EMDR Therapy
EMDR Therapy in Tulsa
The story stays yours. The way your body tells it is what can shift.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is an evidence-based approach that can help you process traumatic memories and other distressing life experiences. It does not erase what happened. It can help the memory feel connected to the past rather than like a current threat.
The short version
Evidence based
A structured, eight phase psychotherapy approach.
You stay Fully awake
No hypnosis. You are aware and in control the whole time.
Paced by you
You can stop the process at any point, for any reason.
Your words, your limits
Processing a memory does not require describing every detail aloud.
When the past still feels present
Could EMDR be helpful?
Past experiences can sometimes continue to influence our emotions, beliefs, relationships, or physical reactions, even when we know we are safe in the present.
EMDR may be considered when distressing experiences continue to affect the way you feel or respond today. It is not the right starting point for everyone, and it is not the only approach we use. Whether it fits is something you and your counselor decide together.
Start With A Free ConsultationWhat people bring to EMDR
What Does EMDR Therapy Treat?
Clients may seek EMDR for a variety of distressing experiences, including the following.
Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress
Experiences that continue to feel distressing or overwhelming.
Grief and Loss
Painful experiences involving loss or significant life changes.
Distressing or Intrusive Memories
Memories that feel particularly vivid, painful, or difficult to move past.
Negative Beliefs About Yourself
Persistent negative beliefs about yourself connected to difficult experiences.
Anxiety, Fear and Shame
Strong emotional responses connected to past experiences.
Difficult Triggers
Reactions that feel difficult to understand or control.
This list is not a checklist to qualify against.
If something on it sounds familiar, that is reason enough to ask whether EMDR fits your situation.
The long version
What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, commonly known as EMDR, is an evidence-based, eight phase psychotherapy approach that helps people process traumatic memories and other distressing life experiences.
When an experience is overwhelming, aspects of the memory may continue to be triggered in the present, contributing to anxiety, fear, shame, negative beliefs, or uncomfortable physical reactions.
During EMDR, clients briefly focus on parts of a troubling experience while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided back and forth eye movements, alternating taps, or sounds.
EMDR does not erase or change what happened. Instead, it can help the memory feel more connected to the past rather than like a current threat. Clients remain awake and in control, are not placed under hypnosis, and may pause the process at any time. Clients are also not required to describe every detail of an experience.
EMDR may be used as a focused treatment or incorporated into a broader counseling plan, with preparation and treatment carefully paced according to each client's readiness, safety, and individual needs.
The memory remains, but its emotional weight may change.
Start With A Free ConsultationWhat the eye movements are for
How Does EMDR Work?
This part is the why. It is background rather than instructions, and you can skip the whole thing without missing anything you need before a first session. If what you actually want is a picture of what happens in the room, that is further down this page. For everyone else, here is the thinking behind EMDR in four steps, drawn from how the brain handles memory. Open any one to read it.
01
Bilateral stimulation
+
−
EMDR commonly uses guided back and forth eye movements, or other forms of bilateral stimulation such as alternating taps or sounds.
02
The REM resemblance
+
−
Those eye movements resemble the ones seen during Rapid Eye Movement sleep, which is associated with learning, memory consolidation, and emotional processing.
03
One leading theory
+
−
One theory proposes that EMDR may engage some of the brain's natural information processing systems in a similar way, allowing distressing material to be reorganized and feel less vivid or emotionally intense.
04
What is still being studied
+
−
The exact neurological mechanism is still being studied. Other explanations, including effects on working memory, may also help explain why the process reduces the intensity of distressing memories.
Researchers are still working out exactly why EMDR helps.
That it helps is well established. Either way, your counselor moves at the pace you set.
EMDR Starts Slower
Than People Expect
Begin with safety and support
EMDR Does Not Start With The Hard Part
Processing difficult memories is not where this begins. Assessment, treatment planning, preparation, and building tools for managing emotional distress all come first.
Your counselor will assess whether EMDR is appropriate for you and help you build coping and grounding skills before any reprocessing starts. From there it is paced to your goals, your readiness, and what you can carry.
What Happens In An EMDR Session?
Once preparation is done, you and your counselor pick a memory or concern to work on, along with the thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations attached to it. Then it goes like this.
01
Identify
You and your counselor identify the memory or concern to work with.
02
Notice
You briefly notice the selected memory while engaging in sets of bilateral stimulation.
03
Check in
Between sets, your counselor asks what you are noticing and helps guide the process.
04
Stay in control
You remain awake, aware, and in control throughout. You may pause at any time, for any reason.
05
Close safely
Your counselor helps you close the session safely and reviews progress over time.
EMDR is a collaborative process between you and your counselor.
You stay awake, aware, and in control the whole way through, and you may stop at any point.
Who does EMDR here
Two Of Our Counselors Are EMDR Trained
If EMDR turns out to be the right fit for you, one of these two would be the person you work with.
Kristi Patovisti
LPC, Founder
Julia Sullivan
LCSW
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can EMDR be done over telehealth?
Often, yes. The bilateral stimulation is adapted for video, usually with guided movement on screen or self administered tapping, and the rest of the process works the same way. Whether it is appropriate for you depends on your history and how steady things feel between sessions. Your counselor will talk that through before starting rather than defaulting to it.
Is it normal to feel stirred up after a session?
It can be. Processing sometimes keeps working between appointments, and thoughts, dreams, or emotions may surface afterward. That is why your counselor helps you close each session deliberately and sends you out with grounding tools. Tell them what came up. That information shapes the next session rather than meaning something went wrong.
Do the eye movements have to be eye movements?
No. Bilateral stimulation can also be alternating taps or sounds, and those are used routinely. If eye movements are uncomfortable, if you have a vision condition, or if tracking is simply hard for you, say so. Your counselor will use a different form. The back and forth rhythm is the point, not the eyes specifically.
Is EMDR recognized outside of the counseling office?
Yes. EMDR appears in PTSD treatment guidelines from the World Health Organization, the VA and Department of Defense, the American Psychological Association, the UK’s NICE, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. That is a meaningful signal, and it still does not tell you whether EMDR is the right fit for your situation. That part is a conversation.
Can children and teens do EMDR?
Yes, with adaptations. Younger clients often use shorter sets, more play and drawing, and simpler language for what they are noticing, with a parent involved as appropriate. Whether it suits a particular child depends on their age, what happened, and how they handle talking about it. That gets decided with you, not for you.