Ohio’s EMDR Specialist
EMDR works with your brain’s natural way of processing memories - so that unpleasant memories aren't as distressing. The past is no longer present.
Allow my extensive experience in EMDR to help you feel more confident, calm, & connected.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a well-researched mental health intervention found to be effective for a range of mental health concerns.
I offer EMDR therapy virtually to adults in Ohio, in an intensive format. Learn more about EMDR Intensives.
How long is an EMDR session?
A traditional EMDR therapy session is weekly for 50 minutes, with treatment taking months or years to complete. I offer virtual Intensive EMDR Therapy in Columbus, Ohio, which allows for quicker healing in a much shorter time frame.
EMDR is a phased approach, and each client is unique. Some clients move through phases quicker than others. Your brain and body will guide you as you are ready and I will support you every step of the way.
How long does EMDR take?
The length of EMDR therapy depends on several factors: your goals, your overall stability in life, your existing use of healthy coping skills, your social support - and last but not least, your brain and body’s readiness to engage in deep trauma work.
Sometimes clients resolve a negative belief or memory in just a few sessions, other times (usually with more complex trauma, or more things to focus on) it can take longer. EMDR Intensives are a great opportunity for clients wanting fast, lasting results of therapy.
EMDR is an 8 phase treatment protocol that addresses past, present, & future.
Initial sessions are spent identifying what you’d like to work on, and improving your ability to manage distress. I’ll help you build specific skills and self-soothing techniques to use both inside and outside of session.
When you’re ready to reprocess, you’ll be asked to focus on a specific memory, and pay attention to related negative imagery, beliefs, emotions, and body sensations.
While you’re focused on this, the therapist applies sets of bilateral stimulation and invites you to notice what comes to mind after each set. We repeat this process until the memory becomes less distressing; you begin to notice more neutral body sensations and positive beliefs begin to take root.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR works with your brain’s natural way of processing memories - and helps reprocess them so that when you remember a stressful experience, it’s no longer as disturbing or bothersome.
When we’re in a stressful or traumatic situation, the brain isn’t able to store memories properly. These memories get stored as fragmented sensory experiences that leave us feeling really overwhelmed, upset, vulnerable, or “back in the moment”, rather than as story-like, narrative memories that feel more neutral to recall.
Wondering which EMDR format is best for you?
Compare your options below:
Traditional Weekly EMDR
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Meet once per week for 50 minutes.
Actual time in the session spent on EMDR: only 20 minutes.
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Months to years. While weekly EMDR can resolve symptoms faster than talk therapy, it still takes a long time to get through the prep work and into the reprocessing phases of EMDR in a weekly format.
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Depends on the crisis of the week.
You might have several goals you’re working on concurrently and bounce around between areas of focus as needed each week.
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One year of weekly therapy costs over $8,085.
Weekly therapy costs less up front but more overall, even if using insurance!
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Daytime hours Monday-Friday. There may be a waitlist.
Intensive EMDR at Sea Glass
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Meet multiple times per week for longer sessions per day.
Sea Glass offers 3-hour intensives, for 1 to 5 days per week. Learn more.
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DAYS to WEEKS. EMDR Intensives resolve symptoms quicker than possible with weekly EMDR.
Most clients at Sea Glass meet their goals in just 7 Intensive sessions.
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Intensives are highly concentrated, focused work.
We stick with one goal at a time and work very intentionally, providing highly customized treatment.
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Intensives cost more up front but less overall.
At Sea Glass, Intensives are bundled as a packaged service. Learn more.
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Daytime, evening, and weekend availability.
Intensive clients enjoy priority scheduling, access to select scheduling spots, and skip the waitlist.
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Sea Glass is Ohio’s top EMDR intensive provider. Erin Pritchard is a Certified EMDR therapist in Ohio, with the most experience providing this unique form of therapy.
Your EMDR Intensive at Sea Glass provides an unparalleled therapy experience.
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Save time and money
Priority scheduling
Flexible payment options
Personalized EMDR workbook
Customized grounding kit
Exclusive access to our online library of resources
Our Certified EMDR Therapist in Ohio has extensive experience using EMDR to treat emotional, relational, & physical concerns.
