EMDR Therapy in North Carolina
EMDR therapy in North Carolina for adults experiencing PTSD, anxiety, and unresolved trauma. Evidence-based treatment helps reprocess traumatic memories, reduce symptoms, and support long-term healing.
EMDR Therapy in North Carolina
Quick Facts:
EMDR therapy is a structured, evidence-based approach designed to help adults process trauma, reduce emotional distress, and support lasting healing.
- Who the therapy is for: Adults navigating trauma, anxiety, burnout, or feeling stuck despite previous therapy
- Conditions / Issues Treated: Trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief, stress, and negative self-beliefs
- Modalities Offered: EMDR, CBT, DBT, Brainspotting, mindfulness-based and trauma-informed approaches
- Session Types and Lengths: 50–60 minute individual sessions, extended EMDR sessions, and multi-hour intensives
- Insurance, Telehealth, and Location Info: Accepts Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and NC State Health Plan; offers superbills; telehealth across North Carolina; in-person in Durham and Cary
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a gentle method of psychotherapy that can help people recover from painful or distressing experiences or beliefs that have not been helped by other therapies. Distressing experiences can include events that most people would consider to be trauma, like sexual assault, a car accident, or other physical injury. It can also help recovery from events that people may minimize the impact of, such as a time you felt embarrassed or ashamed, suffered a loss of any type, or did not feel safe in any way. It can also help with negative beliefs about yourself or the world that are impacting your life. If you’d like to start EMDR therapy in North Carolina, reach out to Acacia Collaborative Psychological Services.
In addition to equipping you with individualized coping skills, EMDR works by moving the memory of the traumatic event from long-term memory to short-term memory and then processing information about the event while using techniques to encourage bi-lateral brain stimulation. Processing the event can be done without disclosing the details of the event to your therapist. This sequence helps the person to process the event while simultaneously feeling safe. This causes the event to lose the emotional charge it has had for you and then the brain’s normal process for recovering from trauma can resume normally. Symptoms previously experienced can then decrease. For example, you may feel less anxious & depressed, feel worthwhile or hopeful, and be able to remember the event without the threat responses it once evoked.
EMDR can be done with children or adults and in in-person or telehealth settings. If you are interested in getting more information about EMDR and see if it might be a good fit for you, you can schedule a quick chat with one of our EMDR providers.
How Does EMDR Therapy Help To Release Trauma?
Most people experience a number of distressing events in their lifetime, and most of those events can be processed normally by the brain without much work. Some events, however, become “stuck” and cause the body to frequently experience threat responses (fight, flight, or freeze). This can cause the brain to work very hard without relief. Symptoms you may experience from an unresolved trauma can include flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disruptions, upsetting images or thoughts, and feelings of powerlessness, fear, or worthlessness. EMDR is a therapy designed to resolve these “stuck” events, decreasing disruptive symptoms, and getting you back engaged in life again.
How Therapy Works
Our EMDR therapy process is structured to support safety, clarity, and meaningful progress at every stage of treatment.
- Intake: We begin with an initial conversation to understand your needs, history, and goals for therapy.
- Assessment: Your therapist gathers clinical background and identifies target areas for EMDR or other treatment approaches.
- Treatment: EMDR and other evidence-based modalities are used to help process trauma, reduce distress, and build coping skills.
- Integration: We help you make sense of insights gained in therapy and apply them to daily life for lasting change.
- Follow-Up / Intensives: Ongoing sessions or intensive formats are available to deepen progress and support long-term healing.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is EMDR therapy effective and safe?
Yes. EMDR is an evidence-based and well-researched therapy that is widely recognized as effective for treating trauma and PTSD. It is safe when provided by a trained clinician, and it helps clients process distressing experiences without needing to relive them in detail.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
The number of sessions varies based on your history, goals, and the complexity of your experiences. Some clients notice improvement within a few sessions, while others benefit from longer-term or more intensive treatment.
How do I know if EMDR therapy is right for me?
EMDR may be a good fit if you are struggling with trauma, anxiety, or emotional experiences that feel unresolved.
Is EMDR Therapy available via telehealth?
EMDR can be done with children or adults in telehealth settings. If you are interested in getting more information about EMDR and see if it might be a good fit for you, you can schedule a quick chat with one of our EMDR providers.
How Do You Get Started?
STEP ONE: CONTACT US
At any point in your decision to pursue therapy or assessment, feel free to contact us with questions. We will gladly talk with you over the phone to determine if one of us will be a good fit. Visit our Contact Page.
STEP TWO: INTAKE
Once you have scheduled an appointment, you will be emailed forms to complete electronically prior to your first appointment. If we are in-network with your Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, or State Health Plan insurance benefits will be processed.
STEP THREE: FIRST SESSION
Your first appointment will be 60 minutes. In this first appointment, we will discuss what brought you in, your history, and will develop a “game plan” with you to work toward your goals.
SOURCES:
EMDR is recommended for PTSD treatment and symptom reduction — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA, 2023)
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/emdr.asp
APA PTSD Clinical Practice Guideline includes EMDR among first-line trauma treatments shown to reduce PTSD symptoms and improve functioning — American Psychological Association (2017)
https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline
EMDR should be considered for children aged 7 to 17 years with a diagnosis of PTSD or clinically important symptoms of PTSD if they do not respond to or engage with trauma-focused CBT – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2018)
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116
Contact Acacia Collaborative
Ask a question or book an appointment below.
Hours
Monday through Friday
9AM-8PM
Saturday: 9AM-3PM
Durham Office:
3710 University Drive #302, Durham, NC 27707
Cary Office:
570 New Waverly Pl #210, Cary, NC 27518
Online Therapy
All of North Carolina
Insurance
Accepting Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Home with UNC Health Alliance, State Health Plan, Out-of-Network Superbills & Private Pay. We are credentialed with the following Medicaid plans: Healthy Blue, Carolina Complete, and Wellcare.
Services
Mental Health Therapy & Psychological Assessments