You Don't Need More Insight. You May Need a Different Approach.
Traditional talk therapy can be incredibly valuable. Understanding yourself, developing insight, and learning coping skills can all be important parts of healing.
But sometimes, you already understand yourself.
You know:
- Why you overthink
- Where your fear comes from
- Why you struggle to trust yourself
- Why you put so much pressure on yourself
- Why certain situations trigger you
- How your past has shaped your present
And yet your body still reacts.
You still feel anxious even when you know you're safe.
You still criticize yourself even when you know you're doing your best.
You still avoid something you desperately want to be able to do.
You still find yourself repeating patterns you've consciously decided to change.
That's where EMDR may offer something different.
EMDR is a structured psychotherapy approach that helps you process distressing experiences and the emotions, beliefs, sensations, and reactions connected to them.
The goal isn't to erase your past.
It's to help your past have less control over your present.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
It is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach originally developed to help people process traumatic experiences. Today, EMDR is also used with a range of concerns including anxiety, panic, phobias, and other distressing experiences.
EMDR uses a process called bilateral stimulation, which may involve guided eye movements, alternating sounds, or tactile stimulation such as tapping.
But EMDR is much more than eye movements.
It is a comprehensive, eight-phase approach that includes history-taking, preparation, identifying treatment targets, processing, reevaluation, and future-focused work.
Together, we identify experiences or situations that may be connected to what you're struggling with today and work toward changing the way those experiences affect you.
What can EMDR help with?
You don't have to have one dramatic traumatic event for EMDR to be relevant to you.
Sometimes the experiences affecting us are obvious.
Sometimes they're much more subtle:
- A childhood environment where you had to be the responsible one.
- A relationship where you learned not to trust yourself.
- A humiliating experience that changed how you see yourself.
- Years of criticism that taught you that you weren't good enough.
- A frightening event that left your body on high alert.
- Or experiences that you wouldn't necessarily describe as "traumatic"—but that still seem to have a hold on you.
EMDR may help with:
Anxiety & Overthinking
When your mind constantly scans for what could go wrong, it can be difficult to feel present or at ease.
Fear & Phobias
You may logically know you're safe while your body responds as though you're in danger. EMDR can be used to address specific fears, phobias, and the experiences or associations connected to them.
Perfectionism & Self-Criticism
If you feel like you constantly have to perform, achieve, get things right, or prove yourself, we can explore what may be underneath those patterns.
Trauma & Distressing Experiences
Some experiences continue to feel emotionally present long after they happened. EMDR can help you process what remains unresolved.
Relationship Patterns
You may recognize patterns in how you relate to others but struggle to respond differently in the moment.
Performance Anxiety & Self-Doubt
Past experiences can influence how you approach situations that matter to you now.
Past. Present. Future.
EMDR isn't only about what happened in the past.
The goal isn't simply to understand what happened to you.
It's to help you feel more grounded in your present and more confident about your future.
What Does an EMDR Session Look Like?
One of the biggest misconceptions about EMDR is that you'll immediately be asked to dive into your most painful memories.
That's not how I approach the work.
Before processing begins, we'll spend time getting to know you, understanding what brings you to therapy, developing a treatment plan, and making sure you have the tools and resources you need to feel grounded and supported.
EMDR follows a structured eight-phase process, and your readiness for processing is assessed along the way.
Depending on your needs, a session may include:
- Talking about what's happening in your life
- Identifying triggers and patterns
- Learning grounding or regulation strategies
- Connecting current reactions with past experiences
- Identifying thoughts or beliefs that keep you stuck
- Processing a specific memory or experience
- Noticing changes in emotions and body sensations
- Practicing how you want to respond to future situations
You remain awake, aware, and involved throughout the process.
And we move at a pace that makes sense for you.
“But I Don't Think I've Experienced Trauma.”
You don't have to identify as a "trauma survivor" to explore EMDR.
Many people come to therapy saying:
“My childhood wasn't that bad.”
“Other people have been through much worse.”
“I don't even know if what happened to me counts as trauma.”
“I know exactly where this comes from, but I still can't change it.”
You don't have to decide whether your experience was “traumatic enough.”
A more useful question may be:
Is something that happened to you still affecting you today?
Maybe it's affecting your relationships.
Your confidence.
Your sense of safety.
Your ability to relax.
Your relationship with yourself.
Or the way your body responds to certain situations.
If something from your past continues to shape how you experience the present, it may be worth exploring.
EMDR may be a good fit if:
- You understand your patterns but still feel stuck.
- You've already done some therapy or personal growth work.
- You want to go deeper than symptom management.
- You find yourself reacting in ways that don't match what you logically know.
- You experience anxiety, fear, phobias, or persistent overthinking.
- You struggle with perfectionism or harsh self-criticism.
- Certain experiences still feel emotionally “present.”
- You're curious about the connection between your mind and body.
- You're willing to actively participate in the therapeutic process.
- You're ready for meaningful change—not simply another place to talk about your problems.
You don't need to know exactly what's wrong.
You don't need to have your entire history figured out.
And you don't need to know exactly what you want to process before you begin.
You just need to be curious about what's keeping you stuck and open to exploring a different way forward.
Why Work With Me?
I'm Angela Fruhner, EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist.
My background includes nutrition, clinical health psychology, trauma therapy, and EMDR. I take an integrative approach that considers the relationship between your experiences, emotions, thoughts, and body.
As an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™, I've pursued additional consultation, clinical practice, and continuing education specifically in EMDR therapy. EMDRIA describes certification as a voluntary credential reflecting ongoing education, consultation, clinical practice, and commitment to professional standards.
But credentials are only one part of good therapy.
I also believe that you are the expert on your own life.
My role isn't to tell you what's wrong with you.
It's to help you understand what's happening, create a safe space to explore it, and support you as you move toward meaningful change.
Therapy doesn't have to be about endlessly analyzing what's wrong.
It can be about understanding yourself with compassion—and creating the opportunity to experience something different.
Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR
You Don't Have to Keep Managing the Same Patterns
You may have spent years understanding yourself.
Maybe you're at the point where you want something more.
Less fear.
Less overthinking.
Less self-criticism.
Less feeling controlled by the past.
And more:
Groundedness.
Confidence.
Freedom.
Presence.
Choice.
If you're ready to explore whether EMDR is the right approach for you, let's talk.
We'll discuss what you're experiencing, what you're hoping to change, and whether working together feels like the right fit.
Virtual EMDR therapy for adults throughout Washington State.
Interested in learning more?
Reach out to schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation
