EMDR Therapy in Tampa & St. Petersburg
Trauma doesn't always announce itself with flashbacks or nightmares. Sometimes it's the panic that floods your body when something reminds you of what happened. Sometimes it's the anxiety that makes no logical sense but won't go away. Sometimes it's just feeling stuck, knowing something from your past is controlling your present. You may have even tried talk therapy, but it hasn't been enough.
EMDR therapy works differently. Instead of spending years talking about your trauma, EMDR helps your brain reprocess the memories that are keeping you trapped. It's an evidence-based approach that allows you to move through what happened without reliving it over and over again.
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a specialized form of therapy developed to help individuals process traumatic memories and reduce their emotional charge. Rather than focusing solely on talk therapy, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (often through eye movements or tapping) to help the brain reprocess distressing events safely.
At IBW, EMDR therapy is:
Evidence-based and structured
Highly effective for trauma, anxiety, and PTSD
Guided by highly trained, licensed clinicians
Available both in-person and virtually across Florida
Understanding Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR counseling is a powerful tool for addressing trauma, but preparation is critical for both success and limiting potential negative effects. Before starting EMDR, often several sessions are dedicated to understanding your unique situation, establishing rapport, and ensuring you feel safe and supported. This preparation allows your therapist to develop a tailored approach to guide you effectively. If your interested in learning more about how it works, we recommend reading our guide to EMDR therapy.
EMDR Therapy Techniques & Process
Your therapist will work with you to create a safe and supportive environment, ensuring that you feel comfortable and in control throughout the therapy process. They will also help you develop coping skills and strategies to manage symptoms, making the therapy journey a collaborative and empowering experience.
How many EMDR therapy sessions are needed?
For a single distressing event or memory, therapy typically requires 3 to 6 sessions. For more complex or long-term traumas, it may take up to 12 sessions or more to achieve your therapeutic goal.
The Phases of EMDR TreatmenT
EMDR Therapy follows 4 basic steps, which are:
Recall, Bilateral Stimulation, Processing, and Healing
How EMDR Therapy Helps Reprocess Trauma
EMDR counseling helps individuals process and heal from traumatic memories through a structured process. First, the client recalls the troubling memory while the therapist uses eye movements, sounds, or taps for bilateral stimulation. This approach enables the brain to reprocess the memory through adaptive information processing, reducing its emotional impact. As the memory is processed, clients may experience physical sensations tied to unresolved distress, but over time, the memory becomes less painful, promoting healing and emotional relief. This trauma-informed method ensures sensitivity to the client’s mental health throughout the process.
Licensed & Certified EMDR Therapists in Tampa & St. Petersburg
Paris McDonald, LMHC
Paris is a licensed therapist and U.S. Army veteran specializing in EMDR therapy for combat-related PTSD and sexual trauma. Drawing on firsthand military experience, Paris provides evidence-based trauma treatment for active duty service members, veterans, and survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
alex castaneda, lmhc
Alex is a licensed therapist in Tampa specializing in EMDR therapy for men, with a focus on addiction recovery and the unresolved trauma that drives it. Using EMDR, Alex helps men identify and reprocess the root experiences fueling compulsive behaviors and emotional shutdown.
emma groskind, lcsw
Emma is a licensed counselor in Tampa specializing in EMDR therapy for anxiety disorders and trauma-focused couples therapy. Emma works with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, panic, relationship trauma, and identity-based wounds.
jessica klein, lmhc
Jessica is a licensed mental health counselor in St. Petersburg offering EMDR therapy for adults navigating depression, grief, childhood trauma, and life transitions. Jessica works with clients who feel stuck in patterns they can't explain, such as persistent sadness, emotional numbness, difficulty trusting others, or a quiet sense that something from the past is still running their life.
amanda farris, lcsw-qs
Amanda is a trauma therapist in St. Petersburg specializing in somatic EMDR therapy for PTSD, complex trauma, and trauma stored in the body. Amanda integrates EMDR with attachment-based approaches to help clients build nervous system regulation and lasting resilience.
What is Bilateral Stimulation Therapy Commonly Used to Treat?
