You can explain what happened and still have the same response when something brings it back. The insight is available afterward. In the moment, the reaction arrives first.
The Therapist's Den offers EMDR therapy for women in Nashville, with remote individual appointments across Tennessee when clinically appropriate. Our EMDR-trained clinicians work with distressing memories and their connection to current thoughts, emotions and reactions.
Meet our EMDR clinicians and book an individual appointment online.
What EMDR therapy is
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a structured psychotherapy used to address traumatic memories and related distress. During processing, the therapist guides attention to a selected target while using bilateral stimulation, which may involve eye movements or another appropriate method.
EMDR includes assessment, treatment planning, preparation and review as well as processing. The method has a sequence. It does not depend on arriving ready to discuss the most difficult event in full detail at the first meeting.
The VA's patient guide to EMDR describes the approach and its use for PTSD. That evidence informs treatment selection; it does not establish an identical pace or outcome for every person or every concern.
When the memory keeps feeling current
You may notice that a reminder changes the entire situation for you. A conversation becomes a threat. A harmless mistake brings a disproportionate sense of shame. You leave an interaction knowing that your response was connected to more than what just happened.
Some people avoid the reminder. Others try to prevent anything similar by becoming highly prepared, agreeable, vigilant or controlling. Those responses can create a life with very little room for uncertainty.
The assessment looks at the distressing experiences, the current triggers and what has developed around them. An EMDR treatment plan should identify the targets that are relevant to the problem you are seeking help for.
Preparation belongs in the treatment
Before processing begins, the therapist assesses your needs and discusses the method. Preparation can include ways to remain oriented to the present, communicate when the work is becoming too much and bring a session to an appropriate close.
You should know how to pause and what the plan is for reviewing your response. Readiness is considered within the assessment and throughout treatment. Being able to describe a traumatic event calmly is not the only information that matters.
Current circumstances also affect the plan. If an ongoing situation is unsafe or unstable, practical support and other clinical needs may need attention alongside or before memory processing.
What a processing session may involve
You and the therapist identify a target and the related images, beliefs, feelings or physical responses that are relevant to the protocol. During sets of bilateral stimulation, the therapist asks you to notice what emerges and guides the process.
You remain awake and engaged. You are not required to perform a particular reaction or produce an insight on demand. Your clinician monitors the work and determines how to continue within the treatment plan.
Not every appointment involves bilateral stimulation. Assessment, preparation, reevaluation and discussion of present-day concerns are also part of the course of care.
What changes need to be visible outside the room
Treatment is connected to the concern you brought. A review might examine whether a reminder still produces the same level of distress, whether avoidance has changed or whether an old belief continues to organize a current decision.
Memory-related distress can improve while a present-day problem still needs work. A difficult workplace may need a boundary. A relationship may need a direct conversation or a more accurate account of responsibility. EMDR can be part of therapy without replacing every other task.
Our trauma therapy page explains the broader treatment context, including PTSD and the choice of method.
One experience or several connected experiences
Some people bring a specific event. Others describe repeated experiences or a pattern that developed over many years. Your clinician helps organize the history and determine where to begin.
You do not need to arrive with the definitive explanation for every response. It is useful to describe a recent example: the situation, what you noticed and what happened afterward. That gives the assessment a present-day reference point.
The plan should remain responsive to what treatment reveals and to changes in your circumstances. Processing every memory separately is not an assumption you need to make in advance.
EMDR in person or through telehealth
Our East Nashville office provides a private individual therapy setting with dedicated parking and a ground-level entrance. Remote appointments are available to people located in Tennessee when the clinician and clinical circumstances support that format.
For a remote session, privacy, reliable technology and an appropriate location matter. Your therapist will discuss the setup and how the work will be managed. Select the clinician's actual listed appointment format when booking.
Read what to expect from EMDR therapy for more detail about an initial appointment and the treatment sequence.
EMDR therapy questions
Will I have to describe every detail of the memory
The clinician needs enough information to assess the concern and guide the treatment responsibly. EMDR may not require an extended spoken narrative of every detail, but processing involves attending to the selected target internally.
How long does EMDR treatment take
Treatment length depends on the concern, history, current circumstances and response to care. A structured method can still require a treatment plan that changes over time. Review progress with your clinician rather than relying on a promised number of sessions.
Do I need a consultation call to book
You can book an individual appointment directly online. Use the clinician profiles to select relevant expertise and discuss method fit during the assessment.
Can IOP and EMDR be part of the same plan
The level of care and treatment method are separate decisions. A clinician should assess whether EMDR is appropriate and how it would fit with any other treatment. IOP information describes the program inquiry route.
Bring the reaction you have not been able to think your way out of
You can begin with what happens now and work backward with a clinician whose training fits. Review our therapists and book an individual EMDR assessment online.