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EMDR therapy · Arlington, VA
Structured, eight-phase trauma reprocessing for PTSD, single-incident trauma, and developmental trauma — without requiring you to retell your story in detail. Delivered through PHP, IOP, and outpatient therapy for adults in Arlington, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia.
Medically reviewed by the VABH Medical Team
Who EMDR fits
EMDR is trauma-focused first, but the trauma driving a person's symptoms isn't always obvious at intake — part of our job is finding it.
Accidents, assaults, medical trauma, or a sudden loss. EMDR is one of the most researched treatments for single-incident trauma and often shows measurable relief faster than talk therapy alone.
Learn more about PTSD from a single traumatic incidentTrauma that occurred repeatedly, often in childhood, and shaped how a person sees themselves and relationships. This work moves slower and requires more stabilization before reprocessing begins.
Learn more about Complex or developmental traumaNorthern Virginia and the DC area have a high concentration of first responders, active duty and veteran personnel, and federal law enforcement. EMDR is well suited to occupational trauma exposure that built up over a career.
For many people in addiction treatment, unresolved trauma is what use has been managing. EMDR is introduced only once use is stabilized enough for reprocessing to be safe and productive.
Learn more about Trauma underneath substance useWhen a panic disorder or specific phobia traces back to an identifiable event, reprocessing that memory can reduce the charge that keeps triggering the fear response.
Learn more about Panic and phobias with a clear trigger eventSudden, violent, or traumatic loss can leave grief stuck behind trauma symptoms. EMDR helps process the traumatic elements so grief can move the way it needs to.
Difficult diagnoses, ICU stays, and invasive procedures leave real psychological injury. EMDR treats it as trauma, not just as something to cope with.
The eight phases
EMDR follows a standardized eight-phase structure. Stabilization always comes before reprocessing — nobody moves faster than their nervous system can tolerate.
Your clinician builds a full picture of your history and identifies which target memories are driving current symptoms — this is not a quick intake form, it's clinical groundwork.
Before any reprocessing happens, you learn grounding and self-soothing skills. Nobody starts reprocessing a memory without a way to steady themselves afterward.
You and your clinician identify the specific image, negative belief, and body sensation connected to the target memory, along with the more adaptive belief you'd like to move toward.
You bring the memory briefly to mind while your clinician guides bilateral stimulation — typically side-to-side eye movements, though tapping or alternating tones work too. This appears to help the brain reprocess the memory into something less charged.
Once distress around the memory has dropped, sessions strengthen the more adaptive belief you identified in assessment, so it feels true rather than just logical.
You check for any remaining physical tension connected to the memory — trauma often lives in the body after the narrative has already shifted.
Every session ends with grounding, regardless of where reprocessing landed, so you leave regulated rather than activated.
The next session opens by checking how the target memory is landing now, and whether other related material has surfaced that needs its own attention.
Levels of care
An assessment determines whether you're ready for reprocessing now or need stabilization work first, and the plan adjusts as your safety and readiness change.
For people with significant trauma symptoms or co-occurring substance use, PHP or IOP builds the emotional regulation skills EMDR reprocessing requires, so the work doesn't outpace your ability to tolerate it.
Once stabilized, EMDR is typically delivered in individual weekly sessions, often alongside group therapy if you're still in PHP or IOP for other needs.
For PTSD with significant sleep disruption, hyperarousal, or depression, our medical staff may prescribe and monitor medication alongside EMDR rather than instead of it.
Reprocessing traumatic material can be destabilizing if someone doesn't yet have reliable coping skills or is in early, unstable recovery. We assess readiness carefully and sequence EMDR after initial stabilization when needed.
Across the river from Maryland
Our Arlington center is a short drive from Bethesda, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County. Maryland clients regularly attend in-person PHP and IOP here, and evening tracks keep treatment compatible with a DC workday. Telehealth sessions are available for Virginia residents.
Common questions
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, eight-phase trauma therapy that uses bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements — while a traumatic memory is briefly held in mind. It's one of the most researched treatments for PTSD.
No. This is one of the most common misconceptions. EMDR does not require detailed verbal retelling of what happened. You identify the memory and its associated image, belief, and body sensation, but the reprocessing itself happens largely without narrating the story out loud.
You sit with your clinician, briefly bring a target memory to mind, and follow their hand, a light bar, or tapping while staying present with whatever surfaces — images, sensations, or new realizations. Sessions end with grounding regardless of where the material lands, so you don't leave activated.
It varies widely. A single-incident trauma with no complicating factors may resolve in as few as six to twelve sessions. Developmental or complex trauma involving multiple memories typically takes longer, and stabilization work often comes first.
It depends on stability, not on total abstinence. Reprocessing a traumatic memory can be intense, and if someone doesn't yet have reliable ways to manage that intensity, it can be destabilizing. We assess this individually and often build coping skills in PHP or IOP before starting reprocessing.
Yes, for Virginia residents — our clinicians are licensed in Virginia, so telehealth EMDR sessions are available statewide. In-person PHP and IOP at our Arlington center is open to Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC residents.
EMDR is typically billed as standard psychotherapy and covered as part of outpatient behavioral health benefits under most commercial plans. Our admissions team verifies your coverage before treatment starts.
In-person care at 5400 Shawnee Road, Arlington, VA for VA, MD, and DC residents. Telehealth for Virginia residents only.
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Insurance accepted
EMDR is typically billed as standard psychotherapy and covered as a behavioral health benefit under most commercial plans — Anthem, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Optum, Sentara Health Plans, UMR, and Johns Hopkins Health Plans. Send us your card and we'll confirm your benefits before you begin.
Don't see your plan? Call us — we also work with out-of-network benefits and self-pay.