EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy method that can accelerate your relief and healing by targeting your symptoms of stress, anxiety, and trauma. EMDR is an evidence-based method offered by SWT in 90 minute or 3 hour sessions. Clients can engage in these EMDR sessions at the start of treatment or incorporate EMDR extended sessions later in treatment after beginning traditional talk therapy.
EMDR: A Powerful Treatment for Trauma & Anxiety
Heal Limiting Beliefs So You Can Live Your Life With More Confidence
Release negative emotions connected to difficult or traumatic experiences and feel a sense of calm within yourself
Get Relief From Overwhelming Stress, Worry, & Painful Memories
What if I told you that you could:
When an experience does not get properly processed, negative feelings can remain. EMDR can help to unblock these negative or painful thoughts and feelings by allowing the brain to process a past experience in a more useful way.
EMDR has been extensively researched and has been recognized as an effective therapy method by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Department of Defense, and the World Health Organization (WHO). For more information, visit EMDRIA, the International supervisory and governing body for EMDR.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy method that helps people process upsetting or traumatic experiences. Many clients are impressed by their symptom relief, whether they are experiencing anxiety, depression, or PTSD.
Common Conditions Treated with EMDR
Perfectionism often creates intense pressure to avoid mistakes at all costs, leading to chronic stress and burnout. Even with clear external achievements, imposter syndrome triggers persistent doubt and a fear of being “found out” as incompetent. Together, they foster a cycle of never feeling “good enough” and an ongoing fear of criticism or failure.
Perfectionism & Imposter Syndrome
Anxiety & Depression
In high-stakes environments, a single mistake—like losing a major case or client—can feel career-ending and erode hard-earned confidence. This can trigger shame, self-blame, and overwhelming anxiety about future performance. The fear of repeating the error can become paralyzing, making it difficult to rebound and move forward.
High-Pressure Failures
Anxiety & Depression
Struggles with self-confidence can manifest as deep self-doubt, shame, and fear of judgment. Social or performance anxiety can make everyday interactions or big presentations feel daunting. Over time, these feelings can intensify, impacting both personal relationships and professional growth.
Self-Confidence
Anxiety & Depression
Such traumatic events can leave lasting emotional wounds, including flashbacks, hypervigilance, and ongoing anxiety. Survivors may also experience guilt, shame, or numbness as they try to make sense of what happened.
Witnessing a Violent Act or Experiencing Sexual/Physical Assault
ptsd & Complex trauma
The emotional and physical toll of losing a pregnancy or undergoing a traumatic birth can trigger intense grief, sadness, and anxiety. Feelings of guilt or self-blame are common, even when there is no logical basis for them.
Pregnancy Loss or Traumatic Birth Experience
ptsd & Complex trauma
Persistent bullying, unrealistic demands, or chronic conflict at work can lead to anxiety, depression, and a constant sense of dread. Over time, these stressors may also erode self-worth and confidence, making it difficult to set boundaries or seek help. The impact can spill over into personal life, affecting mood, sleep, and overall mental health.
Toxic Workplace
ptsd & Complex trauma
Early experiences of emotional or physical neglect, abuse, or significant relationship disappointments can shape how we form bonds in adulthood. These attachment wounds often manifest as difficulty trusting others, fear of abandonment, or repeating unhealthy relationship patterns.
Attachment Wounds
ptsd & Complex trauma
ptsd & Complex trauma
Serious personal or family health crises—such as a life-threatening illness or intensive care hospitalization—can leave lingering fear, hypervigilance, or anxiety about health and safety. The unpredictability of medical issues often triggers a sense of loss of control, which can exacerbate stress and worry.
Medical or Health-Related Trauma
EMDR is a structured therapeutic approach that begins with a foundation of safety to support clients in processing most effectively. During our EMDR therapy work together, I will guide you through a set of bi-lateral stimulation (eye-movement or tapping) while you reflect on a distressing memory or negative/limiting belief about yourself. This allows you to access and “unlock” the memory and process it in a more effective and helpful way. This can result in dramatic shifts, with people reporting they were able to finally feel a sense of peace or calm within their minds and bodies, let go of unhelpful behavior patterns, and no longer feel at the mercy of feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, or fear.
