Therapy and Consultation
Helping people to heal and grow in their lives.
"I'm always a little surprised when, after helping a client overcome some significant and stubborn issue with EMDR, I suggest tackling something else and they say, 'Oh, I didn't know EMDR could be used for that!'"
EMDR is best known for treating PTSD — and for good reason. It has decades of research behind it and is recognized by the World Health Organization, the American Psychiatric Association, and the VA as a gold-standard treatment for trauma. But that reputation has created a common misconception: that EMDR is only for people who've experienced an obvious, dramatic traumatic event. In reality, EMDR can be used to address practically anything that's getting in the way of living the life you want.
When clients first come to see me for EMDR — whether it's for a phobia, a motor vehicle accident, or some form of abuse — they often don't realize that EMDR can also reach into issues where the trauma connection is less obvious. Fear of abandonment, social anxiety, relationship struggles, grief and loss, addiction — these can all have roots in earlier experiences that never fully resolved, even if those experiences don't look like "trauma" in the traditional sense. EMDR is well-suited to address these kinds of issues too.
People sometimes ask why EMDR — a therapy developed to treat trauma — would be effective for something like social anxiety, depression, or difficulty leaving a bad relationship. The answer gets at something important about how EMDR actually works.
EMDR isn't designed to treat any particular diagnosis or symptom. It's designed to get at the root cause. And in my experience over two decades of doing this work, the root cause is almost always some form of unresolved experience — events and circumstances from the past that got stuck in the nervous system and never fully processed.
That word "trauma" can be misleading, because most people picture dramatic, life-threatening events when they hear it. And yes, EMDR is highly effective for those. But trauma also includes the subtler, quieter wounds — the childhood humiliation that never quite healed, the parent who was constantly critical, the breakup that shattered your sense of self, the years of feeling like you never quite measured up. These experiences may not feel like "trauma" in the clinical sense, but they can have just as powerful and lasting an effect on how you feel, how you relate to others, and what you believe about yourself. You don't have to identify as a trauma survivor to carry unresolved pain from the past.
This is especially true of what we call attachment trauma — the wounds that form when essential childhood needs for safety, love, and validation go unmet. These can occur even in families where parents were loving and well-intentioned, and they're often at the root of adult anxiety, depression, fear of abandonment, and painful relationship patterns. Learn more on the Attachment Trauma page.
This is why social anxiety isn't really about social situations — it's about the experiences that taught you that social situations were dangerous. Depression often traces back to losses, failures, or wounds that were never processed. Fear of abandonment doesn't live in your head — it lives in the body memories of times you actually were abandoned, in ways large and small.
EMDR works across such a wide range of issues because it goes to where those experiences are stored and helps your brain finally do what it couldn't do at the time: process them, integrate them, and move on. When the root is addressed, the symptoms very often resolve on their own.
When we work together, we usually begin by identifying what you want — a goal, a feeling, a change you're trying to make. More often than not, you already have the capacity to get there. The issue isn't ability or knowledge. The issue is that something is in the way.
Often the clearest signal that something unresolved is running in the background is a present-day trigger — a situation, a person, or an interaction that produces a reaction that feels too big, too persistent, or simply out of proportion to what's actually happening. The argument that spirals into something much older. The criticism that lands harder than it should. The social situation that activates a level of dread that logic can't talk you out of.
These triggers are actually useful — they point directly to what needs to be addressed. In EMDR, we often start right there, with whatever is activating you in the present, and follow that thread back to its source.
You know how to exercise, but something stops you from following through. You could pursue the new job, but anxiety or self-doubt holds you back. You want to leave an unhealthy relationship, but fear or a deep sense of unworthiness keeps you stuck. You are capable of crossing a bridge, speaking up in a meeting, or letting yourself grieve — but something freezes you.
These blocks — whether they show up as fear, shame, avoidance, or self-sabotage — are often rooted in earlier experiences that never fully processed. EMDR is remarkably effective at identifying and clearing these kinds of barriers, often in ways that talk therapy alone simply cannot reach.
EMDR doesn't only help you heal what's behind you — it also helps you prepare for what's ahead. Once blocks are cleared, we use a technique called the Future Template, which is a powerful and often overlooked tool in the EMDR process.
The Future Template is a detailed mental and emotional rehearsal of your goal. You imagine yourself in the future — handling the situation the way you want to handle it, feeling the way you want to feel, responding the way you want to respond.
What makes this so effective is that the brain doesn't distinguish very well between a vividly imagined experience and a real one. In that sense, the Future Template is the closest thing you can get to the real thing — without having to be in the actual situation. And along the way, if any remaining fears or doubts surface during that imagined rehearsal, we can address those barriers right then and there, before you ever step into the real moment.
This makes the Future Template especially valuable before a challenging conversation, a high-stakes performance, a difficult medical procedure, a job interview, or any situation where you want to show up prepared and at your best.
Because so many psychological struggles have their roots in unresolved experience, EMDR has been applied successfully to a wide range of issues, including:
If you've been wondering whether EMDR could help with something specific in your life, the answer is very often yes. Contact me and we can talk through whether it's the right fit for you. Sessions are available in person or as virtual EMDR therapy throughout Oregon.
Learn more about how EMDR works on the EMDR Therapy page, or about how trauma shapes our lives on the Understanding Trauma page.
Phone: (503) 887-3309
Email: Contact form
Office Location: 1832 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232
Serving: Portland metro area, including Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Tigard, West Linn, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Tualatin, Gresham, and Vancouver, WA.
Ross Cohen, MA, LPC, LLC
EMDR Certified Therapist | EMDR Approved Consultant | EMDR Training Facilitator
Virtual EMDR consultation via Zoom — serving clinicians worldwide.
In-person therapy and consultation sessions available at my NE Portland, Oregon office.
Telehealth available for clients throughout Oregon.
