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We offer effective approaches to help people overcome the effects of trauma and past painful experiences. 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a psychotherapy approach that has been researched for over 30 years, where best results occur with an EMDR Certified Therapist, or an EMDR Therapist pursuing certification. EMDR is effective at resolving painful memories and helping individuals overcome intense emotional reactions to traumatic events. Although most people identify accidents, abuse, violence, death of a loved one, and natural disasters as traumatic, other less obvious experiences would meet the definition. Additionally, if the individual has witnessed, experienced, or perceived a sense of horror, helplessness, serious injury, or the threat of serious injury or death, it qualifies as a traumatic event. For children and teens, this includes bullying, moving, or even their parents’ divorce. Embark Counseling Services is your source for EMDR therapy.

It is not always obvious how these events impact the brain and how the body remembers the experience. How the brain and body respond to various triggers predicts how the individual will respond in everyday situations. Even common situations can be experienced as scary or painful and deeply affect a person’s sense of safety, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction. These previous traumatic events overly influence emotions, sensations, and thinking about yourself. EMDR is an effective therapeutic approach to help you break through the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living an adaptive and emotionally healthy life.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR focuses on the brain’s ability to constantly learn by updating past experiences with present information, giving you your power back with your emotions, bodily sensations, and thinking about yourself. The brain’s adaptive learning is constantly updating memory network systems. Past emotionally charged events block or interfere with your brain’s ability to process present situations in the here and now. EMDR therapy helps you break through this block, or “stuck place,” to let go of the previous experience, allowing you to take in the present moment with a more adaptive, healthier overall experience.The
EMDR protocol uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) to reorganize your brain’s negative and positive emotions, sensations, and thoughts to help the brain reprocess the “stuck” memories, providing you with present experiences where you feel more calm and peaceful, and ultimately have more adaptive beliefs about self.
Throughout the EMDR therapy, you will engage in sets of BLS, whether eye movements or auditory or tactile. These sets are alternated with your brief reports about what you notice during the set. This processing continues until the past experience has been reprocessed with the more adaptive present belief system and emotional response. The length of EMDR depends on the complexity of the presenting concerns and how your brain and body process through EMDR therapy. You and your EMDR therapist will determine together the best option for you and your healing.
EMDR Certified Therapist
Image of hands holding a yellow flower. EMDR Healing.

What does EMDR therapy help?

In the earlier years of the EMDR research, Veterans with PTSD benefited from the approach.  Now, EMDR is successfully used to help individuals suffering from the following symptoms and conditions:
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Panic Attacks
  • Complicated Grief
  • Dissociative Orders
  • Disturbing Memories
  • Phobias
  • Pain Disorders
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Addictions
  • Stress Reduction
  • Sexual and/or Physical Abuse
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders
  • Personality Disorders

Can EMDR help my child?

The answer is….YES! ​

EMDR helps kids work through yucky experiences, where children often have complex mixed-up thoughts and feelings.  When children experience trauma, the mixed-up and complex thoughts and feelings take up too much of their brains, bodies and heart, and they have a hard time experiencing good thoughts and feelings. You might notice frequent melt-downs, crying spells, anxiety, trouble sleeping, decreased appetite, among many other symptoms. While working through these experiences with EMDR, children learn new coping skills and alternative ways to respond.

At Embark, our child therapists will often also utilize Play Therapy incorporated with EMDR to best support their overall development.  Our expertly trained therapists help the child use their brain to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together.  Then, the child can make better sense out of the experience, giving them choice over how they respond to future similar experiences.  Upon completion, brains stop bringing up those yucky experiences when new things happen.

As with all of our therapeutic approaches, your EMDR therapist will individualize treatment goals. Your child’s overall developmental needs, family values and previous experiences will be taken into consideration.

Our EMDR Therapist

Jeffrey Soulliere, LPC, headshot. EMDR Therapy and trauma specialist.

He/Him
Family Systems Therapist
Older Teens & Adults
EMDR Therapy

  • Northland & Johnson County
Sally Frede, LSCW, CCLS, RPT-S™ headshot

She/Her
Registered Play Therapist Supervisor™
EMDR Certified Therapist
Child and Family Therapy
Clinical Supervision (LMSW)

  • St. Joseph & Kansas City, MO
Nicolette Rogers, LPC, Clinical Site Director

She/Her
Trauma Competent Therapist
Teens & Adults
EMDR
St. Joseph Clinical Site Director

  • St. Joseph
Sydney Heustis, MA, PLPC, LPC headshot

She/Her
Pursuing Certification in Perinatal Mental Health through PSI
EMDR
Practice Manager

  • Johnson County & Lee's Summit
Certified EMDR Therapist

She/Her
President & CEO of Embark Counseling Services
Clinical Supervisor ~ Play Therapy Supervisor
EMDR Certified Therapist ~ EMDRIA Consultant
Professional Trainer

Carolyn Grace, LPC

She/Hers
Play Therapy
EMDR
TBRI
Child, Adolescent & Family Therapist

  • St. Joseph & Kansas City, MO
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