EMDR is a form of bilateral stimulation, and an approach to trauma therapy that helps individuals with different kinds of problems that come from bad or upsetting experiences. EMDR therapy is used to help people with different kinds of problems that come from bad or upsetting experiences. Here are some common issues that EMDR therapists can help with:
Trauma and PTSD - It’s often used to treat people who have been through scary or traumatic events, like accidents, natural disasters, or abuse. This includes addressing psychological trauma.
Anxiety and Panic -EMDR processing can be a powerful healing treatment for people who suffer from anxiety.
Phobias - People who live with fear of specific things, like heights or spiders, can get help healing from EMDR.
Grief and Loss - EMDR is used to support people who are having a hard time dealing with the death or loss of a loved one.
Self-Esteem Issues - It can also help people who have negative beliefs about themselves and low self-esteem.
Couples Therapy for Trauma - When traumatic events impact relationships, EMDR can be integrated into couples therapy to help partners heal together. We work with couples where one or both partners have experienced trauma, infidelity, betrayal, or other relational wounds that require trauma-informed care.
Pornography Addiction - EMDR has shown promising results in treating compulsive pornography use by addressing the underlying shame, trauma, or emotional triggers that fuel addictive patterns.
Is EMDR Therapy Effective for PTSD and Anxiety
EMDR is a highly effective therapy for many people, particularly for treating trauma and PTSD. Studies show that it provides quick relief, with long-lasting effects after just a few sessions. Widely used by therapists globally, EMDR receives positive feedback for significantly improving emotional well-being and helping individuals cope better with their issues.
A trauma therapist plays a crucial role in guiding clients through the emotional processing of traumatic experiences, providing psychoeducation on EMDR, and developing tailored therapy plans.
There is a substantial body of research supporting the effectiveness of EMDR, including numerous clinical trials. Here are some key studies and findings:
American Psychiatric Association (APA): The APA recognizes EMDR therapy as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Their practice guidelines recommend EMDR as a first-line treatment for trauma.
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs):
van der Kolk et al. (2007): This study compared EMDR with other forms of therapy and found that EMDR significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in a shorter time frame.
Lee and Cuijpers (2013): A meta-analysis of 26 RCTs found that EMDR was highly effective in treating PTSD, with results comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (VA/DoD): Their clinical practice guidelines for PTSD recommend EMDR as a strong option for treatment based on extensive research and clinical evidence. Learn more.
EMDR Therapy for children & Adolscents
Children and teens often express trauma and stress through behavior—like anger, anxiety, or withdrawal—rather than words. EMDR therapy provides a gentle, age-appropriate way to help them process difficult experiences and restore a sense of safety and confidence.
Our therapists utilize EMDR and play-based interventions designed specifically for youth. Whether your child is coping with bullying, parental conflict, loss, or academic pressure, EMDR helps reprocess overwhelming memories so they no longer trigger distress. Parents often notice their child becoming calmer, more resilient, and better able to manage big emotions.
Couples EMDR Therapy
While EMDR is most widely known for treating trauma and anxiety, it’s becoming one of the most powerful tools for helping couples heal from relationship wounds and emotional disconnection. At It Begins Within, our therapists are among the few in Florida trained to integrate EMDR into couples and marriage therapy, helping partners process past hurts, rebuild trust, and feel safe with one another again.
EMDR for couples works by addressing the individual triggers and attachment injuries that keep partners stuck in painful cycles. Rather than focusing only on communication techniques, EMDR helps each partner release the deeper emotional charge behind their reactions creating space for empathy, understanding, and genuine repair.
Our team uses EMDR in combination with research-based approaches like Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to guide couples toward renewed closeness and lasting change. Whether you’re recovering from betrayal, resentment, or years of disconnection, EMDR can help you move beyond old patterns and rediscover emotional safety within your relationship.
How EMDR is Used in Couples Therapy
Some experiences fracture a relationship at its foundation, from the loss of a child, a traumatic accident, or even uncovering infidelity. Even when both partners lived through a trauma, they often process it differently, leaving each person isolated in their pain and unable to connect with the one person who should understand.
