Adult EMDR Therapy · Seattle · Statewide WA Telehealth
EMDR therapy that helps a memory settle, without reliving your story over and over.
EMDR helps you process what happened so your nervous system can settle. Our EMDR-trained team accepts most major insurance plans, while most Seattle EMDR specialists are cash-pay. Same-week appointment availability, in person at three Seattle-area offices or by secure video across Washington.
EMDR therapy at Counseling Services for Wellbeing helps Seattle-area adults process a difficult experience so a memory stops firing as if it is still happening, without reliving the story over and over. We accept most major insurance plans, book same-week appointments and offer EMDR in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video statewide.
You have done the talking, and your body still reacts the same.
You can explain why you feel the way you do. You understand where it started, you have the insight. And your body still reacts the same. A tone shifts, a smell catches you off guard, a memory surfaces, and you are right back in it before your mind has a chance to weigh in.
You know the story by heart. You can tell it without crying now, and it still flinches something in you every time. You brace when nothing is wrong. Sleep does not come, or it comes and does not stay. Understanding what happened has not been enough to make your body believe it is over.
That gap, between knowing and feeling, is what EMDR works on. Not so you can describe the event in more detail. So the memory stops firing as if it is still happening now, and your nervous system finally gets to settle.
EMDR is a structured way to help a memory settle, not a way to relive it.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured approach that helps your brain reprocess a difficult experience so it stops firing as if it is still happening now, so it loses its grip on your body and your day. The American Psychological Association recognizes EMDR as a recommended treatment for post-traumatic stress. EMDR is one of several approaches we use, and your intake conversation decides whether it fits what you are carrying.
Insight that did not reach the body
You did the talk therapy. You understand the why. The body still reacts the same, before your mind can weigh in.
A single hard event that keeps intruding
An accident, an assault, a medical emergency. One thing that happened and keeps surfacing in the present.
Trauma carried since childhood
Complex or developmental trauma held for years, the kind that shaped how you move through the world.
Post-traumatic stress, told to move on
Living with the weight of post-traumatic stress and tired of being told to just put it behind you.
Anxiety or low mood with a root
Anxiety or low mood that traces back to a specific thing that happened, not something that came from nowhere.
A brace that fires when nothing is wrong
You startle before you can think. You brace in rooms that are perfectly safe, the moment you wake up.
This page is for adults, and first-time-therapy adults are welcome. EMDR is one approach among several, and your intake conversation decides whether it is the right fit for what you are carrying.
How EMDR works here.
EMDR fits inside a whole-body view of care, so we treat what happened as something the body holds, and let that shape the pace of the work and the methods alongside it.
Reach out
A short form or a call. We hear what is going on, what keeps surfacing, and what you have already tried. No assessment battery to clear before we talk.
Get matched
We pair you with an EMDR-trained therapist whose approach fits the kind of experience you are carrying. You see the same therapist each session for continuity, not a rotation of new faces.
Start this week
First appointment in person at one of three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington. The first sessions are about safety and stabilization, building enough steadiness and trust before any reprocessing begins. Nobody is moved into the hardest material before they are ready.
EMDR, with more than one tool on the bench.
In a session you focus briefly on a memory while your therapist guides a form of back-and-forth attention, often eye movements. Over time the memory tends to feel less charged and less immediate, and EMDRIA describes EMDR as an extensively researched approach. You stay in control of the pace the whole way through.
Where it fits, our therapists also blend Internal Family Systems and somatic and polyvagal work, which work directly with the parts of you and the body sensations that carry the experience. These sit alongside EMDR rather than replacing it, so you are not limited to a single tool. EMDR may help your nervous system settle and help a memory stop driving the present. We will not promise to erase a memory. We will give you a structured way to stop being run by it. Related skills are available with cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy on the team.
