Trauma Doesn’t Have to Define You Forever.
EMDR therapy helps your brain finish processing what it got stuck on, so painful memories lose their grip and you can move forward. In-person in Billings and telehealth across Montana.
EMDR is especially effective for people whose struggles feel bigger than their circumstances, where something from the past keeps showing up in the present no matter how hard you try to move on.
Flashbacks or intrusive memories you can’t turn off
Nightmares or disturbed sleep related to past events
Feeling on edge, hypervigilant, or easily startled
Avoiding people, places, or situations that feel triggering
Emotional reactions that feel disproportionate to the moment
Shame or negative beliefs about yourself rooted in past experiences
Anxiety, panic, or depression with no clear current cause
Feeling disconnected from yourself or your body
Talk therapy hasn’t moved the needle the way you hoped
Grief or loss that still feels raw long after
Childhood experiences you’ve never fully processed
Relationship patterns you keep repeating and can’t understand
EMDR doesn’t require you to talk through every detail of what happened. Many people find that deeply relieving.
Get Started TodayEMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Despite the clinical name, the experience is often gentler than people expect. It’s a structured, evidence-based therapy developed in the late 1980s and now one of the most well-researched treatments for trauma in the world. It is endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The core idea: traumatic memories don’t always get fully processed by the brain. They get “stuck” and stored with the original emotions, beliefs, and body sensations intact. EMDR helps the brain finish the job.
In a session, your therapist guides you to briefly hold a distressing memory in mind while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus, typically the therapist’s moving fingers, bilateral tapping, or alternating tones through headphones. This bilateral stimulation activates both hemispheres of the brain and appears to mimic what happens during REM sleep, when the brain naturally processes and integrates experience.
The result: the memory doesn’t disappear, but it loses the emotional charge that’s been driving your reactions. Most people describe it as the memory becoming more distant, more like something that happened than something happening right now. The negative beliefs attached to the memory (“I am not safe,” “It was my fault,” “I am worthless”) begin to loosen and shift.
EMDR is not hypnosis. You stay fully awake, aware, and in control throughout. You don’t have to describe the trauma in detail. And you can stop at any time. See also our full trauma therapy page for more on how BSC approaches trauma treatment.
EMDR follows a structured protocol developed to ensure safety, stability, and lasting results. Your therapist moves through these phases at a pace that works for you, never rushing, never skipping the groundwork.
History & Treatment Planning
Your therapist learns your history, identifies the memories contributing to current distress, and maps out a treatment plan tailored to you.
Preparation & Stabilization
Before processing begins, you learn grounding and calming techniques so you have tools to manage distress both in and between sessions.
Assessment
You and your therapist identify a specific memory to target, the negative belief attached to it, what you’d prefer to believe instead, and where you feel it in your body.
Desensitization
The core of EMDR. You hold the target memory in mind while following bilateral stimulation. Your therapist guides you through sets, pausing to check what you’re noticing. The emotional charge gradually reduces.
Installation
The positive belief you identified is strengthened and linked to the memory, replacing the negative belief that was driving your distress.
Body Scan
You notice whether any residual tension or discomfort remains in your body when you bring up the memory. If so, it becomes the next target for processing.
Closure
Every session ends with grounding exercises so you leave feeling stable and safe, whether or not processing is complete for that memory.
Reevaluation
At the start of each new session, your therapist checks in on progress, ensures previous processing has held, and identifies what to work on next.
EMDR doesn’t erase the past. It changes your relationship to it. Here’s what clients often notice as processing progresses.
Memories That No Longer Hijack You
The same memory comes up, but without the flood of emotion or the physical reaction. It becomes part of your story, not a threat.
A Calmer Nervous System
Less hypervigilance. Fewer startle responses. More moments where your body feels genuinely safe in the present, not braced for the next threat.
Healthier Beliefs About Yourself
The deep-seated beliefs trauma instills, “I’m not safe,” “I’m to blame,” “I’m broken,” begin to loosen and shift toward something more accurate and compassionate.
More Capacity for Connection
When trauma stops consuming so much internal bandwidth, there’s more room for presence, intimacy, and genuine engagement with the people in your life.
Fewer Sessions Than You’d Expect
Research consistently shows EMDR works faster than traditional talk therapy for trauma. Many clients see significant relief in 6 to 12 sessions for a single traumatic event.
Results That Last
Unlike approaches that only manage symptoms, EMDR changes how the memory is stored in the brain. The gains are durable, not dependent on ongoing treatment to maintain.
Both therapists below are trained in EMDR and see clients in person at our Billings office and via telehealth across Montana.
Kelly brings over a decade of clinical experience to trauma work, including EMDR. As BSC’s Clinical Supervisor and 2025 Montana Clinical Social Worker of the Year, she’s known for her steady, grounded presence and her ability to help clients feel safe enough to do the deeper work.
Meet Kelly
Kinsey works with adults and teens navigating trauma, anxiety, and life transitions. She creates a warm, collaborative space where clients feel genuinely heard, and brings EMDR into her work as a powerful complement to the therapeutic relationship she builds with each person.
Meet KinseyDo I have to talk about my trauma in detail?
No, and many people find this the most relieving thing about EMDR. You don’t need to narrate every detail of what happened. Your therapist will ask you to briefly bring the memory to mind and notice what you’re experiencing, but you don’t have to describe it all out loud. The processing happens internally, with your therapist guiding the bilateral stimulation.
How is EMDR different from regular talk therapy?
Talk therapy works primarily through insight and understanding. EMDR works differently: it targets how traumatic memories are stored in the brain and helps the brain reprocess them at a neurological level. Many people who have made progress in talk therapy find EMDR unlocks something that conversation alone couldn’t reach.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on the nature and complexity of what you’re working through. A single, clearly defined traumatic event can often be processed in 6 to 12 sessions. Complex trauma, including multiple events, chronic abuse, or childhood neglect, typically requires a longer course of treatment. Your therapist will discuss realistic expectations with you early on.
Is EMDR only for PTSD?
EMDR was originally developed for PTSD, but it’s now used effectively for anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, performance anxiety, chronic pain, and more: essentially any condition with roots in distressing memories or experiences. If you’re unsure whether EMDR is right for your situation, your therapist will help you figure that out in an initial consultation.
What does EMDR actually feel like?
Most people describe the experience as surprisingly manageable, even in sessions where difficult material comes up. You remain fully awake and in control throughout. Some people feel emotional during processing; others notice physical sensations. Between sets of bilateral stimulation, your therapist checks in and you briefly share what you noticed. At the end of every session, you do grounding exercises so you leave feeling stable, not raw.
Do you accept insurance for EMDR therapy?
Yes. We accept most major insurance plans including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, and others, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. EMDR sessions are billed the same as standard therapy sessions. Contact our client care team to confirm your specific coverage, or visit our rates and insurance page for more details.
EMDR has helped millions of people move past experiences they thought they’d carry forever. Our trained therapists in Billings are ready to help you find out what’s possible, at a pace that feels right for you.
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