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Research shows that online therapy, and online EMDR, is equally as effective as in person therapy. Some studies even show that online therapy is MORE beneficial than in-person. Unless there’s a safety concern, it boils down to personal preference!
There are lots of ways for us to do EMDR virtually! The key difference between virtual EMDR and in-person EMDR is the type of bilateral stimulation we use. In person, you might be used to a light bar or tappers. For online EMDR we modify those options (and include many more) to work remotely. Otherwise - the process for EMDR therapy online is the same as in person.
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Stress
Panic attacks
Sexual assault
Self esteem issues
Distressing life events
Infidelity
Betrayal trauma
Spiritual abuse
Depression
Childhood trauma
Secondary or work-related trauma
Chronic illness and medical issues
Performance anxiety
Grief and loss
Sleep disturbance (trouble falling or staying asleep, or nightmares)
Negative thoughts about yourself
Worries for the future
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Bilateral stimulation, sometimes also called dual attention stimulus, is a rhythmic sensory pattern that crosses the body on alternating sides, and repeatedly activates opposite sides of the brain. You might unknowingly do some of this throughout your day - walking, running, alternating tapping hands or swaying your body when you’re listening to music are all examples of bilateral stimulation!
We apply this motion intentionally during some phases of EMDR therapy to help your brain reprocess maladaptive material and make it more adaptive. In EMDR, the bilateral stimulation is traditionally eye movements (hence the name of the treatment), but we can also use other body movements and sensations that are done while you’re reprocessing a negative memory. This technique allows the brain to move through distressing material while remaining in the present moment.
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No. Hypnosis aims to achieve an altered state of deep relaxation. EMDR sessions begin with intentionally connecting to negative emotions, so your brain can repair the associated memory.
Hypnosis focuses on continuing to remain in a single state of deep relaxation. In EMDR, your clinician will help you maintain a dual awareness of the present moment while you’re recalling distressing memories and sensations.
How is EMDR different from other therapy?
EMDR does NOT require talking in depth about your memories.
Talk therapies primarily engage your brain’s prefrontal cortex - which isn’t bad! That’s useful for lots of things. However, talking (engaging the prefrontal cortex) is simply not as effective at resolving traumatic or overwhelming memories because it’s not engaging the part of the brain where the trauma memories are stored.
In EMDR, clients are asked to briefly focus on a distressing memory, while engaging in bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements or sound). EMDR helps the brain process distressing memories. After EMDR therapy, the experience is still remembered but the flight, fight, freeze, or fawn response from the original memory has been resolved.
What does research say about EMDR?
24 randomized controlled trials support the positive effects of EMDR for treating emotional trauma & other adverse life experiences.
EMDR has shown to be more effective than medication in trauma treatment.
7 of 10 studies reported EMDR therapy to be more rapid and/or more effective than trauma-focused CBT.
12 randomized studies of the eye movement component noted rapid decreases in negative emotions and/or vividness of disturbing images, with an additional 8 studies reporting a variety of other memory effects.
Numerous other evaluations demonstrate that EMDR therapy provides relief from chronic pain and other somatic complaints.
Ongoing research shows positive clinical outcomes of EMDR as a treatment for anxiety, OCD, chronic pain, trauma, and other distressing life experiences.
Online EMDR is just as effective as in-person.
Research shows that online EMDR works just as well as in-person EMDR therapy. Virtual EMDR Intensives in Ohio save valuable time because we don’t spend so much time each week: checking in at the beginning of each session, addressing current crises and concerns (rather than what brought you to treatment in the first place), focusing on stabilizing and coping skills, and closing down at the end of each session.
Plus, you don’t have to wait in traffic or worry about who’s in the waiting room with you.
Intensive EMDR decreases treatment time compared to other trauma therapy.
In the weekly model of therapy, as much as 10 minutes (or more!) is spent at the beginning and end of each session checking in and closing down, leaving you only about 30 minutes each week to actually focus on the issues at hand. If you have current concerns going on each week, you may never get to what brought you into therapy in the first place.
EMDR Intensives are an interactive personal workshop for trauma healing where we focus on goals for mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in clients with PTSD symptoms, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar (or even better!) results, while reducing the risk that clients drop out of treatment prematurely.
Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD.
Read blog posts about EMDR therapy
