EMDR Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing helps the brain reprocess a traumatic memory so it stops carrying the charge of the present moment. You hold the memory in mind while doing a bilateral task — usually following eye movements, sometimes taps or tones — and the memory gradually loses its grip.

The mechanism is still debated. The outcomes are not: EMDR is recommended for PTSD by major clinical guidelines and has been tested repeatedly.

Why people choose it

EMDR requires less verbal retelling than other trauma therapies. For someone who cannot get through the narrative without shutting down, or who simply does not want to describe it in detail to another person, that difference is often what makes treatment possible at all.

What the process looks like

Preparation comes first

Nobody starts reprocessing on day one. The early phase builds stability — grounding skills, a way to stop mid-session, and enough regulation capacity that approaching the memory does not overwhelm you. Rushing this is how trauma therapy goes wrong.

Reprocessing

You bring up the memory along with the belief attached to it — commonly something like I am not safe or it was my fault — while following the bilateral task in short sets. Between sets you report what came up. You are not asked to narrate the event in detail.

Installing what replaces it

As distress drops, the work shifts to strengthening a more accurate belief, checked against how it feels in the body rather than only whether it sounds right.

What we use it for

• PTSD, including combat, assault, accident, and medical trauma
• Unresolved trauma that does not meet full PTSD criteria
• Trauma underlying substance use — see dual diagnosis

Where this fits in our programs

Therapy at Golden Coast Rehab is delivered inside a program rather than as a standalone service. That means our specialty mental health partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, provided under our County of San Diego contract, and our substance use intensive outpatient and outpatient programs under DHCS certification 370254AP.

Which modalities you work with is decided with your clinician based on what you are dealing with, not assigned by a template.

Coverage and cost

If you have Medi-Cal in San Diego County — any of the four managed care plans — treatment here can be covered at no cost to you. See how Medi-Cal works here.

Call (858) 925-8589, answered 24 hours a day. The San Diego County Access and Crisis Line is available around the clock at 1-888-724-7240.