EMDR Therapy in Cornelius, NC
Stuck in the Past? EMDR Therapy Can Help You Move Forward
• Does a painful experience still feel like it’s happening, even years later?
• Perhaps everything seemed “normal,” but you’re still burdened by beliefs such as “I’m not safe,” “I’m not good enough,” or “I’m too much.”
• Has talk therapy helped you understand your past, but left you still feeling stuck in it?
It can be so frustrating to want to move past something and feel like nothing, and no one, can help. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a well-researched therapy that helps heal the lasting effects of distressing experiences. It was developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., in 1987.
How EMDR Works
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which describes how your brain stores and connects experiences. When you fully process an experience, you can remember it without reliving it. It becomes part of your story, not something that keeps happening to you.
When an experience isn’t fully processed, your brain may keep sounding the alarm as if the danger is still present. That’s where many people get stuck: unable to tell a real alarm from a false one.
The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) notes that many of the concerns people bring to therapy, such as anxiety, depression, and relationship struggles, are rooted in traumatic or adverse life experiences. In other words, the past is still present. EMDR addresses all three: the old experiences that caused the pain, the current triggers, and the confidence you seek for the future.
Courtesy of EMDR International Association
What counts as trauma?
Trauma can come from events that threatened your life or safety, or someone else’s, whether it happened to you or you witnessed it. It can be a single event or many experiences over time.
Sometimes we can name it clearly: “I was in a car accident, and now I’m afraid to get in a car.”
Other times, there are no words for it: “I don’t even know what I’m feeling. I just want to run.” Both are normal responses to abnormal circumstances.
Why some memories get stuck
Imagine you must leave your house in an emergency. You don’t stop to tidy up; you grab what you need and go. Your brain does something similar under stress. It puts safety first and leaves the memory unsorted. That’s why an experience can stay “unfinished” and keep feeling current, as if the past never left.
EMDR helps you return home. Together, we make sure it’s safe, take stock of what’s there, and help your brain sort through and reorganize the memory so it can finally be put away.
What can EMDR help with?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety & Depression
Combat, Childhood, Birth, & Complex Trauma
Emotional Regulation
Guilt, Shame, & Phobias
Sexual Trauma
Abuse, Neglect & Relational Issues
Postpartum/Prenatal
Dissociative Responses
The Eight Phases of EMDR
One of EMDR’s strengths is that it provides a map for our work. Of course, our pace and work are ultimately decided by you. As a therapist, I am always bringing attention to the process and making recommendations, but you get to decide where we go. And, the EMDR map informs our decisions. That map usually consists of eight phases:
History
We get to know you: what brings you here, and what has or hasn’t helped before.
1.
Preparation
We get you ready for reprocessing. You’ll build awareness of how you process, learn about your window of tolerance, and practice coping skills you can use in and out of session.
2.
Assessment
We identify the memories to work on and create a list of “targets.”
3.
Installation
We strengthen a new, more helpful belief about yourself.
4.
Body Scan
We check in with your body. Is it still holding anything? Any leftover tension or distress?
5.
Desensitization
We reprocess one target at a time with bilateral stimulation, paying attention to the emotions, body sensations, and negative beliefs connected to it.
6.
Reevaluation
At the next session, we review what has shifted and what else may be coming up.
7.
Closure
We bring each session to a calm close, whether the memory is fully processed or we’ll pick it up next time.
8.
Bilateral stimulation
A central part of EMDR is bilateral stimulation: side-to-side eye movements, alternating tones, or gentle tapping. It helps the brain reprocess memories, so they feel less charged. I encourage clients to try different types to find what feels best for them.
EMDR Intensives
Weekly sessions aren’t the only way to do EMDR. An intensive session provides focused EMDR work over half a day, a full day, or two days, allowing you to make significant progress without waiting a week between sessions. An intensive may be a good fit if you:
• want to focus on a specific memory, event, or pattern
• feel ready for change and want concentrated time to work on it
• have a schedule that makes weekly therapy hard
• are already in therapy and want to add focused EMDR work
Every intensive starts with a free consultation, so we can make sure it’s the right fit for you.
Why I Focus on EMDR
During my therapist training in 2020, I watched mentors use EMDR to help clients make meaningful progress. I was drawn to the approach right away and soon began formal EMDR training.
Since then, I’ve pursued advanced training and consultation and became an EMDRIA-certified therapist. The most meaningful shift, though, came from experiencing EMDR myself and seeing the transformation it can help clients achieve.
Today, EMDR is central to my work. Clients often come seeking real change, and together we trace today’s struggles to the experiences that shaped them. EMDR lets us work through trauma without getting stuck retelling the story. Some clients notice shifts within a few sessions; for more complex histories, the work takes longer, and we’ll pace it together.
Insight is valuable and talk therapy has its place. But sometimes understanding what happened isn’t enough to stop feeling it. EMDR works with the emotions, body sensations, and beliefs tied to a memory, not just your thoughts about it.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Therapy
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No. EMDR doesn’t require you to describe a memory in detail. You share as much or as little as feels right.
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You’ll bring a memory to mind during short sets of bilateral stimulation, then pause to notice what comes up. We go at a pace that feels manageable, and you’ll leave each session with tools to feel grounded.
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Online EMDR can be effective for many people. Bilateral stimulation works on screen or through self-tapping, and I’ll help you set up a comfortable space at home.
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I offer in-person EMDR in Cornelius, NC, serving the Lake Norman area, including Huntersville, Davidson, and Mooresville. I also offer online sessions for anyone in North Carolina.
Start EMDR Therapy in Cornelius, NC
Searching for an “EMDR therapist near me”? I’m Julissa Corona, LCSW, an EMDRIA-certified therapist offering EMDR therapy in person in Cornelius and online throughout North Carolina.