Specialty
EMDR therapy
Some memories do not stay in the past. EMDR helps the brain finish processing what it once had to survive, so the memory becomes something you remember rather than something you relive.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a structured, well-researched therapy built on a simple observation: the brain knows how to heal, but overwhelming experiences can interrupt that process mid-sentence. The memory gets stored raw — with the same images, body sensations and beliefs it had in the moment. Years later a smell, a tone of voice, or a certain silence can open it again at full volume.
EMDR uses brief, guided attention on the memory alongside bilateral stimulation — eye movements, alternating taps, or tones — to help your brain re-file the experience. You are not hypnotized, you stay in control, and you do not have to narrate every detail out loud. Most people are surprised by how much shifts without having to re-tell the whole story.
EMDR works over video. We build a set of resourcing skills first, use on-screen visual targets or self-tapping, and confirm your private space and technology are steady before any processing begins.
EMDR may fit if
- You understand intellectually that it is over, but your body has not agreed
- One memory keeps interrupting your day uninvited
- You have done talk therapy and gained insight without much relief
- Certain sounds, dates or places reliably knock you sideways
- You hold a belief about yourself — I am too much, it was my fault — that logic cannot dislodge
The work
How EMDR unfolds here
Preparation first
Before we touch anything painful, we build grounding, containment and a reliable calm place you can return to. Nobody gets thrown into the deep end.
Targeted processing
We identify the specific memory, the image that holds the charge, the belief attached to it, and where it lives in your body — then process in short, contained sets.
Integration
We install what is true now, scan for lingering body activation, and close each session so you leave settled rather than raw.
What a session actually looks like
We start with a check-in and a grounding practice. When we move into processing, I will ask you to hold a piece of the memory in mind while following a moving dot on screen or tapping alternately on your knees, in sets of about thirty seconds. Between sets you tell me what came up — an image, a thought, a sensation. Sometimes just a word.
We follow whatever your brain offers next. Sessions often run a full 75 to 90 minutes for processing work so nothing is left half open, and we always reserve time at the end to come back to the room, the day, and your own breath.
What tends to change
- The memory loses its 3D quality and starts to feel genuinely behind you
- Triggers still register, but they stop hijacking the whole afternoon
- Sleep steadies as intrusive replays taper off
- The old belief about yourself softens into something more accurate
- You stop organizing your life around avoidance
BLOOMSTEAD COUNSELING: A SAFE PLACE TO FLOURISH
Ready when you are
Reaching out is the hardest sentence to write. You do not need the perfect words — a few honest ones are enough to begin.
Telehealth sessions throughout Texas. In-person office opening in Houston, Texas — November 2026