EMDR Therapy and The Role of an EMDR Therapist
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Why can’t I just get over it?” you’re not alone. Whether you’ve been through something big and obvious or something subtle that’s still weighing you down, your body remembers what your mind tries to forget. That’s where EMDR Therapy comes in.
At Fostering Fortitude, we specialize in helping high-performing, perfectionist, overthinking humans (sound familiar?) finally stop looping in old patterns of fear, shame, and burnout. EMDR Therapy helps your brain do what it naturally wants to do, heal.
I’m Melissa Foster, LISW-S, LCSW, RYT, a licensed therapist in Ohio and Kentucky, and an EMDRIA-Approved EMDR therapist. My approach is relational, compassionate, and rooted in real neuroscience, not fluff.
If you’re ready to start healing instead of just coping, you can book a free 10-minute consultation here.
What EMDR Therapy Actually Is
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and yes, it’s a therapy. It’s an evidence-based trauma therapy that uses bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds/tones) to help you reprocess painful memories that are “stuck” and haven’t been put away nicely.
Think of it like your brain’s natural “file sorting” system got jammed during a stressful event in your life. EMDR Therapy helps your brain go back and properly file that experience away so it stops running in the background every time something reminds you of it (“holy trigger batman!”).
EMDR Therapy doesn’t require you to tell your story over and over again or analyze every little detail. Instead, it helps your brain and body finish processing what got interrupted. Clients are often surprised at how quickly they start to feel lighter and less reactive in situations.
How an EMDR Therapist Helps You Heal
A big part of my job as an EMDR therapist isn’t just about following a protocol, it’s about building safety, trust, and connection in the therapy room (or virtually). Trauma work only happens when your nervous system feels supported enough to relax, even a little.
In our sessions, we’ll go at your pace, because you’re in charge. We’ll talk about what you’ve been through, what still feels hard, and what “better” would actually look like for you as we set goals. Then we use the reprocessing phases of EMDR to help bridge the gap between the past and the present.
Here’s what that might look like:
You’re guided to bring up a memory and belief that’s been holding you back (like “I’m not enough” or “I’m unsafe”). While recalling that, we add in the bilateral stimulation. Your brain does the heavy lifting, which is reconnecting the old memory with new, adaptive information. Over time, what once felt intense starts to feel neutral. You can think about it without your body reacting like it’s happening again, we turn down the electrical charge of the memory (it doesn’t disappear).
What to Expect in EMDR Therapy Sessions
Sessions in a typical therapy model usually last between 50 minutes, but I provide the option to do extended sessions or EMDR Therapy Intensives which means we work intensively for multiple hours a day over several days. EMDR Therapy follows an eight-phase structure: history, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. (This is NOT for you to memorize)
What I want you to take away is that you stay in control. You can pause anytime. You can slow down. You can ask questions, we can divert. My job is to make sure you feel safe and supported while we process what’s ready to heal.
It’s common to feel a mix of emotions afterward, sometimes people say they feel calm, sometimes tired, or sometimes relieved. Remember that’s just your nervous system doing the work. We’ll always have some sort of debrief and make sure you leave each reprocessing session grounded and resourced.
Why EMDR Works So Well for Things Like Trauma, Anxiety and Grief
EMDR Therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which basically means: your brain knows how to heal, it just needs help getting unstuck. Bilateral stimulation helps both sides of your brain communicate again, similar to what happens during REM sleep (where your most vivid memorable dreams take place). Please note: EMDR is not Hypnosis. EMDR Therapy and the reprocessing phases of it allow you to keep dual awareness, meaning even though you’re walking around in this memory, you’re also aware that you’re sitting on my comfy couch in the office.
When memories get “unstuck,” your emotional responses change too. People often notice they’re less reactive, more confident, and more present in their relationships. You might start to notice you stop catastrophizing, stop replaying arguments in your head, or finally be able to talk about the past without crying or shutting down.
And yes, EMDR Therapy can work even if you’ve tried therapy before and felt like you were “just talking.” At Fostering Fortitude, we tend to see people coming back into therapy after a poor experience in the past.
The Benefits of Working with a Certified EMDR Therapist
Working with a certified EMDR therapist (not just “trained”) means you’re working with someone who’s completed advanced training, supervision, and hundreds of hours of practice. It’s not a weekend workshop, it’s a commitment to doing this trauma work safely and effectively.
With EMDR Therapy, you can expect:
Relief from anxiety, panic, and intrusive thoughts
Fewer physical symptoms like tightness, GI upset, or racing heart
Better sleep and fewer stress-related flare-ups
Improved self-esteem and boundaries
More peace, clarity, and emotional resilience
Many clients say EMDR helped them heal in months what years of talk therapy couldn’t touch. Thats facts. The research is there to back it up. And to be honest, I only refer out to certified EMDR therapists, that’s how much I value the process.
Finding the Right EMDR Therapist For You
If you’re searching for “EMDR therapist near me” or “trauma therapy in Ohio,” you’ll see a lot of options, but the relationship matters most. You deserve a therapist who gets you, who can balance professionalism with warmth, and who doesn’t make healing feel clinical or cold.
I bring a down-to-earth, relational style to my sessions. I’m trained in attachment wounds/styles, somatic experiencing, yoga, and parts work which means I don’t just help you heal from the event itself, I help you repair the way it shaped your relationships, how it sits in your body, your sense of self, and your ability to feel safe in the world.
I work with high-achieving professionals, healthcare providers, and caregivers who are tired of holding it all together while quietly falling apart. If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
Ready to Feel Like Yourself Again?
At Fostering Fortitude, we specialize in providing personalized, evidence-based treatment for the unique challenges faced by high-performers and driven individuals. Whether you're grappling with perfectionism, people-pleasing tendencies, debilitating stress and burnout, or the lingering effects of trauma and PTSD, our practice in Dublin, Ohio is here to help you cultivate greater inner strength and resilience. We offer virtual services to those in Kentucky and Ohio. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques like EMDR therapy, somatic interventions, and other evidence-based approaches, we'll work closely to address the deep-rooted issues underlying your struggles. We are experts merging the latest scientific research on stress, trauma, and relationships with a compassionate, client-centered approach. Schedule a free consultation today.
