What is EMDR Psychotherapy?

EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal effectively and relatively quickly from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.

Repeated Studies have shown that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy in months that once took years. It was widely assumed that severe emotional pain or problems, such as ptsd symptoms, phobias, debilitating anxiety, and other reactions that are deeply felt and ingrained, would take a long time to heal. While therapy is indeed a process, EMDR therapy has demonstrated in countless studies that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma if “blocks” are addressed using this innovative technique.

EMDR approaches healing with the theory that the brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward health; if the system is blocked or a memory is unprocessed, EMDR can help shift that state (block) and help the brain again move toward integrating the experience and receiving suffering and symptoms. Using detailed protocols and procedures, EMDR clinicians can help clients activate their natural healing processes.

More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies on EMDR have demonstrated that a high percentage of single trauma victims no longer have PTSD symptoms after only a handful of sessions. The World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association, many private insurance companies, and the Department of Defense all point to EMDR as highly rated evidence model to alleviate symptoms effectively so a person can live their life fully. To read more, check out www.emdria.org.

I am fully certified in EMDR, and am an EMDR consultant for EMDR trained clinicians. I have witnessed the effectiveness and transformational power of EMDR therapy. If it’s right for you, it can help you move through processing traumatic events, coping with anxiety and other challenges sometimes much more effectively than many other approaches. Working as a therapist for more than three decades, I’ve come to rely heavily on EMDR psychotherapy because I want to help people heal as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Therapy is a means to a more satisfying life, not the end in itself.

“Siobhan is fabulous. She is kind, compassionate, wise and experienced. Siobhan has helped me to move forward in my life, especially through some difficult transitions, with new skills and support. She is a knowledgeable and experienced EMDR practitioner and utilizes other resources as well to meet each individual where they are. Siobhan has adapted to the "new normal" of providing counseling, including EMDR, through a secure telehealth app that is extremely easy to use. I highly recommend Siobhan! TY”

Ms. Masterson is perceptive, insightful, and committed to helping her clients grow and supporting their loved ones to that end. We had taken our adolescent daughter to a psychiatrist and two different therapy practices over the course of two years, and our daughter was not properly diagnosed or treated during that time. Ms. Masterson was the first person to really "see" our daughter. She identified the core issues and has used strategies that have been highly effective within a short time. In addition, Ms. Masterson helped us advocate for a targeted 504 plan with the school district. Working with Ms. Masterson has been transformative for our daughter and we wholeheartedly recommend her practice. AP

My sessions with Siobhan have been life changing. She is caring, empathetic, intelligent, patient, skilled in her profession and very kind. I feel so lucky to have found her and I would recommend her to anyone in search of therapy. -SM

Doing EMDR therapy with Siobhan was unequivocally one of the best decisions I've ever been fortunate enough to make. I was prescribed EMDR to recover from symptoms of Functional Neurologic Disorder after a car accident and not only did those symptoms resolve, I was able to get over my oldest hang ups. I'm so glad I didn't have to go the rest of my life without being able to experience the transformation of EMDR. -MF

“Nobody wants to do it - not real change, not soul change, not the painful molecular change required to truly become who you need to be. Nobody ever does real transformation for fun. Nobody ever does it on a dare. You do it only when your back is so far against the wall that you have no choice anymore. ”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, Author