EMDR Therapy for Sexual Trauma Recovery in Tampa & St. Petersburg
Author: Angela Holmes-Cruz, EMDR Psychotherapist
Reviewer: Kaitlyn Shelp, MA, LMHC ✓
Published April 30, 2025
A Note From Your Therapist
I was initially drawn to EMDR for sexual abuse recovery because it honors both the neuroscience behind trauma and the emotional experience of being human. The more I learned, the more I realized how powerful this approach is. EMDR doesn’t require you to relive every painful detail, but instead it meets you where you are and helps you heal in a way that feels safe and empowering. That understanding is what ultimately led me to pursue EMDR training and integrate it into my trauma therapy practice in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Therapy for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Tampa & St. Petersburg
As an EMDR-trained clinician offering sexual trauma therapy in Tampa, I’m deeply passionate about creating a safe, supportive space where individuals can begin to heal from trauma (including all forms of sexual abuse). I believe therapy should be a place where you feel seen, heard, and never judged. Many of my clients come to me carrying heavy stories, memories they’ve buried, emotions they’ve had to push down, and questions like, “What’s wrong with me?” or “Why can’t I just move on?” My response is always the same. There is nothing wrong with you. Your body and mind did exactly what they needed to survive, and that’s why you’re here today.
Understanding the Trauma Related to Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is a deeply traumatic experience that impacts everyone differently, and can result in challenges arising physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Whether the abuse occurred in childhood or adulthood, the effects often leave survivors with anxiety, shame, PTSD, and a sense of disconnection from themselves and others.
If you’ve experienced sexual abuse, EMDR therapy in Tampa can be a powerful tool in your healing journey. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a research-backed approach which has proven to be highly effective in treating trauma, especially relating to PTSD from sexual trauma.
In this article, we’ll explore how EMDR therapy helps with sexual trauma and what you can expect in the process.
Understanding the Impact of Sexual Abuse
The effects of sexual abuse can be both short-term and long-term. Common symptoms survivors may experience include:
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD
A mental health condition where the body and mind remain in survival mode even after the trauma has ended. This is commonly treated through sexual trauma therapy.Feelings of shame or guilt
Survivors may blame themselves for the abuse, leading to feelings of worthlessness and self-criticism.Dissociation
A coping mechanism where individuals mentally “check-out” or feel a disconnection from their body.Anxiety and Depression
Emotional distress can manifest itself as constant worry, panic, sadness, or a general sense of hopelessness. Many individuals seek EMDR therapy for sexual assault to manage these symptoms.Trouble with intimacy and trust
Survivors of abuse may struggle to feel safe when it comes to vulnerability or physical closeness in relationships.Flashbacks or nightmares
The brain replays traumatic memories, making it feel as though the abuse is happening all over again. Healing from sexual trauma often involves addressing these intrusive symptoms with a trained clinician.
if your seeking support in tampa or st. petersburg call today to learn more & schedule a free consultation with our COMPASSIONATE & SPECIALIZED THERAPISTS.
Trauma and the Sympathetic Nervous System
During a traumatic event like sexual abuse, the sympathetic nervous system is activated and stress hormones flood the body. This prepares you for a response such as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Trauma interrupts the brain’s typical way of processing experiences, and instead of the event being stored as a past memory, it remains “stuck” in the nervous system.
When trauma is unresolved, overreactions or intense emotional responses can be triggered weeks, months, or even years later.
Biologically, trauma can change how your brain functions. For example:
The amygdala, which processes emotions, may become hyper-alert and associate present situations with past threats, even if the associations aren’t accurate.
The hippocampus, responsible for memory and context, may become less active, making it difficult to distinguish between the past and the present.
These changes help explain why survivors often turn to EMDR therapy in St. Petersburg or Tampa as a means to regulate and reprocess trauma.
How Sexual Abuse Trauma Can Resurface in Relationships
Sexual trauma often resurfaces in future relationships, sometimes in confusing and painful ways.
It can be especially confusing during moments of physical or emotional closeness, it’s not uncommon for survivors of sexual trauma to experience sudden feelings of anxiety, panic, or disconnection. This can occur even when an individuals knows they are in a safe and trusting relationship. These reactions can lead to self-doubt or avoidance of intimacy altogether.
This type of response is known as body memory (or a trauma response where the nervous system becomes activated by cues that remind the body of past abuse). While the logical brain may recognize that the current situation is safe, the body can react as though the trauma is happening again.
This is not a sign of weakness or dysfunction. It is the nervous system’s attempt to protect the individual based on past experiences. These responses are deeply rooted in the body’s survival mechanisms.
EMDR therapy for sexual trauma in Tampa can help identify and reprocess the original memories that fuel these reactions. Through this work, survivors can begin to feel more empowered, connected, and safe in their bodies and relationships.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic approach designed to help people heal from traumatic or distressing memories in a safe and structured way. While it’s most known for treating PTSD, it’s also highly effective for survivors of sexual abuse in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn’t require you to retell your trauma in detail. Instead, the approach uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess painful memories so they no longer feel emotionally charged or overwhelming.
What Is Bilateral Stimulation?
Bilateral stimulation means doing something on one side of your body, then the other, back and forth. It can be moving your eyes left and right (following a light bar), hearing sounds in one ear and then the other, or feeling gentle taps on each hand.
How EMDR Can Help Survivors of Sexual Abuse
For individuals who have experienced sexual abuse, EMDR therapy offers a powerful way to reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic memories while helping to build more adaptive, self-affirming beliefs. Many survivors find that EMDR can lead to significant improvements, including fewer flashbacks, panic episodes, and nightmares. It can also help reduce overwhelming feelings of shame, guilt, and self-blame. As the nervous system becomes more regulated through the therapy process, clients often report feeling calmer, more grounded, and build emotional strength. Perhaps most importantly, EMDR helps reinforce positive core beliefs such as “I am safe now” or “It wasn’t my fault,” supporting a deeper sense of inner power and healing.
If you're seeking compassionate, evidence-based support, our therapists in Tampa and St. Petersburg are here to help.
What to Expect in an EMDR Session for Sexual Abuse Recovery
If you’re starting sexual trauma counseling in Tampa, the first few sessions will focus on trust, safety, and stabilization. My priority is always to help you feel safe, empowered, and in control, and never rushed.
You do not need to relive every detail of the trauma in order to heal. In fact, you don’t even have to speak the memory aloud if you don’t want to. I can guide you through the process of setting up a “private event”—a way to reprocess something without disclosing the details, so that you remain in charge of your healing journey every step of the way.
If you are interested in learning more about the EMDR process, we’ve outlined it here.
Your Healing Journey
Healing is not linear. Some days will be harder than others, and that’s okay. EMDR therapy for sexual trauma in St. Petersburg and Tampa can be used alongside other treatment approaches, such as:
Parts work (inner child, IFS)
Somatic therapy and breathwork
If you’ve experienced sexual abuse, please know - you are not broken. Healing is possible. You deserve support that honors your pain, your strength, and your ability to heal.
