EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania & Colorado
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EMDR Therapy in Philadelphia, PA
Heal from Trauma and Emotional Pain With a Proven, Brain-Based Approach
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most researched and effective therapies for trauma, anxiety, and distressing life experiences. Many people feel drawn to EMDR because of its ability to create deep, lasting healing—often more efficiently than traditional talk therapy alone.
When we live through something overwhelming, the brain doesn’t always get the chance to fully process what happened. Instead, the memory can become “stuck,” creating emotional blocks that keep you feeling anxious, on edge, or disconnected long after the event is over. These blocks interfere with how the brain naturally wants to function, making it harder to feel present, grounded, and fully alive.
EMDR helps remove those blocks so your brain can resume its natural healing process. By working with both the mind and nervous system, EMDR allows you to reprocess stored trauma, reduce emotional distress, and move forward with greater ease.
Many people are surprised to learn that healing doesn’t always have to take years. With EMDR therapy, the brain has an innate ability to heal—sometimes more quickly and more completely than they ever expected.
"You are not lazy, unmotivated, or stuck. After years of living in survival mode, you are exhausted. There's a difference."
~Nakeia Homer
What Can I Expect With EMDR Therapy?
A Structured, Research-Backed Approach to Trauma Healing
EMDR is more structured than traditional talk therapy, which is why it’s essential to work with a fully trained and experienced EMDR therapist. At our Philadelphia therapy practice, we follow the standardized 8-phase EMDR protocol to ensure you receive safe, effective, and trauma-informed care.
Here’s what each phase typically looks like:
Phase 1: History & Treatment Planning
Your EMDR therapist will get to know you—your history, strengths, symptoms, and how trauma is affecting your life today. Together, you’ll identify the main issue you want to work on and map out the memories, experiences, or beliefs connected to it.
Phase 2: Preparation & Coping Skills
Before reprocessing begins, your therapist will explain what EMDR looks like and make sure you have the coping tools needed to handle any emotional intensity that may arise. Safety and stabilization always come first.
Phase 3: Assessment of the Target Memory
This is where reprocessing starts. You and your therapist will choose one specific memory to target. Your EMDR therapist will ask questions to understand:
How distressing the memory feels
The negative beliefs connected to it
The emotions and body sensations that come up
Phase 4: Desensitization Using Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)
Your therapist will guide you through sets of Bilateral Stimulation—most commonly eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones. BLS helps the brain process the “stuck” material so the memory becomes less distressing over time.
The goal: reduce emotional intensity and begin clearing the block.
Phase 5: Installing a Positive Belief
You will already have identified a positive belief you want to hold instead of the old, negative one. During this phase, your therapist uses more BLS while you focus on the memory paired with this new belief. You’ll continue until the positive belief feels genuinely true for you.
Phase 6: Body Scan
You’ll bring the targeted memory back to mind and notice any remaining physical sensations—tightness, discomfort, or even positive shifts. If anything is present, your therapist will guide you through additional BLS until the body feels neutral and settled.
Phase 7: Closure
If you haven’t fully completed phases 4–6 by the end of the session, your EMDR therapist will help you return to a grounded, regulated state. You’ll use calming or containment strategies to ensure you leave the session feeling stable and supported.
Phase 8: Reevaluation
At the start of your next session, you and your therapist will revisit the memory and assess how it feels now. If the distress has significantly decreased and the positive belief still feels strong, you’ll move on to new memories. If not, you’ll continue with targeted reprocessing in Phase 4.
EMDR Isn’t Something You Do Alone
It’s normal for this to sound like a lot—EMDR is a structured, powerful method. But you are never guiding yourself through these steps. Your trained EMDR therapist leads you every step of the way, ensuring you feel safe, prepared, and supported throughout the entire process.
Why Choose EMDR Therapy for Trauma Treatment?
