Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based trauma therapy designed to help your brain heal from distressing experiences.

Through guided bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, sounds, or tapping), EMDR helps you process painful memories, release emotional blocks, and restore your sense of safety and control.

It’s not about talking in circles or rehashing every detail; it’s about helping your nervous system and brain finally reprocess what happened, so it no longer feels like it’s happening now.

Absolutely. EMDR can be a powerful tool for healing after a breakup.

Breakups often activate old attachment wounds and feelings of abandonment or rejection that go far beyond the current relationship. EMDR helps you process both the pain of this breakup and any earlier experiences that made it hit so deeply.

By helping your brain reprocess those emotional memories, EMDR allows you to move through grief, release lingering emotional ties, and reconnect with your sense of worth and self-trust.

Many clients describe EMDR as the turning point after a breakup, when they stop replaying the past and start feeling ready for the kind of healthy, secure love they truly deserve.

Yes. EMDR therapy can be incredibly effective for dating anxiety.

If you feel triggered by texting, ghosting, rejection, or fears of being “too much” or “not enough,” EMDR helps you get to the root of those reactions, the moments in your past that taught your nervous system that love isn’t safe.

Through reprocessing those experiences, EMDR helps your brain and body separate the past from the present so you can approach dating from a calm, grounded place rather than survival mode.

You’ll begin to notice more confidence, self-trust, and ease when meeting new people, and a deeper ability to recognize and attract emotionally available partners.

Absolutely. Perfectionism is often an anxiety-driven protection strategy, not a personality flaw.

EMDR therapy helps identify and reprocess the experiences that wired your nervous system to believe you must be perfect to be safe, accepted, or successful. When those roots are healed, many clients notice less pressure, less self-criticism, and a stronger sense of internal safety. EMDR is especially helpful when perfectionism is tied to shame, chronic stress, or earlier relational trauma.

EMDR can be a great fit when anxiety feels “bigger than logic,” shows up as body-based panic, or is linked to specific triggers, relationship patterns, or old emotional wounds.

If you have tried talk therapy or coping skills but still feel stuck in the same anxiety loop, EMDR therapy may help because it works directly with how the brain stores distressing experiences. During your consultation, we will assess whether EMDR is appropriate right now or whether we should begin with stabilization and nervous system regulation first.

When anxiety shows up in dating and relationships, EMDR often targets the beliefs and attachment wounds underneath the triggers.

That can include fears like “I’m not enough,” “I’ll be abandoned,” “I have to earn love,” or “My needs are too much.” EMDR helps reprocess the experiences that created those beliefs so you can approach relationships with more security, self-trust, and emotional steadiness.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are both evidence-based therapies used to treat anxiety, but they work in different ways.

CBT focuses on identifying negative thought patterns and behaviors and teaching coping skills to manage anxiety in the present. It is structured, skills-based, and helpful for building awareness, emotional regulation, and healthier thinking habits.

EMDR works by helping the brain process unresolved emotional experiences that may be driving anxiety beneath the surface. Instead of focusing primarily on thoughts, EMDR targets stored memories, body sensations, and emotional triggers that keep anxiety patterns active. EMDR is often used when anxiety is connected to past experiences, attachment wounds, or trauma.

Many clients benefit from a combination of both approaches. At RM Psychotherapy, CBT and EMDR are integrated to help women reduce anxiety, heal emotional triggers, and create lasting change in both their inner world and relationships.

Neither CBT nor EMDR is universally “better” for anxiety. The best approach depends on what is driving your anxiety. CBT is often helpful for managing day-to-day symptoms and building coping tools, while EMDR can be especially effective when anxiety is rooted in past experiences, relationship trauma, or attachment patterns. A trauma-informed therapist can help determine which approach, or combination of approaches, is the best fit.

Yes. EMDR therapy can be highly effective when done virtually.

Using secure telehealth platforms and guided bilateral stimulation tools (like alternating tones, visuals, or tapping), we can replicate the same neurological processes used in in-person sessions.

In fact, many clients find virtual EMDR even more comfortable; being in their own space can help them feel grounded and safe during emotionally charged moments.

Whether you’re working through anxiety, trauma, or past relationship wounds, EMDR delivered online allows you to experience deep healing and nervous system regulation from wherever you are.

If you’re based in New York or Florida, I offer virtual EMDR sessions so you can receive consistent support and continue your healing process without the stress of commuting.

The length of EMDR therapy depends on your history, goals, and the kind of healing you’re seeking.

Some clients notice meaningful relief after just a few sessions, while others, especially those processing long-term trauma or deep-rooted relationship patterns—benefit from a longer course of work.

In our first few sessions, we’ll focus on building safety, stability, and trust before moving into active EMDR reprocessing. Once you feel ready, we’ll gently target the experiences or beliefs that have been keeping you stuck and guide your brain toward adaptive healing.

Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR therapy can create noticeable emotional shifts relatively quickly, because it works directly with your nervous system and memory processing centers. The goal isn’t to rush your healing, it’s to help your mind and body integrate past experiences at a pace that feels grounded and empowering.

Each EMDR session is structured, supportive, and focused on your sense of safety.

We’ll begin with grounding techniques and check in about your current stress level so your nervous system feels regulated and prepared. Together, we’ll identify the experiences or beliefs that keep showing up—like “I’m not enough,” “I can’t trust people,” or “I’ll always be abandoned.”

Using gentle bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tones, or tapping), EMDR helps your brain reprocess those memories so they lose their emotional intensity. You’ll still remember what happened, but it will no longer feel charged or overwhelming.

Over time, you’ll start noticing more calm, clarity, and confidence in your daily life, relationships, and dating experiences. EMDR therapy allows you to respond from your present self rather than your past pain.

Yes. EMDR therapy can be very effective for people-pleasing that is rooted in anxiety, fear of rejection, or earlier relational experiences.

People-pleasing often develops when your nervous system learns that staying agreeable, helpful, or “easy” reduces conflict and helps you feel safe. EMDR helps you reprocess the memories and beliefs underneath the pattern (for example, “I’m only lovable if I make others happy” or “If I say no, I’ll be abandoned”). Over time, many women feel calmer setting boundaries, speaking up, and prioritizing their needs without the same level of guilt or panic.

No. Many women benefit from EMDR even if they do not identify with having “big T or complex trauma.”

EMDR is also helpful for what people call “small t trauma” or any sort of “adverse life experience” or chronic emotional stress, such as criticism, bullying, emotionally unavailable relationships, painful breakups, family dynamics, getting fired from a job, or any experiences that shaped your limiting core beliefs and self-worth. If those experiences created anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or fear of rejection, EMDR therapy can help your nervous system heal at the root.

Yes, and we will go at a pace that prioritizes safety. In trauma-informed EMDR therapy, preparation comes first.

Before reprocessing, we build grounding skills, inner resources, and nervous system regulation so you feel supported. Many anxious, sensitive women do very well with EMDR when it is paced thoughtfully and integrated with stabilization, boundaries work, and self-compassion.

Yes. RM Psychotherapy offers EMDR therapy for individuals in New York City, including the Upper East Side and surrounding areas. Therapy sessions focus on emotional awareness, attachment patterns, and building a fulfilling life and healthy relationships.

Yes. RM Psychotherapy offers EMDR therapy virtually for individuals in Florida, including Miami Beach, Brickell, and surrounding areas. Therapy sessions focus on emotional awareness, attachment patterns, and building a fulfilling life and healthy relationships.