Traditional couples therapy can help you communicate about the trauma, but it doesn't always resolve the trauma itself. EMDR for couples allows both partners to process the traumatic memory and release the emotional charge that keeps you stuck. When the nervous system finally registers that the threat is over, couples can stop reacting from a place of survival and start supporting each other from a place of safety.
At It Begins Within, we use EMDR in couples therapy to help partners process shared traumatic experiences—whether that's the loss of a pregnancy, a betrayal that shattered trust, a life-threatening health event, or years of unresolved grief. By addressing the trauma in both partners simultaneously, we help couples move from parallel suffering to genuine healing together.
Healing Through Intensive couples Therapy
EMDR's ability to process trauma rapidly makes it uniquely suited for intensive therapy formats. Rather than spreading treatment across months of weekly sessions, EMDR allows for concentrated healing, making it a cornerstone of our intensive therapy programs.
For individuals, EMDR intensives can target specific traumatic events, chronic anxiety, or deeply rooted patterns in a matter of days rather than years. For couples, integrating EMDR into relationship intensives means each partner can process their individual triggers and attachment wounds while simultaneously working on the relationship itself. This dual approach creates faster, more sustainable change than traditional weekly therapy.
Whether you're dealing with personal trauma that's affecting your life and relationships, or you're a couple caught in cycles of reactivity and disconnection, EMDR within an intensive format offers the focused time and clinical expertise needed for genuine transformation.
Who Can Benefit from Rapid Eye Movement Therapy
EMDR therapy is a versatile treatment approach that can benefit individuals from diverse backgrounds and with various mental health concerns. While initially developed to address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, EMDR has been found to be effective in treating a wide range of conditions, including anxiety and depression, distressing memories and flashbacks, panic attacks, and phobias. It is also beneficial for those dealing with complicated grief and loss, performance anxiety, and stress reduction.
Individuals who have experienced past traumas, such as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or natural disasters, can find significant relief through EMDR therapy. Additionally, it can address attachment issues, self-esteem problems, and relationship difficulties. By helping to reprocess and integrate these distressing memories, EMDR therapy paves the way for improved mental health and emotional well-being.
Bilateral Stimulation in Tampa, St. Petersburg & Sarasota
Here at It Begins Within, we offer standard EMDR therapy sessions. All of our standard sessions are 60 minutes (not a “clinical hour” of 45-50 minutes). Due to the nature of EMDR, it can temporarily bring up more intense pain throughout the healing process. As a result of this, we also offer EMDR Intensives, which allow more to be accomplished and potentially limit the worsening of negative emotions outside of sessions. This intensive therapy has been a sought-after approach for many individuals we work with who are leaders in the community and have limited availability but understand the importance of overcoming their negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
In addition to EMDR, we also offer a variety of therapeutic approaches to trauma:
Interested in exploring which trauma therapy approach might be best for me?
At our Tampa office, EMDR therapy isn’t about reliving the past. It’s about helping your body and brain finally let go of what they’ve been holding onto for too long.
Our Tampa therapists work with adults, teens, veterans and professionals throughout South Tampa, Westshore, Hyde Park, Carrollwood, Brandon, Riverview, and Apollo Beach who are tired of “coping” and ready for real change. Many of our clients come to us after years of talk therapy that helped them understand why they feel the way they do, but didn’t help their anxiety, reactivity, or emotional overwhelm actually stop.
EMDR allows us to target the root of what’s driving your symptoms without forcing you to retell painful experiences or stay stuck in them.
Whether you’re coming to our Tampa office in person or meeting with your therapist virtually, our approach is intentional, evidence-based, and keeps you in control of the pace.
Our St. Petersburg therapists understand that true healing happens at your own pace. Our therapists work with individuals and couples throughout Pinellas County who are ready to move beyond understanding why they feel stuck and start experiencing real relief.
EMDR therapy works differently than traditional counseling. Instead of spending years talking about your trauma, it helps your brain reprocess painful memories so they lose their emotional charge. Many of our clients come to us after talk therapy helped them understand their patterns but didn't actually change how their body responds to triggers.