A powerful way to heal without retelling your entire trauma story
One of the reasons so many people seek out EMDR therapy is that it allows you to heal from trauma without having to talk through every detail of what happened. EMDR works directly with the parts of the brain that traditional talk therapy can’t always reach—especially the areas involved in memory, emotion, and the nervous system.
Research shows that EMDR can often help people process trauma more efficiently than standard talk therapy. For many years, the belief was that healing required revisiting your trauma narrative in detail. Today, trauma-informed care looks very different.
Instead of focusing on the event itself, EMDR centers on how the trauma is affecting you right now—your body, your emotions, your beliefs, and your nervous system.
For example, someone who experienced a car accident might notice:
Hypervigilance
Flashbacks
Difficulty driving
Increased heart rate
Panic responses
These reactions aren’t about the accident itself but about how the nervous system learned to protect you.
Trauma Shows Up Differently for Everyone
Two people can go through the exact same event and have completely different trauma responses. While one person may feel on edge, anxious, or flooded with memories, another may shut down, dissociate, or feel disconnected from their surroundings.
Both responses are valid—and both signal that the nervous system was overwhelmed.
This is why EMDR therapy focuses on:
The trauma response
How the body reacts to current triggers
The beliefs you formed during the event
The sensations and emotions that still feel “stuck”
One of the most beautiful aspects of EMDR is that you do not need to talk about your trauma in detail to heal. Instead, the work centers on the internal experience—what you feel, what you believe, and how your body holds the memory.
By targeting the emotions, beliefs, and physical sensations connected to your trauma—not the full narrative—EMDR helps you release what’s been stored and regain a sense of control and safety in your daily life.
“Forgive yourself for not knowing better at the time. Forgive yourself for giving away your power. Forgive yourself for past behaviors. Forgive yourself for the survival patterns and traits you picked up while enduring trauma. Forgive yourself for being who you needed to be.”
— Audrey Kitching
Can You Receive Online EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania?
While EMDR was historically offered almost exclusively in person, the landscape of therapy shifted significantly in 2020. When COVID-19 arrived and in-person sessions became limited, EMDR therapists across the country worked quickly to adapt this powerful method to a virtual format.
At first, many providers wondered whether EMDR could maintain its effectiveness online. Fortunately, both clinical experience and research have shown that online EMDR therapy is just as effective as in-person EMDR. Therapists developed secure and reliable methods for offering bilateral stimulation virtually, allowing clients to continue trauma treatment safely from home.
Today, online EMDR therapy is not only common—it’s preferred by many clients who want:
The convenience of receiving trauma therapy from home
A sense of privacy and comfort in their own space
Access to an EMDR therapist anywhere in Pennsylvania
Reduced travel time or childcare needs
Whether you’re located in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or anywhere else in Pennsylvania, you can engage in high-quality virtual EMDR therapy with a trained and experienced therapist.
Try Online EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania Today!
Trauma is something many of us experience at different points in life. While traditional talk therapy has been helpful for some, evidence-based approaches like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy now offer a highly effective way to understand and heal from its impact.
Whether you’re navigating trauma that has affected you for years or responding to a recent life event, a trained EMDR therapist can help guide you through the healing process in a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment.
At Revive Therapy Services in Pennsylvania, you will work with an EMDR therapist who is trained to help you:
Contact Revive Therapy Services to schedule your appointment
Meet your EMDR therapist and begin creating your personalized treatment plan
Become unstuck and start moving forward toward healing and resilience
Other Services at Revive Therapy
Don’t let shame, guilt, or unresolved trauma hold you back. You deserve peace, healing, and a space to process life’s challenges—whether this is your first time in therapy or you’ve been here before.
In addition to EMDR therapy, Revive Therapy Services in Pennsylvania & Colorado offers:
Somatic Therapy for mind-body healing
Ketamine-Assisted Therapy (KAP) for treatment-resistant depression and trauma
Take the first step toward healing today—contact us to schedule your session!