Healing PTSD Through EMDR: How Trauma Therapy Can Help You Feel Like Yourself Again

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) doesn’t only affect soldiers or survivors of major disasters — it can also affect everyday people who’ve lived through emotionally overwhelming situations: a difficult childbirth, a humiliating experience at work, an accident, a breakup, or growing up with an unpredictable parent.

Even years later, you might find yourself reacting in ways that don’t make sense — avoiding certain places, feeling tense for no reason, crying during movies that others find harmless, or shutting down when someone raises their voice. This might be your nervous system trying to protect you from a trauma that was never fully processed.

That’s where EMDR therapy can help.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a scientifically validated method used to help people reprocess traumatic memories in a safe and structured way.

In my work as a clinical psychologist and trauma therapist, I use EMDR to help clients:

• Feel less triggered by past experiences

• Reduce anxiety, nightmares, and emotional numbness

• Gain clarity about events they had blocked or confused

• Rebuild a sense of safety, trust, and inner calm

What does a session look like?

You don’t have to “relive” the trauma in detail. In EMDR, we work with brief mental images or sensations while applying bilateral stimulation (usually through guided eye movements, tapping, or sounds). This process helps the brain unlock “frozen” memories and reorganize them in a healthier way, so that they feel like something from the past, rather than something still happening now.

Real-life examples:

• Laura, 36, couldn’t understand why she panicked every time her partner raised his voice, even when he wasn’t angry. After EMDR sessions focused on childhood moments of being yelled at and shamed, she felt a new sense of control in her adult relationships.

• Dustin, 29, had constant tension in his chest since a car accident. He avoided driving and felt “stuck in fear.” After reprocessing the crash memory with EMDR, he noticed the physical tension was gone, and he could drive again without flashbacks.

• Ana, 41, had never spoken about a traumatic event from her teenage years. EMDR allowed her to approach the memory without being overwhelmed. Instead of pushing it away, she could finally understand how it shaped her self-worth, and begin to reclaim it.

You don’t need to be “broken” to benefit from trauma therapy.

Sometimes, the most painful part is not even the trauma itself — it’s the shame we carry for not “getting over it.” EMDR offers a compassionate and structured way to heal, without having to explain everything in words.

If this resonates with you…

…you’re not alone. I offer both in-person and online sessions in English, Portuguese, and other languages, and work with international clients navigating complex histories and transitions. Whether your trauma is “big” or “small,” your healing matters.

Feel free to reach out. You deserve peace, and a life that feels like yours again.