EMDR therapy uses eye-movement (or an alternative form of bi-lateral stimulation like tapping with the hands) to stimulate the brain's natural healing process, mimicking what occurs in our brains during REM sleep.
How Does EMDR Work?
Reach your goals in less time than traditional therapy
Resolve underlying issues so there is less need to “cope”
Experience less rumination
Decrease feelings of guilt and encourage self-compassion, and self-acceptance
Strengthen your confidence
BENEFITS OF EMDR:
In EMDR Therapy, you don’t have to talk about disturbing or traumatic memories in depth. This may feel like a relief if talking through painful emotional or physical experiences is something you just don’t feel ready to do. I will ask you to think of something bothersome or distressing that you want to work on and as long as you’re able to identify that for yourself and feel the emotions connected with that memory or event, whether it happened last week or years ago, we can begin EMDR.
I am passionate about utilizing EMDR to help my clients find relief after stressful and painful experiences. EMDR is a tool in my holistic therapeutic approach to support my clients’ overall wellbeing. EMDR is a profound, research-backed therapy that helps people find relief by reprocessing and healing from deeply rooted emotional distress – whether from a single traumatic event or the ongoing stress of a high-pressure life.
Imagine feeling calm in your own body and more confident in your decisions. EMDR can help break the cycle of stress, anxiety, and unresolved trauma so you can feel calm in your own body, connect with the people who matter, and pursue the things that bring you joy.
You’ve tried figuring it out on your own. Let’s try something different.
Jennifer Nemecek, JD, LCSW
In the preparation phase, we will explore your current coping skills and I will teach you additional grounding and relaxation strategies you can use in preparation of beginning the reprocessing part of EMDR, as well as during and after EMDR sessions.
Phase 3: Assessment
Next, you will choose specific issues or memories you want to work on. This phase is collaborative and there’s no need to worry if you are curious about EMDR, but not sure exactly what issue you would like to target. We can work on any memory in EMDR, whether an early childhood experience or something that happened last week that is troubling you.
Phase 2: Preparation
In our first few EMDR sessions, we will dedicate time to discuss what brings you to therapy, aspects of your background and development, and current goals for therapy. I will ask you questions about your history, i.e., starting at the beginning of your life and taking time for me to learn about you, your experiences, life events, etc.
Phase 1: History Taking
After the distress related to the memory you processed has decreased, we will work to try to replace negative or limiting beliefs about yourself with a more useful, positive belief. I am to support you in identifying what belief you want to “install” so that it feels true to you on a deep level, helping you integrate healthier, more adaptive perspectives moving forward.
Phase 6: Body Scan
After the distress related to the memory you processed has decreased, we will work to try to replace the negative or limiting belief you hold about yourself with a more useful, positive belief. I will be there to support you in identifying what belief you want to “install” so that it feels true to you on a deep level, helping you integrate healthier, more adaptive perspectives moving forward.
Phase 5: Installation
This is the phase where we target a distressing experience or memory, with the goal of significantly decreasing its emotional intensity. I will ask you to focus on a specific memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as using your eyes to track the movement of an object, or gentle tapping. This helps your brain process the memory in a way that reduces its emotional charge, so it feels less overwhelming. Over time, the goal is for the memory to feel more distant and less triggering, allowing you to move forward with a greater sense of peace and control.
Phase 4: Desensitization
Reevaluation happens at the start of a new session to check in about how you’ve been feeling since the last session. We’ll revisit the memory we worked on to see if any distress remains and assess whether the positive beliefs we installed still feel true. If needed, we’ll continue processing, move on to other memories, or transition to non-EMDR therapy if useful.
Phase 8: Reevaluation
As we conclude our session, I'll check in to make sure you feel grounded and calm. We’ll check in on whether there is anything you feel is left to reprocess about the target you chose for that day’s session and discuss how to manage any difficult emotions that may come up between sessions. My goal is that you feel ready to leave the session with a plan of what is next for our work together.
