For experiences, beliefs, and reactions that have not fully become part of the past.

EMDR Therapy

Insight can explain a pattern.
It does not always change the reaction.

You may understand exactly why you feel or behave as you do. You may have talked about the past, recognized the pattern, and become exceptionally good at observing yourself—and still find that something in you reacts before the thoughtful, present-day part of you has any say.

A memory may continue to bring up anxiety, shame, anger, or grief. A familiar situation may trigger a response that feels much larger than what is happening now. You may carry a negative belief about yourself that you know intellectually is not true, but some deeper part of you still believes it.

EMDR offers a way of working directly with what has not shifted through understanding alone.

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based psychotherapy originally developed for trauma and now used with many experiences and patterns that continue to affect how people feel, respond, and relate.

Rather than requiring you to repeatedly tell the complete story, EMDR works with the different ways an experience may remain present: images, emotions, beliefs, physical sensations, and nervous-system reactions.

During portions of the process, you notice what arises while using alternating bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping. You remain awake, present, and in control throughout the session. You do not have to tell me every detail for the work to be effective.

EMDR does not erase what happened. The effect is that you can remember it without your mind and body continuing to respond as though it is still happening.

EMDR can be especially helpful when:

A specific experience still feels present, bringing up intrusive images, distress, avoidance, or heightened activation.
A negative belief continues to shape you—even though you know it’s not true.
Current situations trigger reactions that seem out of proportion or connected to something older.
The traumatic aspects of a loss are making it harder to move through the grief itself.
You have already done considerable therapy or personal work but feel that something remains unresolved.
You understand a pattern, but your emotional or physical reactions have not caught up.

What EMDR does not require

Telling every detail
Remaining immersed in the story
Knowing exactly where to begin

Shock and single-incident trauma

Accidents, assaults, medical emergencies, natural disasters, sudden losses, and other overwhelming events can leave behind intrusive thoughts or images, avoidance, heightened startle responses, or the sense that your nervous system has not realized the danger is over.

When the distress centers primarily around one specific event—and there is enough stability elsewhere in your life—focused EMDR can often bring relief surprisingly quickly.

In my experience, most people I work with for a discrete shock trauma experience significant relief within just a couple of sessions. I cannot promise a particular timeline, and earlier experiences can sometimes complicate what initially appears to be an isolated event. Still, this is an area in which focused EMDR can be especially powerful.

A discrete event and a nervous system shaped across many years are not the same kind of work.

EMDR is also used with childhood experiences, relational wounds, and protective patterns that developed over many years.

That is usually a different kind of process. When beliefs and nervous-system responses were shaped repeatedly across childhood or within important relationships, the work generally requires more time, preparation, pacing, and attention to the whole person.

A note about fit: My practice is best suited to adults who have enough stability in their daily lives to engage in this work. It is not designed for crisis-oriented care, intensive stabilization, or complex dissociation requiring a higher level of availability and support.

EMDR Intensives

Sometimes a weekly therapy hour is exactly right. Other times, once we know what we want to address, having several hours together allows us to stay with the work rather than stopping just as something begins to move.

I offer online EMDR intensives as either a focused, standalone experience or an adjunct to ongoing therapy. An intensive gives us concentrated time to identify and reprocess the experiences, beliefs, and reactions that continue to affect your life.

The basic structure

01 - Preparation

We begin with a 90-minute session one to two weeks before the intensive. We will talk about your history, clarify what you want to change, identify relevant experiences and beliefs, and make sure you have the preparation and internal resources needed for the work.

02 - Intensive sessions

We then schedule two three-hour EMDR sessions, either during the same week or across two consecutive weeks. Each includes a 30- to 60-minute break for food, movement, rest, grounding, or whatever helps your system reset before we continue.

03 - Follow-up

Approximately two weeks later, we meet for a 55-minute follow-up. We look at what has changed, address anything that still needs attention, and decide whether the work feels complete or whether additional sessions would be helpful.

View EMDR intensive fees

Jessica Campbell, LPCC, wearing a sleeveless blue blouse.

EMDR Certified Therapist
EMDRIA Approved Consultant
More than 20 years as a therapist

How I practice EMDR

I am an EMDR Certified therapist and an EMDRIA Approved Consultant. EMDR has been central to both my personal healing and my clinical work, and I have helped other therapists develop their understanding and skill in using it.

I respect the structure of EMDR while adapting the pacing and process to the person in front of me. Depending upon what is needed, I may also incorporate EMDR 2.0, the Flash Technique, somatic and nervous-system awareness, parts work, HeartMath, or other elements of integrative therapy.

The method matters. So does the relationship, the timing, your readiness, and your ability to remain connected with yourself as we work.

You do not have to arrive knowing which memory to address or whether EMDR is the right approach. We can begin with what is happening now and become curious about what may be keeping it in place.

Research and professional recognition

EMDR is one of the most extensively studied treatments for PTSD and is strongly recommended in major clinical practice guidelines. The World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs include EMDR among recommended trauma-focused treatments.

The research is strongest for PTSD. In my own clinical experience, its usefulness extends much further—to negative beliefs, recurring emotional and physical reactions, grief, relationship patterns, anxiety, and the many ways earlier experiences continue to shape present-day life.

Choosing an EMDR therapist

Look for someone who has completed an EMDRIA-approved training; certification reflects additional experience, consultation, and continuing education.

Credentials matter, but so does whether a therapist actually uses EMDR regularly and has confidence in what it can do. Some therapists advertise that they offer EMDR but use it infrequently, leaving clients doing mostly talk therapy when they specifically came for something different.

Before scheduling, consider asking:

How often do you use EMDR in your practice?
How soon do you typically begin EMDR with a new client?

Look for someone who has seen how life-changing EMDR can be, believes deeply in the work, and has continued developing their skill because they want to use it fully and well.

Healing does not change what happened. It changes how much of the present it gets to occupy.