Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

Inclusive Online Therapy Across Ontario

“In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”

– Deepak Chopra, Author

When your past won’t let you move forward…

Life has become a series of triggers, traumas, and flashbacks. Everywhere you go, you’re walking on eggshells.

Living in fear isn’t really living. You’re reacting, stuck in fight or flight. You wish you could bubble wrap yourself for protection.

You notice yourself bringing back old patterns, and they aren’t pretty. You feel shrouded in shame and guilt, and you wish you could go back to before you felt this way (if you can even remember it).

You’ve gone through something incredibly painful, so why won’t the memories go away?

Living through it once was hard enough.

What if you could get unstuck?

Imagine the heaviness—gone.

Darkness—gone.

Numbness—gone.

The past isn’t haunting you anymore, and you can show up in the now. It’s like you can breathe for the first time after being trapped underwater.

It’s as if your triggers have been de-activated. You remember what happened to you, but it doesn’t pack the same gut punch anymore. You acknowledge the reality of your painful past, but you don’t live in it anymore.

You finally start to feel like yourself again. Yes, you’re actually healing.

YES, freedom is possible.  

With EMDR, you won’t have to talk about your pain in detail or fixate on the past. Instead, you’ll be re-training your brain to finally process the stuck memories.

In other words, those memories can’t keep you in shackles anymore.

You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, because you’ve done the work of deep healing.

Your brain has become your ally instead of your enemy, thanks to EMDR.

Who this type of therapy is for:

 → You’re tired of feeling trapped by the past and are desperate to move forward.

→ You’ve worked hard to develop emotion regulation and grounding skills, so you know you’re safe to dive deep.

→ You’re not a fan of spending session after session talking about your feelings. You want to do the work and feel better.

→ You’re actually ready to think about what happened to you, knowing that healing lies on the other side.

→ You want lasting emotional change, not just another skill you’ll have to practice every time you’re triggered.

What Is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a specialized therapy method to help heal trauma. Using bilateral stimulation (back-and-forth movements that might come from left-to-right noises, eye movements, or tapping), your brain is able to process traumatic memories that have gotten stuck. This also means that you’ll never have to talk about your trauma in detail. Just sit back, concentrate on the memory with the guidance of your therapist, and let the bilateral do its thing!

EMDR happens through a series of 8 steps, which can be summarized as follows:

  • A thorough intake where we’ll talk through your full trauma history, getting to the root of where you are today.

  • Focusing in on whichever memories feel most important to process, and making sure you’re set up with strategies to access them safely.

  • Using bilateral movement to de-sensitize first (make the memories less painful) and reprocess second (imprint new, more positive thoughts in their place).

Your brain is a pretty incredible thing, and EMDR helps bring it back to a calmer place. Say goodbye to triggers and say hello to safety, self-worth, confidence, and empowerment. This is EMDR!

Is EMDR for me?

Like any therapy, EMDR will not be the best fit for everyone. Here are a few issues that EMDR is especially well-suited for:

  • Anxiety, panic attacks, & phobias

  • Childhood neglect or trauma

  • Chronic pain or illness

  • Depression

  • Grief & Loss

  • Natural disasters & exposure to violence

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  • Self-esteem, self-confidence, & personal growth

  • Stress & burnout

  • Substance use & addiction

  • Trauma, PTSD, & C-PTSD

EMDR may not be right for you if you haven’t built strong emotion regulation skills (but don’t worry, we can help with those too). Your therapist will always make sure you’re emotionally ready prior to starting EMDR, and may recommend a different course of treatment for your well-being.

If EMDR doesn’t feel like your best fit, no problem! Our therapists use a range of methods to support you, and we’ll work together to customize therapy in a way that actually does fit. Check out a few of our other therapy styles here!

Why Choose Counterspiral?

Our team is a unique group with some important things in common.

  • We all deeply care about social justice, equity, and making the world a better place. We are actively anti-racist, queer and trans affirming, and we celebrate neurodiversity.

  • We are compassionate, supportive, and educated therapists who use evidence-based best practices to customize each session, just for you. And we’re also real people who will laugh with you, hold space for you, and authentically connect with you. We fully show up in session so that you have a brave and safe space to let it all out.

  • We know that therapy is really about you, so we’ll always do our best to match you to a team member who is a great fit.

  • You can get to know us better by visiting our Meet the Team page. We can’t wait to meet you!

Healing requires safety. Here are a few ways we offer it.

Let’s get started.