EMDR Therapy in California
You’ve named the trauma. You’ve worked through it in therapy — maybe more than once. You can tell the story now without falling apart. And yet your body still flinches.
Your nervous system still spikes. The same reactions, the same triggers, the same patterns keep showing up no matter how much insight you’ve gathered.
If you’re nodding right now, talk therapy may have done what it can. The next layer often isn’t more talking — it’s reaching the part of you that didn’t have words when it happened.
That’s where EMDR comes in.
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a research-backed therapy designed to help your brain finish processing experiences that got stuck along the way. It draws on the natural reprocessing your brain does during REM sleep, and uses bilateral stimulation — eye movements, taps, or sounds — to help your nervous system move painful memories from “still happening” to “this happened, and I’m safe now.”
There’s a phrase we love at Eclectic Minds: if you are hysterical, it is historical. When something in the present feels disproportionate to what’s actually happening — the wave of panic at a small comment, the shutdown when someone raises their voice, the body memory that floods in for no reason — that intensity isn’t broken. It’s information. It’s an old wound asking to be tended to.
EMDR is a way to tend to it.
Who EMDR therapy helps
Our EMDR-certified therapists work with clients across California navigating:
- Complex trauma and C-PTSD — when "what happened" wasn't a single event but a pattern over time
- PTSD from acute trauma
- Sexual assault and abuse survivors
- Anxiety and panic attacks that don't respond to traditional approaches
- OCD and intrusive thoughts
- Dissociation — feeling disconnected from your body, your emotions, or the world around you
- Painful breakups and relationship trauma — including emotional abuse, betrayal, and grief
- Identity-based wounds — including those rooted in homophobia, transphobia, racism, and family rejection
If your story includes things you’ve never quite been able to “get over,” EMDR may be a path worth exploring — especially if traditional talk therapy has stopped moving the needle.
What EMDR therapy at Eclectic Minds is actually like
A few things we hear all the time, so let’s clear them up:
You’re not hypnotized. You stay fully aware, fully in control, and fully able to stop at any moment. EMDR isn’t something done to you — it’s a process you steer with your therapist beside you.
You’ll start the EMDR process in your very first session. That doesn’t mean you’ll immediately reprocess your hardest memory on day one. We begin with the foundation: history, safety, resourcing, and building the internal tools you’ll lean on as we go deeper.
EMDR is more than bilateral stimulation. The eye movements (or taps, or tones) get the most attention, but they’re one tool inside a much larger framework. The real work is the careful preparation, the targeted attention to specific memories, and the integration that follows.
No, you won’t suddenly remember things you didn’t remember before. EMDR doesn’t create new memories. It helps you reprocess the ones already there — so they stop running the show.
No, you won’t be retraumatized. Done well, EMDR is the opposite of reliving. It’s a guided, paced, deeply supported way of letting the original experience finally complete and release.
How EMDR helps you reconnect with your body
This is something we care deeply about — especially in queer, trans, and BIPOC trauma work.
So many of the people we serve carry trauma that lives in the body. Bodies that were policed, judged, harmed, hidden, or never felt safe to inhabit fully. Talk therapy can change how you think about your body. EMDR, integrated with somatic work, can change how you live in it.
Every EMDR client we work with gets a personalized assessment of their nervous system, their resourcing needs, and the specific somatic supports that will hold them through the work. Healing doesn’t happen if your body can’t tolerate the process. So we make sure your body can.
How often will I come to EMDR therapy?
Most clients begin with weekly 50-minute sessions — we strongly recommend this as the minimum cadence for the work to gain traction. EMDR is a process, and consistency lets your nervous system trust what’s happening.
We also offer:
- Maintenance sessions — once you've completed your targets and are ready to step back from weekly therapy, we offer ongoing maintenance to help you stay grounded
Your therapist will work with you to find the right pace.
Accessible therapy
We’re committed to making therapy accessible. Eclectic Minds is a private-pay practice, and we offer sliding scale fees.
We provide superbills you can submit to your insurance for out-of-network reimbursement. Fees are discussed openly during your free consultation so you can make an informed decision before committing to anything.
Meet your EMDR-Trained therapists
Adrina Wilson, LMFT — Founder & CEO, EMDR-Trained
Adrina specializes in trauma, identity, and the body’s role in healing, with deep experience supporting LGBTQ+ clients across California.
Erin Powers, APCC — EMDR-Trained
Erin brings a warm, mindfulness-informed approach to EMDR, integrating somatic and creative tools to support trauma healing.
EMDR therapy FAQ
Is EMDR really effective?
EMDR is one of the most well-researched therapies for trauma and PTSD, recognized by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. For many people, it accomplishes in a focused course of treatment what years of talk therapy couldn’t reach.
How long does EMDR take?
There’s no universal answer. Some clients feel meaningful shifts within a few sessions; others working with complex trauma do this work over many months. Your therapist will discuss expected timeframes once they understand your history and goals.
Can EMDR be done over telehealth?
Yes. We provide all EMDR therapy via secure telehealth across California, using bilateral tools designed for video sessions. Many clients actually prefer EMDR from their own space — somewhere they already feel safe.
Do I need a trauma diagnosis to do EMDR?
No. EMDR works on a wide range of stuck experiences, not only formally diagnosed PTSD. If something keeps surfacing, your nervous system is telling you it isn’t done — and that’s enough.
Is EMDR LGBTQ+ affirming at your practice?
Yes. Every clinician is trained in LGBTQ+ affirming care and weaves that lens through every part of the EMDR process. Your identity isn’t a sidebar to the work — it’s part of how the work is done.
Do you accept insurance?
We are a private-pay practice and provide superbills you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement. Fees are discussed openly during your free consultation.
Ready to find out if EMDR is right for you?
We offer free 15-minute consultations so you can meet a therapist, ask any questions, and get a feel for whether we’re the right fit. No pressure, no expectation — just a chance to see what feels possible.