In-person in Walnut Creek & online across california
EMDR Therapy in Walnut Creek for Trauma & Anxiety
→ Offering EMDR therapy for trauma, anxiety, overwhelm, and nervous-system healing.
Do you feel like there are things you understand rationally — but your body or emotions still react differently?
Maybe you know you’re safe now, but your nervous system still braces for danger. Maybe you understand your patterns intellectually, but anxiety, shame, overwhelm, or emotional reactivity keep showing up anyway.
EMDR therapy helps your brain and nervous system process unresolved experiences so healing can happen beyond insight alone — emotionally, physically, and internally.
EMDR Therapy might be a good fit for you if…
You feel stuck in survival mode even when life looks “fine.”
You may find yourself overthinking, scanning for problems, emotionally reactive, shutting down, people-pleasing, perfectionistic, or unable to fully relax.
EMDR therapy helps the brain and body process unresolved experiences that may still be signaling “danger,” even when you consciously know you’re safe.
Your emotional reactions feel bigger than the present moment
A disagreement feels overwhelming. Feedback feels deeply personal.
Rest feels unsafe. Closeness feels vulnerable.
EMDR helps process the earlier experiences and nervous-system patterns connected to those reactions so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity.
You struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, or chronic nervous-system activation
Many people seeking EMDR therapy come in feeling emotionally exhausted from constantly managing anxiety, stress, hypervigilance, or emotional overwhelm.
You may look high functioning externally while internally carrying chronic tension, pressure, or a sense that your system never fully settles.
You’ve already tried traditional therapy
You may understand your story well and still feel emotionally stuck.
EMDR works differently than traditional therapy because it helps the brain reprocess distressing experiences rather than only talking about them intellectually.
Many people notice that triggers soften, emotional reactions feel less intense, and life begins to feel less emotionally heavy.
You want a gentle, nervous-system–informed approach to trauma therapy
My approach to EMDR is collaborative, relational, and paced with care.
We don’t force healing or overwhelm your system. We move thoughtfully, helping your nervous system feel safe enough for deeper healing and integration to happen.
You’re in the right place.
EMDR therapy helps your brain and nervous system process unresolved experiences so you can respond to life from the present instead of from survival patterns rooted in the past.
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s an evidence-based therapy approach originally developed for trauma, but it’s also widely used for anxiety, panic, attachment wounds, chronic stress, negative self-beliefs, and nervous system dysregulation.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — such as eye movements, tapping, or audio tones — while gently focusing on thoughts, emotions, body sensations, or memories connected to distressing experiences.
This process supports the brain in integrating experiences that may feel “stuck,” allowing them to become less emotionally charged and less activating over time.
The goal is not to erase memories or force you to relive painful experiences.
The goal is to help your mind and body stop responding as though those experiences are still happening now.
How can EMDR help with trauma?
Trauma is not only about what happened. It’s also about what your nervous system learned it had to do in order to survive.
Some people become hypervigilant.
Some become emotionally numb.
Some over-function, over-give, or over-control.
Some disconnect from themselves entirely.
EMDR helps the brain and body process traumatic experiences in a way that allows the nervous system to update, integrate, and respond differently in the present.
Over time, many people notice:
fewer triggers
less emotional flooding
more internal steadiness
improved emotional regulation
a greater sense of safety in themselves and the world
How can EMDR help with anxiety?
Anxiety often makes sense when we understand what your nervous system has been carrying.
You may know rationally that things are okay, but your body still reacts as if something is wrong. You might overthink, scan for problems, rehearse conversations, or feel responsible for keeping everything under control.
EMDR therapy can help process the experiences, beliefs, and body responses that keep anxiety active. Instead of only managing anxiety in the moment, EMDR works with what your nervous system may still be reacting to underneath the surface.
Over time, EMDR can support more calm in your body, less emotional reactivity, fewer anxiety spirals, and more trust in your ability to handle what comes up.
The goal is not to eliminate every anxious feeling. It’s to help your system stop living in constant preparation, protection, or alarm when you are no longer in danger.
What makes this different?
This work is not about pushing you past your limits or forcing healing before your system is ready.
My approach to EMDR is relational, collaborative, and deeply informed by nervous-system regulation and attachment work. I frequently integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS) and parts-based approaches to support the process gently and thoughtfully.
For many people, there are protective parts that have developed for very good reasons. We don’t fight those protections. We work with them.
Healing tends to happen more sustainably when your system feels safe enough to shift — not pressured into it.
Because EMDR can bring up protective responses, inner conflict, or parts that feel unsure about change, IFS can be a helpful complement. Parts work gives us a way to slow down, understand what each part is trying to protect, and support your system before, during, and after EMDR processing.
→ Explore Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
If you're looking for deeper, more focused work, I also offer EMDR Intensives designed to create momentum and allow for more sustained processing than weekly therapy alone.
1
Consultation
We begin with a consultation to explore what’s bringing you to therapy, what feels emotionally stuck, and whether this approach feels like the right fit.
2
Preparation & Stabilization
Before deeper processing, we focus on helping your system feel grounded, supported, and resourced enough for the work ahead.
3
Processing & Integration
As processing unfolds, distressing experiences often begin to feel less emotionally charged, allowing more calm, flexibility, clarity, and connection in daily life.
What you get
✓ A compassionate, nervous-system–informed approach
✓ Therapy paced with care and collaboration
✓ Support for trauma, anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional exhaustion
✓ Greater calm, flexibility, and connection within yourself
Imagine finally getting to…
Feel calmer inside your own body.
Not constantly bracing, overthinking, or carrying tension beneath the surface.
Trust yourself more fully.
Respond from the present instead of from old emotional survival patterns.
Experience more internal freedom.
Move through life with more choice, ease, and flexibility — instead of feeling pulled back into old patterns that no longer fit who you are now.
Ready to take the next step?
If this resonates, the next step is a consultation. We’ll talk through what’s been feeling stuck, what you’re hoping for, and whether EMDR therapy feels like the right fit for you. There’s no pressure to commit — just space to explore what you need and get a clearer sense of next steps.
Further Reading
A few places to keep exploring if you’re curious about EMDR and whether it might be the right fit.
EMDR vs. Talk Therapy: Why Insight Alone Sometimes Isn’t Enough
For the person who understands their patterns, but still feels emotionally or physically stuck.
What Does EMDR Therapy Feel Like?
A simple overview of what to expect in EMDR therapy, including how we prepare, move slowly, and support your nervous system throughout the process.
faqs
Other EMDR questions? I’ve got answers.
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EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a therapy approach that helps the brain and nervous system process distressing or unresolved experiences so they feel less emotionally charged in the present.
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No. EMDR can be helpful for acute trauma, complex trauma, anxiety, attachment wounds, negative self-beliefs, chronic stress, and experiences that may not seem “big” but still shaped how you feel about yourself, others, or the world.
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EMDR can feel different for each person. Some people notice memories, emotions, body sensations, or new insights arise and shift during processing. Others describe it as feeling like their brain is making connections in a new way. We move at a pace that feels manageable and grounded.
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EMDR can bring up emotion, but it should not feel like being pushed past your limits. A thoughtful EMDR process includes preparation, stabilization, and attention to your nervous system so the work feels supported rather than overwhelming.
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Yes. I often integrate IFS and parts-based work with EMDR. This can be especially helpful when part of you wants to heal while another part feels protective, hesitant, numb, overwhelmed, or unsure about going deeper.
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The next step is scheduling a consultation. We’ll talk about what’s bringing you to therapy, what you’re hoping for, and whether EMDR, IFS-informed therapy, weekly therapy, or an EMDR intensive feels like the best fit.