How we compare
Counseling Services for Wellbeing vs. typical Seattle EMDR options.
| Solo EMDR specialists | General talk therapists | Counseling Services for Wellbeing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance accepted |
Most are cash-pay
|
Varies, often limited
|
Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
|
| First appointment |
Often weeks-long waitlists
|
4 to 6 week wait
|
Same-week scheduling
|
| EMDR-trained bench |
One or two clinicians
|
Often a little EMDR on the side
|
Deepest EMDR-trained bench in the market
|
| More than one approach |
EMDR-only focus
|
Talk-only
|
EMDR + IFS + somatic and polyvagal
|
| Years doing EMDR exclusively |
A single EMDR-only focus
|
EMDR is one of many things they do
|
A broad team, not EMDR-only
|
| Therapy + medication coordinated |
Refers out to a separate prescriber
|
Refers out to a separate prescriber
|
Therapy + psychiatry in one practice
|
-
Insurance accepted
-
Solo EMDR specialistsMost are cash-pay
-
General talk therapistsVaries, often limited
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingKaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
-
-
First appointment
-
Solo EMDR specialistsOften weeks-long waitlists
-
General talk therapists4 to 6 week wait
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame-week scheduling
-
-
EMDR-trained bench
-
Solo EMDR specialistsOne or two clinicians
-
General talk therapistsOften a little EMDR on the side
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingDeepest EMDR-trained bench in the market
-
-
More than one approach
-
Solo EMDR specialistsEMDR-only focus
-
General talk therapistsTalk-only
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingEMDR + IFS + somatic and polyvagal
-
-
Years doing EMDR exclusively
-
Solo EMDR specialistsA single EMDR-only focus
-
General talk therapistsEMDR is one of many things they do
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingA broad team, not EMDR-only
-
-
Therapy + medication coordinated
-
Solo EMDR specialistsRefers out to a separate prescriber
-
General talk therapistsRefers out to a separate prescriber
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingTherapy + psychiatry in one practice
-
Solo specialists go deep on EMDR, and that is a real strength. What they usually do not offer is your insurance, a same-week start, more than one approach when EMDR is not the whole answer, or a way to coordinate therapy with medication inside one practice. That is the trade we are built to remove.
Most major insurance plans accepted
We recommend confirming your benefits with your insurer before your first session, so EMDR does not have to be a cash-pay decision the way it is at most Seattle EMDR specialists.
Meet some of our EMDR-trained therapists.
A deeper bench than the five here. We match you with an EMDR-trained therapist whose approach fits the kind of experience you are carrying.
Deeper bench of EMDR-trained therapists than the five here. Tell us what you are carrying and we will match you with the right therapist.
Three offices or secure video anywhere in Washington.
EMDR is available in person at all three Seattle-area offices. We also offer therapy by secure video across Washington, with the same therapist you would see in person.
What adults ask before starting EMDR.
Is EMDR covered by insurance?
We accept Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, and that includes EMDR. Most Seattle EMDR specialists are cash-pay, so this is one of the bigger differences when you start calling around. We recommend confirming your specific benefits with your insurer before your first session, so you know what to expect rather than guessing.
What is EMDR and how does it work?
EMDR is a structured, well-researched approach that helps your brain reprocess a distressing memory so it settles and stops firing as if it is still happening. You do not have to relive your story over and over for it to help. Your therapist guides the process and you stay in control of the pace throughout. The EMDR International Association describes it as an extensively researched approach.
How soon can I start EMDR?
First appointments are available the same week, so you do not have to wait weeks to begin. Much of the Seattle market books four to six weeks out or is cash-pay only. Reach out and we will find the first opening that works for you, in person or by secure video.
Will I have to relive what happened during EMDR?
No. EMDR is a structured way to help a memory settle, not a way to relive your story over and over. Safety and stabilization come first, you stay in control of the pace the whole way through, and your therapist never moves you into the hardest material before you are ready to work with it.
Do you offer EMDR online or only in person?
You can meet in person for EMDR at our Green Lake, Burien or Smokey Point offices. We also offer therapy by secure video anywhere in Washington with online trauma therapy, and we will talk through which format fits your care at intake so you know what to expect before you start.
What does EMDR help with?
EMDR is used for distress rooted in something that happened: single-incident trauma like an accident or an assault, complex and developmental trauma carried since childhood, post-traumatic stress, plus anxiety or low mood that traces back to a specific event. Our EMDR care is adult-focused, and your intake conversation decides whether it fits what you are carrying.
How is this different from regular trauma therapy?
EMDR is one of the approaches we use for trauma. If you are looking at the broader experience of carrying something that happened rather than EMDR specifically, our trauma therapy in Seattle page is the better starting point. The two go together, and your therapist will help you find the right fit.
You do not have to keep flinching at a memory you have already made sense of.
EMDR can help it settle, and you can start this week. Counseling Services for Wellbeing accepts most major insurance plans, books first appointments the same week, and matches you with an EMDR-trained therapist, in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video across Washington.
