Still Motion Therapeutic Services LLC | Now offering EMDR via telehealth and accepting new clients

Some experiences stay with us long after they are over. A car accident, a medical emergency, years of criticism in childhood, the end of a relationship, a loss that arrived without warning. You may understand, logically, that the danger has passed, yet your body and mind still respond as if it is happening now. You can explain what happened. You just can’t seem to stop feeling it.

If that sounds familiar, you are not broken, and you are not alone. This is how the nervous system responds when an experience is too overwhelming to be fully processed at the time. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy designed to help the brain finish that work.

At Still Motion Therapeutic Services, we are glad to share that we now offer EMDR therapy and are accepting new clients through secure telehealth.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR was developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s and has since become one of the most extensively researched treatments for trauma. Major bodies, including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense clinical practice guidelines, recognize EMDR as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

EMDR is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. In simple terms, the AIP model proposes that the brain has a natural ability to process everyday experiences and file them away as memories. When an event is overwhelming, that process can stall. The memory remains “stuck,” stored with the original images, body sensations, emotions, and beliefs, as though it were still happening. Later, a sound, a smell, a tone of voice, or a date on the calendar can set off the same reaction.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating tones, or alternating taps, while you briefly focus on a distressing memory. This dual attention is thought to help the brain resume its natural processing, so the memory can be stored as something that happened then, rather than something that is happening now.

A common misconception is that EMDR means reliving the trauma in detail. It does not require you to narrate every painful event, and you remain in control and awake throughout. Many clients find this more manageable than approaches that depend on extended retelling.

What Can EMDR Help With?

EMDR is best known for treating PTSD, but clinicians also use it for the effects of:

Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, medical events, disasters)
Childhood adversity and attachment wounds
Grief and traumatic loss
Anxiety, panic, and phobias linked to specific experiences
Painful relationship experiences
Negative core beliefs such as “I’m not safe,” “It was my fault,” or “I’m not good enough”

Research is strongest for PTSD, and results for other concerns vary from person to person. During your initial evaluation, we will discuss whether EMDR is a good fit for your goals.

The Eight Phases of EMDR

EMDR is structured and paced carefully. It is not a single technique but a full treatment model with eight phases:

History taking and treatment planning. We learn about your background, current symptoms, and goals, and identify the memories and triggers to target.
Preparation. Before any processing begins, we build coping and grounding skills, such as calm-place imagery and breathing, so you have tools to steady yourself.
Assessment. You choose a target memory and identify the image, the negative belief tied to it, the emotions, and where you feel it in your body.
Desensitization. With bilateral stimulation, you notice whatever arises, in short sets, while the distress tied to the memory gradually decreases.
Installation. We strengthen a more adaptive belief, such as “I did the best I could” or “I am safe now.”
Body scan. We check for any leftover tension or sensation connected to the memory.
Closure. Every session ends with grounding so you leave feeling stable, even if processing is incomplete.
Reevaluation. At the next session, we review progress and decide what to target next.

The preparation phase matters. Moving at a pace that feels safe and grounded is central to how we work, and EMDR is never rushed.

What Does EMDR Look Like in Practice?

The examples below are illustrative composites, not real clients. They are meant to show how EMDR concepts can appear in everyday life.

Example 1: A car accident that keeps replaying. A client was rear-ended on the highway two years ago and was not seriously hurt. Still, she grips the wheel, avoids the interstate, and startles at the sound of screeching brakes. In EMDR, the target memory is the moment of impact. Her negative belief is “I’m not safe.” As processing proceeds, the intensity of the memory fades, the physical tension eases, and her belief shifts toward “It’s over, and I can handle driving.” She doesn’t forget the accident. It simply stops running her life.

Example 2: A long-held belief from childhood. A client in his thirties is highly successful but freezes when his work is criticized. He traces it back to being shamed by a teacher in front of the class when he was nine. The memory itself is not violent, but it carries the belief “I’m a failure.” Through EMDR, he and his therapist work with that early memory, and with the later moments that reinforced it, so the belief can be replaced with “I can make mistakes and still be worthy.”

Example 3: Grief that feels frozen. A client lost a parent suddenly and cannot stop picturing the phone call that delivered the news. The image arrives in moments of quiet and has made sleep difficult. EMDR helps process that specific moment so she can remember her parent through love and meaningful memories rather than through the shock of that call.

In each case, the goal is not to erase the past. It is to change how the past lives in the present.

EMDR Through Telehealth

Still Motion Therapeutic Services is an exclusively virtual practice, and EMDR translates well to a secure video format. Bilateral stimulation can be delivered remotely in several ways:

On-screen eye movement. You follow a moving dot or light bar on your screen.
Audio tones. You listen to alternating sounds through headphones.
Self-tapping. You gently alternate taps on your shoulders, knees, or the “butterfly hug,” guided by your therapist.

Processing from home can also feel comforting, since you are in a familiar space and can settle into your own environment afterward. To prepare, we suggest a private room, a reliable internet connection, headphones if possible, and a few quiet minutes after your session before returning to your day. We will review safety planning and grounding strategies with you before processing begins.

Our practice is licensed to provide therapy in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

What to Expect After a Session

It is common to feel tired or emotionally tender for a day or so after EMDR. Some people notice vivid dreams, new memories surfacing, or a brief rise in emotion as processing continues between sessions. We will talk with you about what to expect, and we encourage you to keep a short note of anything that comes up so we can address it together at your next visit. Over time, clients often report that triggers lose their charge, that they feel calmer in situations that once felt overwhelming, and that the way they talk to themselves becomes kinder.

Is EMDR Right for You?

EMDR is not the right starting point for everyone. If you are currently in crisis, have significant dissociation, or lack stability and support, we may spend more time on stabilization first. That is part of responsible, evidence-based care, not a setback. Our team will help you decide what fits at each stage of your healing.

Begin Again, At Your Own Pace

Healing doesn’t require you to relive your hardest moments or to white-knuckle your way through them. It asks for a safe space, a skilled guide, and a method that works with the way your mind and body are designed to heal. At Still Motion Therapeutic Services, we call this going beyond the couch, combining evidence-based care with attention to the mind-body connection and the stillness that makes change possible.

We are now offering EMDR therapy and accepting new clients via telehealth. If you are ready to learn more, reach out for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to see whether one of our clinicians is a good match for your goals.

Schedule: stillmotionts.com
Phone: 617-858-8017
Email: contactus@stillmotionllc.com

This post is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.

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