Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Some experiences stay with us in ways that continue to affect how we feel, respond, or move through everyday life. Sometimes, working through them requires a different kind of support.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, commonly known as EMDR, is an evidence based therapy that helps the brain process experiences and reduce the reactions, fears, or beliefs that remain connected to them.

At Kincove, EMDR is tailored to the person. We consider what someone is experiencing, how it is affecting their life, and what they want to change to guide the focus and pace of the work.

We offer EMDR therapy for teens and young adults in Los Angeles, conveniently located for individuals and families in Beverly Hills, Westwood, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Bel Air, and surrounding communities.

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When EMDR Can Help

Difficult experiences do not always show up as a clear memory. They can also show up in how someone reacts, what they avoid, or what they have come to believe about themselves.

This may look like:

  • Feeling anxious or on edge without fully understanding why

  • Becoming overwhelmed by certain situations, conversations, or reminders

  • Replaying an upsetting experience long after it happened

  • Avoiding people, places, feelings, or situations connected to an experience

  • Shutting down or reacting strongly during conflict

  • Expecting rejection, abandonment, or something to go wrong

  • Carrying fear, shame, guilt, or self-blame that feels difficult to shift

EMDR can be used for trauma, anxiety, grief, rejection, difficult relationship experiences, medical experiences, and other events that continue to affect how someone feels or responds in the present.

What EMDR Looks Like

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, most commonly guided eye movements or alternating tapping, while working with specific memories, thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations.

You and your therapist first identify what you want to focus on and prepare for the work together. During processing, your therapist guides the session and checks in throughout.

You don’t have to describe every detail or repeatedly retell what happened. You remain aware and in control throughout the process.

EMDR can be incorporated into ongoing individual therapy or used to focus more specifically on an experience, reaction, fear, or belief that continues to affect you.

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What We’re Working Toward

EMDR is not about erasing a memory or making an experience feel unimportant. The goal is to process what happened so it carries less intensity and has less influence over how you feel and respond now.

That may mean a memory feels less activating, reminders become easier to encounter, reactions feel less automatic, or a belief about yourself begins to shift.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • EMDR may be helpful if something you’ve experienced in the past still feels present in your life now. That might look like anxiety, strong emotional reactions, intrusive memories, avoidance, negative beliefs about yourself, or patterns you understand but still have a hard time changing.

    We’ll talk about what you’re experiencing and whether EMDR makes sense for what you want to work on.

  • Your therapist will guide you through bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or alternating tapping, while you notice thoughts, emotions, memories, or physical sensations connected to the experience.

    You’re awake and aware throughout the process, and you can pause at any point.

  • There isn’t a set number of sessions. Some people are working through a specific experience, while others are addressing patterns connected to multiple experiences over time.

    The pace depends on what you’re working on and how you respond to treatment.

  • No. EMDR is often associated with trauma and PTSD, but it can also be used for anxiety, fears, grief, rejection, difficult relationship experiences, and other experiences that continue to affect you.

  • You don’t need to know exactly what experience is connected to how you feel.

    Your therapist can help you identify memories, beliefs, or patterns that may be contributing to what you’re experiencing now and determine where to begin.

  • Yes. EMDR can be a focused service on its own or incorporated into individual therapy.

    We’ll help you determine which approach makes the most sense for what you’re looking for.