The EMDR Coach

11/29/2025

Stop doing this in session. It slows processing.

A lot of clients do this without realizing it. Some therapists accidentally encourage it.
Here is what to avoid and what to try instead so EMDR can actually do its job.

During processing, your nervous system does not need perfection. It needs presence.
Most of the time, what slows things down is not resistance. It is over-efforting, overthinking, or trying to “get EMDR right.”

What to remember:
• Thinking pulls you out of processing. Noticing brings you back in.
• You do not need tears for EMDR to work.
• If your brain chooses the target, it is meaningful.
• Your therapist needs real internal data, even the tiny shifts.
• Slowing down or looping is not failure. It is information.

When you understand what helps EMDR work, sessions become smoother and more effective.

If you want tools to track and guide your processing, comment “Journal” for the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal.

11/28/2025

Feeling sad, overwhelmed, anxious, or shut down during a hard season does not mean something is wrong with you.

It often means your nervous system is responding exactly as a healthy system should during something unfair, painful, or deeply distressing.

Mel Robbins said it beautifully in this clip, and I want to add a therapist’s lens to it.

As clinicians, we look at whether your emotional response matches the situation.
If you are grieving, disappointed, scared, or heartbroken, feeling heavy is not a pathology. It is evidence that your attachment system, your empathy, and your capacity to care are intact.

What becomes important is not eliminating the emotion but creating space to move through it safely.

In EMDR and trauma work, we see this all the time:
• sadness signals meaning
• anger signals boundary injury
• anxiety signals threat or uncertainty
• numbness signals overwhelm
Your emotions are not the problem.

Being alone with them, shaming yourself for them, or believing they make you “weak” is what creates suffering.

If this season feels heavy, it may be an appropriate response to something that has been too heavy for too long. And that is something we can work with.
CTA: Comment “Free” for my guide on the early signs you are actually healing, even when it feels messy and other Free EMDR Resources #
Credit:

11/27/2025

Therapist burnout is usually subtle before it is loud.

Here is a quick self scan to notice when your system is asking for a reset.
Most therapists ignore the early signs because they are too busy caring for everyone else.

Mini Burnout Checklist:
• Irritation where there used to be patience
• Sessions feel heavier than usual
• Charting feels impossible
• You catch yourself holding your breath
• Your body feels tense, tired, or both
• You are running on autopilot instead of presence
• Small clinical decisions feel overwhelming

None of this means you are failing. It means your nervous system needs support, boundaries, and recovery time.

Therapists. What helps you reset

Explore tools that support your clinical work and protect your capacity. Send us a DM to get the link for EMDR tools.

11/26/2025

Thinking about starting EMDR therapy but not sure if now is the right time?

There is such a thing as good timing with EMDR.

Your brain and nervous system need space to process, decompress, and recalibrate between sessions.

During the early stages of EMDR, it is completely normal to experience:
• disturbed sleep
• feeling a bit on edge
• difficulty concentrating
• mental or emotional fatigue

These shifts are temporary, and they usually improve as your system adjusts. But if you are entering a high pressure season of life, working late nights, or needing peak cognitive performance, it may be worth pausing until you have more capacity.

EMDR works best when your nervous system has room to do the work.

Learn “How to Prepare for Your First EMDR Therapy Session: The Crucial Steps Nobody Talks About.”

Click here to read full blog: https://www.danacarretta.com/post/first-emdr-therapy-session-preparation

11/26/2025

Bilateral Stimulation isn’t “just eye movements.” It’s a neurobiological rhythm that helps the brain do what it naturally knows how to do: process, integrate, and finally put the past in the past.

When BLS activates both hemispheres, neural networks communicate more efficiently.

That’s where we see:
• Emotional charge decreasing
• Meaning shifting
• New insights forming
• Adaptive information coming online

In other words:
BLS supports the brain’s built-in ability to reorganize overwhelming experiences.
And here’s the part most therapists forget:
Consistent rhythm = smoother processing.

If your BLS is jumpy, glitchy, or slow…
the client’s brain has to work harder to stay in the reprocessing lane.

This is why the tools you use matter.
Not because EMDR is tech-dependent,
but because EMDR is rhythm-dependent.

If you’re wondering what helps therapists deliver smooth, predictable BLS (especially online), you’re not alone.

If you're curious:
👉 Are you looking for a tool that keeps BLS steady and customizable?
👉 Or a platform where telehealth, BLS, SUD tracking, and notes actually live in one place?
WeMind is one of the EMDR-specific tools built exactly for that workflow.

If you want to try it the way I use it:
✅Start with a 7-day free trial (no credit card required)
✅ If you like it, upgrade your plan and use my code to get 30 extra days free

Use code: THEEMDRCOACH25

Visit the link below to sign-up for WeMind!
⬇️

https://www.wemindtherapy.com or https://app.wemindtherapy.com/auth/login?lang=us

11/25/2025

If you’ve ever struggled with setting boundaries around your clinical availability, you’re not alone. Most therapists were never taught how to create schedules that support their energy, prevent burnout, and still meet client needs.

This new blog breaks down the how and the why behind building a sustainable schedule, so you can show up as the grounded, present clinician you want to be.

Read the full blog here:
The Therapist Availability Guide

Finding a therapist can be frustrating—especially when so many profiles say “not accepting new clients.” In this Therapist Availability Guide: Why Therapists Are Not Accepting New Clients, we unpack what’s behind full caseloads, ethical limits, and how to navigate waitlists or find the right...

