The EMDR Coach

01/18/2026

EMDR can change lives.
But it works best with the right kind of support. 💬👇

EMDR is powerful but trauma doesn’t heal in isolation.

🧠 Your nervous system needs more than protocols.
It needs safety, consistency, and attunement, not just a method, but a relationship.

At Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling, EMDR is part of a trauma-informed, client-centered approach that honors:
✔️ Your pace
✔️ Your story
✔️ Your nervous system

Serving kids, teens & adults in person in Westchester, NY and virtually in NY, NJ, CT & FL.

✨ Curious if EMDR might be right for you?
📞 Free 15-minute consult available.
⤵️ visit this link to schedule
www.peacefullivingmentalhealthcounseling.com/contact-us

01/17/2026

Doing the inner work is hard.

But you know what’s harder?
Trying to stay regulated around people who aren’t.

You’ve done the journaling.
The EMDR.
The deep reflection that most people spend their whole life avoiding.

And suddenly, old dynamics feel... louder.
Conversations feel one-sided.
The things you used to ignore now feel unbearable.

This is why healing can feel isolating.
Because your nervous system is changing.
And not everyone comes with you.

You’re not broken for noticing the shift.
You’re growing.
And that kind of growth comes with grief.

✨ Save this if you’ve ever felt like “the weird one” in the group now.

📓 Comment “JOURNAL” and I’ll send you The EMDR Therapy Progress Journal to help you navigate what healing alone can actually feel like.

01/16/2026

Not all trauma looks traumatic on the outside.

Dr. Gabor Maté explains it so clearly here👇
It’s not just what happened,it’s what was missing. It’s what didn’t happen but SHOULD HAVE.

As EMDR therapists, we see this all the time as unresolved attachment wounds:
🧠 Clients who say “nothing really bad happened”
🧠 But their nervous system still screams “unsafe”

When a child isn’t seen, heard, or held…
When emotions go unvalidated…
When attunement is missing…

That is wounding.
And that wounding shapes everything from self-worth to attachment to how safe it feels to be in your own body.

This isn’t about blaming parents.
It’s about understanding the imprint.

Because only then can we update it.

🎥 Credit: Dr. Gabor Maté via
📥 Want nervous system-safe strategies for parenting?
⤵️ Comment FREE and I’ll send you a free resource to get started.

01/15/2026

“But your childhood wasn’t that bad.”

If you’ve ever heard this… pause right here.👇

Your nervous system doesn’t care how “bad” it looked from the outside.

It cares how alone, unseen, or unsafe you felt on the inside.
This is why it feels like overreacting.

This is why it feels confusing.
This is why symptoms show up even when the “facts” don’t look traumatic.

🌱 Your body remembers what your brain was never allowed to process.
🌱 You are not dramatic. You are not broken.
🌱 You’re responding exactly how your system learned to survive.
You don’t need permission to heal.
You just need the right support.

💬 Comment “YES” if this landed.
🔁 Share this with someone who needs this reminder today.

01/15/2026

I know how scary it feels to disappoint people. It took me years to realize that thinking of myself as a “good person” was just me hiding behind the fact that I couldn’t tolerate other people’s discomfort.

But here's the truth:
You can't heal in a system where your needs are never part of the equation.
Boundaries aren't mean.
They're medicine.

❤️‍🩹 Keep in mind that there is nuance to everything so don’t hide behind the word “boundaries” either if you’re really just avoiding or using the word boundaries to be a dick. And if you’re not sure, ask a therapist! ❤️‍🩹

✨ Save this if your body has been trying to say something you’re afraid to say out loud.

📓 Comment “JOURNAL” below and I’ll send you The EMDR Therapy Progress Journal: your step-by-step guide to track healing, set boundaries, and reconnect with yourself.

01/13/2026

Trauma healing is not about forcing insight or pushing through symptoms.

Effective trauma healing techniques work with the nervous system, not against it. They prioritize safety, pacing, and the body’s natural capacity to process and integrate experiences.

In this blog, I break down evidence informed trauma healing approaches, including what actually supports long term change and what can unintentionally slow the process.

👉 Read the full blog here:
https://wix.to/5cXZ7g2

Healing happens when we stop asking “what’s wrong with you” and start understanding what your nervous system learned to do to survive.

Trauma healing methods work best when they support both the mind and the nervous system. This post explains EMDR, somatic strategies, and practical trauma recovery tools that help clients move from overwhelm to stability. Whether you are a therapist or someone healing personally, these approaches cr...

01/13/2026

Bookmark/Save this post when you need a reminder that no one’s mad at you, and if they are, you’’ still survive.

01/11/2026

Ever get overwhelmed out of nowhere and think… “What is wrong with me?”
Here’s the answer: nothing.

Your nervous system is just doing what it learned to do.
But the more you understand your own internal cues, the easier it gets to respond, not just react.

👇 Here’s how to start decoding those responses in real time:
✅ Name the sensation
✅ Add context
✅ Rate intensity
✅ Spot the pattern
✅ Regulate gently

You don’t need to be calm all the time.
You just need to be curious enough to notice what’s happening under the surface.

📓 Want a daily way to track this work and support your EMDR process?
👇 Comment “JOURNAL” and I’ll send you the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal.
🔖 Save this for the next time your body goes into fight/flight/freeze and you’re not sure why.

01/10/2026

Emotional progress doesn’t always feel like progress.
Sometimes it feels like doubt, grief, or exhaustion.
And if you don’t know what to look for—you’ll miss it. 👇

Here’s the thing:
Your nervous system is wired to seek familiar, not healthy.
So when you start healing, it might feel… wrong.

That’s not regression.
That’s your system adjusting to safety.

Progress might look like:
✅ Feeling triggered, but recovering faster
✅ Catching yourself mid-pattern
✅ Saying “no” and staying regulated

If that sounds like you…
you're not stuck. You're growing.
It just doesn’t look like Instagram’s version of healing.

📓 Want a way to track your EMDR journey in real time?
👇This is what The EMDR Therapy Progress Journal for - comment JOURNAL to get the link!

🔖 Save this for the next time you question if it’s working.

01/09/2026

Sharing three quick, research-aligned adjustments that can help EMDR sessions feel safer and reduce client overwhelm.

1️⃣ Pace by chunking targets
Break processing into shorter sets and check in after each to assess tolerance and regulation.

2️⃣ Strengthen containment
Teach a simple, portable containment image and rehearse it before switching targets.

3️⃣ Anchor with multi-sensory grounding
Use brief body-based, breath, or tactile cues between sets to support nervous system stability.

Small tweaks like these often improve client safety, session flow, and overall outcomes.

👉 Learn more and access extended EMDR resources for clinicians:
https://www.danacarretta.com/shop

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01/08/2026

Being trauma-informed ≠ being boundary-less.

Here’s the hard truth:
Sometimes the most supportive, trauma-informed thing you can do…
Is hold a boundary that makes someone uncomfortable. 😬

It’s not your job to prevent every trigger.
It is your job to create safety and that includes your safety too.

If you’ve ever felt guilty for setting a limit…
or worried that a boundary made you “less compassionate”…
🛑 Pause.

You can be kind and clear.

You can be warm and firm.
You can be trauma-informed and still say:
“That doesn’t work for me.”

💭 Being trauma-informed is about understanding reactions—not avoiding reality.
💬 Comment “BOTH” if you’re learning to be kind and boundaried.
🔖 Save this for when you start second-guessing your NO.

Want free EMDR Resources? Dm us to get the link!