Whether you're struggling with trauma that happened decades ago or something more recent, EMDR can help you feel more grounded in the present. Our St. Petersburg location serves clients in-person, and we also offer virtual EMDR therapy sessions for anyone throughout Florida who prefers to meet from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I have to revisit painful memories during EMDR?
No, you won't have to describe traumatic memories in detail during EMDR therapy. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn't require you to relive or discuss painful experiences extensively. Our EMDR therapists guide you through bilateral stimulation while you briefly focus on the memory, helping your brain reprocess it without re-traumatization. The process is designed to reduce emotional disturbance while maintaining your safety and comfort throughout treatment.
How long does EMDR therapy take?
EMDR therapy typically takes 6-12 sessions for single-trauma treatment, though some clients see results in as few as 3-5 sessions. Complex PTSD or multiple traumas may require 12-24 sessions. Each EMDR session lasts 60-90 minutes. During your initial consultation, our certified EMDR therapists will assess your specific situation and provide a personalized treatment timeline based on your goals.
What are the potential side effects of EMDR therapy?
Common concerns with EMDR therapy include the potential for re-experiencing trauma resulting in physical side effects of EMDR, and feeling overwhelmed by strong emotions during sessions. Some individuals worry about the effectiveness of EMDR for their specific issues and the possibility of memory distortion. Additionally, access to qualified therapists and the cost of treatment can be concerns. The strength of the therapeutic alliance between the therapist and client also plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of EMDR. Despite these issues, many find EMDR to be a highly effective form of therapy.
How do I get started with EMDR therapy?
To get started with EMDR therapy, find a qualified and certified therapist like the providers here at It Begins Within, and schedule an initial consultation to discuss your concerns and treatment goals. The therapist will conduct an assessment and develop a personalized treatment plan, including preparation with coping strategies. Starting your therapy journey with EMDR can be a transformative step towards overcoming past trauma and improving your mental health.
What is the cost of EMDR therapy in Tampa?
At It Begins Within, our EMDR treatment cost are $165 per full 60-minute session. We also offering sliding-scale options for those in need.
How do I find an EMDR therapist near me?
Here at It Begins Within we have several trained and certified EMDR therapists in Tampa & St. Petersburg which you can view above on this page. For those outside of the Greater Tampa Bay area, the EMDR International Association can also be a very helpful resource for locating a local EMDR therapist.
Can EMDR be done virtually?
Yes, we offer online EMDR therapy (also called remote EMDR or virtual EMDR) for clients throughout Florida. Research shows online EMDR is equally effective as in-person sessions. Our therapists use secure, HIPAA-compliant video platforms and specialized techniques for bilateral stimulation through your screen or audio. Remote EMDR is ideal for clients with scheduling constraints, mobility issues, or those who prefer therapy from home. We provide the same certified, evidence-based EMDR treatment whether you're in our Tampa office or joining remotely.
Does EMDR therapy work?
Yes, EMDR therapy is highly effective and backed by extensive research. Studies show EMDR successfully treats PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and panic attacks. The American Psychiatric Association and Department of Veterans Affairs all recognize EMDR as an effective, evidence-based treatment. Most clients notice significant improvement within just a few sessions, making it one of the fastest-acting trauma therapies available.
What conditions does EMDR treat?
EMDR therapy effectively treats PTSD, trauma, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression, phobias, grief, and complicated loss. Our Tampa therapists also use EMDR for relationship trauma, pornography addiction, and performance anxiety. EMDR for panic attacks and EMDR for anxiety are among our most requested services. Whether you're dealing with a single traumatic event or complex childhood trauma, EMDR can help reprocess disturbing memories and reduce emotional distress.
Learn more about our Tampa, Sarasota & St. Petersburg therapy services.
Speak with the Top-Rated EMDR Practitioners Near Me
If you are searching for “EMDR near me” we offer comprehensive mental health services and free consultations for all of our skilled therapists. Our belief is that the strongest factor in your success through therapy is the relationship with your therapist - and we want to ensure that.