that makes sense for your story, not just a textbook case.
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Personalized: We assess if EMDR fits your needs before we start.
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Integrated: We combine EMDR with other approaches like CBT for a well-rounded plan.
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Safe: We make sure you have the emotional footing to go deep without feeling lost.
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Targeted: We help you uncover and process the root cause, not just the symptoms.
Bottom Line
Since 2018, we’ve used EMDR to help clients in Riverside and across SoCal cut through trauma, calm anxiety, and move forward. It’s not about erasing your past — it’s about making sure it no longer controls your future.