Sometimes something from the past doesn’t stay in the past.
You might notice it in moments that don’t quite make sense — reacting more strongly than expected, feeling overwhelmed or shut down, or a familiar emotional pattern showing up again and again.
Even when you understand why, it doesn’t necessarily shift.
This is often where EMDR therapy can help — for anxiety, trauma, and PTSD, and for emotional reactions or patterns that keep showing up despite your best efforts to manage them.
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is a therapy that helps your system process experiences that feel stuck.
Rather than only talking about what happened, EMDR works with how those experiences are stored in your body and nervous system. It uses bilateral stimulation — like eye movements or tapping — while you bring attention to a memory, feeling, or pattern.
Over time, this can help reduce emotional intensity, shift how a memory is held, and create more space and flexibility in how you respond — even to things that have felt fixed for a long time.
EMDR isn’t only for obvious trauma or overtly distressing experiences.
It can also help with experiences that were overwhelming at the time, that built up gradually, or that were never fully processed — even if they don’t feel like “trauma” in the traditional sense.
This might include:
➜ anxiety or PTSD that feels connected to past experiences
➜ relationship patterns that keep repeating
➜ strong emotional reactions that don’t match the present moment
➜ experiences or memories that still carry a charge when you think about them
EMDR is also widely used with first responders and veterans for operational stress injuries and PTSD. If you’re a retired RCMP member or Veteran, this may be covered through Veterans Affairs Canada with direct billing.
EMDR isn’t about forcing you to relive something.
We go slowly, at a pace that feels manageable. A session might involve identifying a memory, feeling, or pattern to work with — then noticing what comes up as we bring attention to it. Thoughts, emotions, body sensations. We use bilateral stimulation to support the processing as it unfolds.
It’s less directive than people often expect. You’re not required to describe everything in detail or push through something that feels like too much. We’re tracking what’s happening together the whole way through — and we can adjust the pace at any point.
If EMDR uses eye movements or tapping, how does that work over video?
The short answer: it works well, and it’s widely used. The bilateral stimulation — the left-right rhythm that’s part of how EMDR helps the brain process — adapts to online work through secure tools designed for it: visual movement on your screen, gentle sounds, or tapping, depending on what suits you. We find what works for you.
What matters most in EMDR isn’t the specific form of the bilateral stimulation — it’s the relationship, the pacing, and the careful attention to what’s happening in your body and nervous system as we go. All of that translates to online work. In some ways, being in your own space can even help — you’re somewhere familiar and safe, which can make it easier to settle and do the work.
Online EMDR is available across British Columbia. We go at a pace that feels manageable, the same as we would in person, and we’re tracking what’s happening together the whole way through.
EMDR isn’t a technique I apply in one set way. Sometimes we use it to work through a specific incident or memory. Other times it’s woven into a larger, ongoing process — part of how we’re working together rather than a separate thing we switch into.
Either way, we take time to understand what you’re experiencing before going anywhere difficult. We build enough stability first. And we stay connected to what’s happening as it unfolds — adjusting the pace as needed rather than following a fixed protocol.
EMDR tends to be most effective when it’s part of a thoughtful, integrated process — not something we rush into, and not something that happens in isolation from the rest of the work.
As processing unfolds, people often notice memories feeling less charged or intrusive, emotional reactions becoming less intense, and more steadiness in how they respond day to day.
Not because the past disappears — but because it no longer holds the same weight.
These shifts tend to happen gradually — and in a way that carries forward into everyday life, not just in the therapy room.
There’s no set number — it depends on what you’re working with, how your system responds, and what pace feels right. Some people notice shifts relatively quickly; others are working with more layered experiences that take longer. We check in as we go.
Yes — online EMDR is effective and widely used. We adapt the bilateral stimulation for video sessions, and there are several ways to do this that work well. If you’re curious about how it works remotely, feel free to ask when you reach out.
If something here resonates, reach out. Whatever you’re carrying, you don’t have to figure it out alone — and there’s often more possibility for change than it feels like from the inside.
You can book a session directly, or start with a free 15-minute video consultation — no commitment required.
In-person EMDR therapy in Squamish and throughout the Sea to Sky corridor — online EMDR therapy available across British Columbia.