11/24/2025

Most people expect EMDR to feel dramatic. In reality, it often feels surprisingly ordinary.

Clients imagine a movie scene, a big emotional release, or a sudden breakthrough. But EMDR usually feels like small shifts, gentle noticing, and the nervous system doing quiet work in the background. That is the whole point. Slow and steady change is still change.

During EMDR, most people report:
• feeling less activated than expected
• memories feeling farther away
• thoughts connecting on their own
• mild physical sensations
• noticing moments of clarity
• feeling tired afterward
• realizing something that used to feel huge now feels neutral

These shifts may not look dramatic, but clinically, this is the nervous system processing what it could not before.

If your client says, “I don’t know if it worked, I just feel… different,” this is often the best sign that it did. Integration does not need to be loud to be effective.

If you want tools to track EMDR progress session by session, comment “Journal” and I’ll send you the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal.

Save this for your next EMDR session.

Share with another therapist who needs this reminder.

11/23/2025

When your nervous system says “no,” listen.

That shutdown, tightness, hesitation, or sudden wave of anxiety isn’t disrespect or self-sabotage - it’s information.

Your body is always scanning for safety.
Sometimes it’s reacting to the present…

and sometimes it’s reacting to something much older.

Instead of forcing yourself through it, try pausing long enough to ask:
“Is this a real boundary… or a protective response from an old wound?”

Listening doesn’t mean you’re giving in.
It means you’re giving your system a chance to feel heard which is often the first step toward real healing.

If you want a tool to help you track these reactions, understand patterns, and bring more clarity to your EMDR work…

Comment “Journal” for the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal.

11/21/2025

Authenticity is not something you hunt for. It is something you notice when you drift away from it.

Gabor reminds us that the moment you catch yourself not saying the yes or no your body already knows, you are meeting your authentic self. Therapists see this every day in the room. The notice is the work.

When clients struggle to assert their truth, we often explore the belief underneath.
What do they fear will happen if they are fully seen?
What story are they carrying about what authenticity costs?
And as Gabor says, the noticing itself is the part of them that is already whole, already present, already teaching the wounded parts what safety feels like.
Where do you feel the pull to say yes but stay quiet?

Want more tools to support your EMDR work? Copy link below for curated tools or send us a DM.
⬇️
https://cstu.io/9d7790

🗣️: Gabor Maté -
🎥: Jay Shetty Podcast -

Save this for the moments you notice yourself overriding your yes or your no.

11/20/2025

If you’ve ever ended a full EMDR day feeling like your brain is sliding down a wall, it might not be your clients…It might be your tech workflow.

Most EMDR therapists are juggling:
• one tab for telehealth
• one for BLS
• one for SUD tracking
• one for notes
• one for timers
• one for screen-sharing
and somehow expected to stay attuned, regulated, and present. 😅

EMDR is beautifully structured.
Your tech should be too.

When therapists streamline their systems, three things happen:
1️⃣ Sessions feel smoother for you and your client
2️⃣ Cognitive load drops (finally)
3️⃣ You stay regulated enough to track what matters

And yes, there are EMDR-specific tools designed to help with this.

My favorite lately has been WeMind, because it puts BLS, SUD tracking, telehealth, session notes, and your whole workflow in one place.
If you want to try it the way I use it:
✅ Start with a 7-day free trial (no credit card required)
✅ If you like it, upgrade your plan and use my code to get 30 extra days free

Use code: THEEMDRCOACH25
Visit the link below to sign-up for WeMind
⬇️
https://www.wemindtherapy.com

Your nervous system will thank you.
Your clients will feel the difference. 💛

11/19/2025

Not every client is ready for EMDR reprocessing and that’s not a setback.

As clinicians, one of the most protective things we can do is recognize when a client needs therapy first, not just Phase 2 skills.

Chronic dysregulation, attachment instability, complex trauma, fragile coping, or ongoing life chaos aren’t “barriers.” They’re information.

They tell us the nervous system needs more stability, connection, and containment before it can tolerate reprocessing work.

When we honor readiness instead of rushing protocol, clients feel safer, therapy is more effective, and EMDR becomes the tool it’s meant to be - not a crisis activator.

If you have clients (or you yourself) who need ongoing, trauma-informed support before beginning EMDR…

Book a Free 15-minute consultation with Peaceful Living.
Copy the link below.
⬇️
www.peacefullivingmentalhealthcounseling.com/contact-us

Available:
✨ In-person in Scarsdale, NY
✨ Virtual in NY / NJ / CT / FL

11/19/2025

Most people hear “the only thing to fear is fear itself” and think it’s inspirational.
As trauma therapists, we hear: "so you’re describing panic disorder.”

Fear is actually a protective system.
But when we resist it, suppress it, or try to outrun it, it spikes. That’s when it stops working with us and starts working against us.

Here’s the reframe I teach clients and consultees all the time:

When fear shows up → use discernment, not judgment.

Instead of “why am I like this?” try:
“Is this fear helping me, or hurting me?”

Micro-check-ins you can try:
Name it: “I’m noticing fear in my body.”

✅Check purpose: “Is this keeping me safe or keeping me stuck?”
✅Differentiate: “Is this protecting me from real danger, or blocking healthy connection?”
✅Decide next step: “Do I need grounding, support, or a boundary?”
✅Discernment puts you back in the driver’s seat.
✅Fear becomes information—not a threat.

Want a tool to help you track patterns, triggers, and nervous system cues? Comment “Journal” for the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal.