Panic attacks can strike unexpectedly, causing you to experience sudden surges of overwhelming fear, pounding heart, shortness of breath, and the sensation that danger or catastrophe looms close. While these episodes can feel paralyzing and isolating, recovery is within reach. At the core of healing lies the understanding that panic is not a personal failure—it’s a physiological and emotional response often rooted in past experiences, trauma, or unresolved stress. Inspire Change Counseling explains what EMDR therapy is and how it can help you overcome panic attacks.
What Is EMDR & Why It Matters
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy modality that has proven highly effective for trauma, anxiety, and emotional distress. Developed with a solid research base, EMDR facilitates the brain’s ability to reprocess traumatic memories in a safer, more adaptive way. By enabling individuals to revisit distressing experiences without becoming overwhelmed, EMDR supports the integration of more calming, self-soothing perspectives into memory and emotion. Inspire Change Counseling integrates EMDR alongside other therapeutic modalities to tailor treatment to each patient and their symptoms.
The Eight-Phase EMDR Approach in Practice
EMDR unfolds across eight distinct phases, guiding individuals from preparation and history-taking through targeted memory processing, and ultimately toward closure and integration. Treatment begins with building trust, safety, and coping strategies. Through bilateral stimulation, which is often via guided eye movements or auditory pulses, clients then re-explore distressing memories, gradually rewiring the emotional impact attached to them. This structured progression helps transform intense panic-inducing memories into narratives that no longer wield control.
Tailored Treatment: Beyond One-Size-Fits-All
Every individual’s experience of panic is unique, which means every treatment plan is different. Inspire Change Counseling recognizes this by combining EMDR with other therapeutic philosophies. Such integration ensures that treatment addresses the symptoms of panic attacks and also addresses the underlying relational patterns, emotional regulation challenges, and trauma responses that fuel them.
Healing Panic Through Processing, Not Avoidance
Traditional avoidance strategies, such as trying to will away or suppress panic symptoms, tend to reinforce the very reactions people wish to eliminate. EMDR, however, encourages safe, guided reprocessing of the triggers, memories, or core beliefs tied to panic. With the support of a skilled EMDR therapist from Inspire Change Counseling, individuals can learn to observe rather than avoid these triggers, diminishing their power over time.
How EMDR for Panic Attacks Makes a Difference
For those experiencing panic attacks, EMDR doesn’t demand repeated verbal retelling of traumatic memories in isolation but rather facilitates change at the neural and emotional level via bilateral stimulation. This can lead to a remarkable reduction in the frequency and intensity of panic attacks and in the pervasive fear that they will return. The right EMDR-certified clinician will guide you through this transformation with empathy and expertise.
Building Resilience, Not Just Relief
While reduction of immediate symptoms is an important milestone, long-term healing involves cultivating emotional resilience. EMDR’s transformative process helps clients build a foundation of resilience, enabling them to shift from survival mode to resourcefulness and calm. As individuals reprocess painful memories, they often uncover new strengths and perspectives. Inspire Change Counseling’s trauma-informed approach ensures this shift toward strength and integration is nurtured in every phase of treatment.
Embracing Support & Surrender
Choosing to engage with EMDR for panic relief begins with a willingness to seek help. At Inspire Change Counseling, our EMDR-trained therapists support clients with genuine empathy, creating a space of safety and trust. Whether clients live near Scottsdale or Chesterfield, our clinicians provide steadfast support through this journey of healing and empowerment.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re new to EMDR therapy, it’s natural to have questions about what the process looks like and how it may help. We’ve gathered answers to some of the most common questions:
What Can EMDR Do That Standard Talk Therapy Doesn’t? – EMDR allows individuals to process distressing memories using bilateral stimulation, which can deactivate emotional charge more directly than talk therapy alone. This method often leads to change more rapidly, particularly for deeply rooted trauma or anxiety.
Is EMDR Appropriate for Someone Who Doesn’t Consider Themselves “Traumatized”? – Yes. While often associated with trauma treatment, EMDR is also effective for panic, stress, and anxiety, even if clients don’t label their experiences as “trauma.” Any distressing event or pattern that triggers panic symptoms can be reprocessed.
How Many Sessions Are Typically Needed? – Treatment length varies depending on the root of panic triggers and personal history. EMDR frameworks offer structure, but progression depends on individual needs and readiness. Our therapists at Inspire Change Counseling will tailor the pace to each client.
Can EMDR Make Panic Worse Before It Gets Better? – Initial sessions involve careful preparation and coping strategies to ensure safety. While clients may encounter heightened emotions initially, the guided process is designed to minimize retraumatization. Your therapist will monitor and support you through these moments.
Schedule EMDR for Panic Attacks With Inspire Change Counseling
Panic does not have to define your life. Through EMDR, you can process the roots of your panic, reclaim calm, and rediscover power. If you’re ready to begin transformational work within a compassionate, supportive environment in Scottsdale, AZ, or Chesterfield, MO, Inspire Change Counseling is here to walk with you. Reach out today to find relief through genuine emotional processing.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects all kinds of people—military veterans, survivors of abuse or accidents, first responders, and even individuals who’ve experienced ongoing emotional trauma in relationships or childhood. For many, PTSD feels like being haunted by the past, where disturbing memories, nightmares, and emotional triggers can disrupt everyday life.
At Inspire Change Counseling, with locations in Chesterfield, Missouri, and Scottsdale, Arizona, our expert therapists are helping clients break free from the grip of trauma using a powerful and evidence-based therapy known as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
Let’s explore why EMDR is proving to be so effective in treating PTSD and why it may be the breakthrough therapy you’ve been looking for.
Understanding PTSD: The Brain on Trauma
PTSD isn’t just “bad memories.” It’s a condition in which your brain’s natural way of processing difficult experiences gets stuck. When someone experiences trauma, the brain sometimes stores the memory in a raw, unprocessed state. This “frozen” memory can get reactivated by sights, sounds, or even smells, causing emotional and physical reactions that feel just as intense as the original event.
Common PTSD symptoms include:
Flashbacks or intrusive memories
Nightmares or disturbed sleep
Emotional numbness or detachment
Avoidance of reminders
Hypervigilance or irritability
Anxiety and depression
While traditional talk therapy helps some people process trauma over time, EMDR directly targets the brain’s processing pathways to resolve the distress more efficiently.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is a structured, eight-phase treatment approach that helps individuals process and heal from distressing life experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR focuses on reprocessing traumatic memories so they lose their emotional charge and become integrated into one’s narrative as just another part of the past.
At its core, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation—usually in the form of guided eye movements, auditory tones, or tapping—to activate both hemispheres of the brain. This mimics the brain’s natural process during REM sleep and helps unlock and reprocess stored trauma.
The 8 Phases of EMDR
EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment. These phases are:
History Taking – The therapist gathers background, identifies traumatic memories, and develops a treatment plan.
Preparation – You’ll learn grounding and coping skills to ensure emotional safety.
Assessment – You’ll identify a specific traumatic memory, associated negative beliefs, and desired positive beliefs.
Desensitization – Using bilateral stimulation, the therapist guides you through reprocessing the traumatic memory.
Installation – Positive beliefs are strengthened and “installed” in place of old, negative self-perceptions.
Body Scan – You check for any lingering physical sensations related to the trauma.
Closure – You return to a state of calm at the end of each session.
Re-Evaluation – The therapist reviews your progress and plans the next steps.
Why EMDR Works: Insights From Inspire Change Counseling
Therapists at Inspire Change Counseling have worked with clients from all walks of life who are seeking healing from trauma. Many of these clients have tried other therapies without lasting relief. EMDR often provides that breakthrough
Here are key reasons EMDR is so effective for PTSD treatment:
Targets the Root, Not Just the Symptoms – PTSD symptoms are the result of unprocessed trauma trapped in the brain’s memory networks. EMDR doesn’t just help you manage the symptoms—it goes directly to the source. Once the traumatic memory is reprocessed, the emotional and physical reactions often disappear.
Respects the Client’s Comfort Level – Unlike exposure-based therapies, EMDR doesn’t require you to relive the trauma in graphic detail. In fact, clients can process a memory with minimal verbal description, which often makes the experience feel safer and more empowering.
Accelerated Healing – According to the EMDR International Association, studies show that 84–90% of individuals who experienced a single traumatic event no longer had PTSD after just three 90-minute EMDR sessions. Even clients with complex trauma often report meaningful results within 6–12 sessions.
Builds Confidence and Resilience – A key part of EMDR is installing positive beliefs about yourself, such as “I am safe now” or “I am strong.” These affirmations replace the negative beliefs trauma often leaves behind (“I’m broken,” “It was my fault”). Clients report feeling not only relieved but more empowered than ever.
Integrated Mind-Body Approach – PTSD affects both the mind and the body. During EMDR sessions, therapists at Inspire Change Counseling help clients notice body sensations and release physical tension as trauma is reprocessed. This integrative approach supports deeper and more lasting healing.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re new to EMDR therapy or just beginning to explore it as a treatment option, you probably have a lot of questions. EMDR is a unique therapeutic approach that can seem unfamiliar at first, but it’s helped countless individuals process painful memories and reclaim their lives. Here, we’ll address the most common questions so you can make informed decisions about your mental health journey.
Who can benefit from EMDR therapy?
EMDR was developed for PTSD, but it also helps with anxiety, depression, grief, OCD, phobias, and performance blocks. It’s useful for anyone who feels stuck due to past experiences.
What does EMDR feel like?
Most people describe EMDR as emotionally intense but also freeing. During reprocessing, you may notice memories, emotions, and body sensations shift, but you’re always in control.
Is EMDR safe for everyone?
Yes, when delivered by a licensed and trained therapist, EMDR is safe and effective. Your therapist will ensure you are emotionally prepared before diving into trauma processing.
Can I do EMDR virtually?
Yes! Inspire Change Counseling offers EMDR via secure video platforms. Bilateral stimulation can be adapted for remote therapy using audio tones or virtual tapping tools.
Will I forget the trauma?
No, EMDR does not erase memories. Instead, it reduces the emotional intensity, so the memory no longer causes distress.
Begin Your Healing Journey Today
PTSD and unresolved trauma don’t have to define your life. At Inspire Change Counseling, you’ll find a welcoming space and a team of experts ready to help you heal at your pace with methods proven to work.
Whether you’re new to therapy or have tried other approaches with limited success, EMDR therapy could be the key to unlocking lasting relief and emotional freedom. Contact our therapists in Chesterfield, MO, or Scottsdale, AZ, to schedule a consultation and see how we can use EMDR therapy to help you work through your PTSD.
The most effective treatments for PTSD are talk therapies that focus on trauma. These therapies help you deal with and work through your traumatic experiences. Recently, EMDR has become popular, with famous people like Prince Harry and actress Sandra Bullock praising its effectiveness in helping them recover from trauma.
Let’s learn about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a therapy that helps people heal from trauma and PTSD.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy that helps treat mental health issues caused by memories of past traumatic events. While it’s best known for treating PTSD, it’s now being used for other conditions as well.
Dr. Francine Shapiro, a renowned psychologist, developed EMDR. She noticed by chance that moving her eyes from side to side could make upsetting thoughts feel less intense. One day, while walking in a park, she realized that her stress decreased as her eyes moved back and forth.
During EMDR therapy, you will be asked to remember a stressful event from your past. After that, the memory is reprogrammed with a new, positive thought.
EMDR combines ideas from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with side-to-side eye movements or other types of rhythmic, left-right stimulation. A key part of EMDR is something called “dual stimulation.” During an EMDR session, you are asked to think or talk about memories, triggers, and painful feelings connected to your trauma or another issue.
At the same time, you focus your eyes on the therapist’s finger as it moves back and forth across your field of vision. At times, therapists use other forms of external stimuli like alternating hand taps or sounds, such as a chime that moves back and forth from ear to ear.
How does EMDR therapy work?
During a traumatic event, intense emotions make it difficult to fully process what is happening. That moment can feel stuck in time. When you remember the trauma, it might feel like you’re going through it again because the images, smells, sounds, and emotions are still very vivid and can easily be brought back by triggers in the present.
When these memories are triggered, they can disrupt your daily life, change how you see yourself and the world, and affect your relationships with others. EMDR therapy seems to help by directly working on the brain and “unlocking” these frozen traumatic memories, allowing you to process and resolve them.
Over time, you can work through the upsetting memories and the emotions associated with them until you can think about the event without feeling like you’re reliving it. The memory is still there, but it becomes less painful.
What happens during EMDR sessions?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy that helps people deal with and heal from painful memories. Here’s how it works:
Bilateral Stimulation (BLS):
The therapy starts with bilateral stimulation. The patient is asked to do certain physical activities, like moving their eyes side to side, tapping their knees, and listening to sounds while switching ears. While doing these activities, the patient is asked to remember the difficult memory. The activities help the patient to remember the memory in a calmer and less upsetting way.
Reprocessing the Memory:
During the session, the patient talks about the trauma, the memories, and what they feel. The therapist helps them replace these negative thoughts with better, more positive ones. This step helps to reprocess the memory while changing the view of the trauma, making it less emotionally powerful.
Changing Perspective:
EMDR helps the patient see their traumatic memory in a new, less upsetting way. What used to cause strong emotions now feels like a past event, allowing the person to reduce their emotional burden.
Through these steps, EMDR promotes healing by changing how the brain deals with traumatic memories, helping people take back control of their feelings and lives.
Who can benefit from EMDR?
EMDR therapy is a good option for people who have gone through different kinds of trauma, whether it’s from one very upsetting event or many difficult experiences over time. Trauma can come in many forms, such as physical or emotional abuse, bullying, accidents, war experiences, natural disasters, or losing someone suddenly. Even people who have felt emotionally neglected for a long time or have seen traumatic events happen to others might find EMDR therapy helpful.
Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD. However, for those who struggle with things like unwanted thoughts, feeling constantly on edge, and bad dreams, EMDR therapy has been proven to work well and often takes less time than other treatments.
EMDR Therapy in Scottsdale at Inspire Change Counseling
At Inspire Change Counseling, we know that trauma and PTSD can have a deep impact on your life. EMDR therapy is a gentle yet effective way to help you heal from those painful experiences, bringing relief and hope. As trained counselors and social workers, we are here to support you through tough times, whether you’re dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, or relationship issues.
Stephanie Hanneken and Christy Martin are committed to guiding you on the path to healing using proven approaches like EMDR therapy in Scottsdale. If you’re ready to move forward toward a better future, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Let us help you turn pain into strength and find the peace you deserve.
