Highlands in Bloom is a licensed residential treatment center in Agoura Hills, California. Our clinical program is developed and overseen by Clinical Program Director Stacy McNeal, PhD, LMFT and Medical Director and Psychiatrist Dr. Todd Hill. EMDR is a core component of the trauma-focused clinical program at Highlands in Bloom, delivered by trained licensed clinicians as part of each client’s individualized residential treatment plan.
What Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma-focused psychotherapy developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s that has since become one of the most extensively researched and clinically validated treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). EMDR is recognized as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and numerous international clinical bodies. EMDR works by facilitating the brain’s natural information processing system to resolve traumatic memories and distressing experiences that have become stuck in the nervous system, reducing their emotional charge and physiological activation so that the events can be integrated into memory rather than repeatedly re-experienced.
How Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Works
EMDR is structured across eight phases: history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. The core therapeutic mechanism involves bilateral stimulation, typically eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones, delivered while the client holds the target memory, associated thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in awareness. The bilateral stimulation is understood to facilitate the processing of the stuck memory network, allowing it to be reprocessed and integrated in a way that reduces its emotional intensity and the physical activation it produces. Unlike exposure-based therapies, EMDR does not require detailed verbal recounting of traumatic events, which makes it accessible for clients who have not been able to process trauma through talk therapy alone. Processing happens at the level of the nervous system and body, not only through language and cognition.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) at Highlands in Bloom
At Highlands in Bloom, EMDR is delivered by trained licensed clinicians within individual therapy sessions and is a core component of the trauma-focused treatment approach that runs through every aspect of the clinical program. The residential setting provides the ideal environment for EMDR work because the daily clinical structure, somatic support, nervous system regulation practices, and consistent clinical contact create the safety and stability required for effective trauma processing. EMDR is particularly relevant for clients whose autoimmune conditions are connected to adverse childhood experiences or chronic trauma history, a well-established association in the clinical literature linking early trauma to significantly elevated autoimmune disease risk through sustained immune and HPA axis dysregulation. Many clients who have undergone years of talk therapy without significant relief find that EMDR addresses the dimension of their experience that verbal processing alone could not reach. The processing that occurs in EMDR often produces rapid and significant shifts in how traumatic material is held, changes that feel qualitatively different from cognitive insight and that clients describe as a physical and emotional release rather than a change of mind.
Conditions Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Addresses
EMDR is clinically indicated for a range of conditions treated at Highlands in Bloom including:
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Complex PTSD and developmental trauma
- Acute trauma and single-incident trauma
- Anxiety disorders with traumatic roots
- Depression connected to adverse life experiences
- Autoimmune conditions with trauma history and adverse childhood experiences
- Chronic pain with a trauma component including fibromyalgia
- Burnout with accumulated adverse experiences
What to Expect
EMDR at Highlands in Bloom is delivered within individual therapy sessions by trained licensed clinicians. Before EMDR processing begins, clients complete a preparation phase that establishes safety, stabilization skills, and the therapeutic relationship required for trauma work. Processing sessions involve bilateral stimulation while targeting specific memories, beliefs, emotions, and body sensations connected to the trauma. Clients do not need to describe traumatic experiences in detail, processing happens largely internally with the therapist guiding the bilateral stimulation and supporting the client through what arises. Sessions conclude with a closure process that ensures clients leave in a stable and grounded state. EMDR is integrated with other clinical modalities including somatic work, CBT, and nervous system regulation practices as part of the comprehensive individualized treatment plan.
FAQs
Is EMDR only for PTSD?
While EMDR was developed for PTSD and has its strongest evidence base there, it is now used clinically across anxiety disorders, depression, phobias, chronic pain, and the psychological impact of chronic illness. At Highlands in Bloom, EMDR is applied based on each client’s individual clinical presentation and treatment goals.
Do I have to talk about my trauma in detail during EMDR?
No. One of the distinctive features of EMDR is that detailed verbal recounting of traumatic events is not required for processing to occur. Clients identify the target memory and the associated thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, but the processing itself happens largely internally during bilateral stimulation. This makes EMDR accessible for clients who have not been able to process trauma through talk therapy alone.
How does EMDR connect to autoimmune conditions?
Research consistently links adverse childhood experiences and chronic trauma exposure to significantly elevated autoimmune disease risk through sustained dysregulation of the HPA axis, immune function, and inflammatory pathways. For clients whose autoimmune conditions are connected to trauma history, EMDR addresses these root patterns directly, and many clients report meaningful changes in both psychological wellbeing and physical symptom patterns following trauma processing.
How long does EMDR take to work?
The pace of EMDR processing varies significantly depending on the nature and complexity of the trauma being addressed. Some clients experience substantial shifts within a small number of processing sessions. Complex trauma with multiple targets typically requires more extended work. Within the residential setting at Highlands in Bloom, EMDR is integrated into the full treatment plan and calibrated to the clinical timeline and the client’s individual capacity for processing.
Is EMDR safe?
Yes. EMDR is a clinically validated, well-researched psychotherapy with an established safety profile. At Highlands in Bloom, EMDR is delivered by trained licensed clinicians within the supportive structure of a residential program that includes daily somatic regulation practices, consistent clinical support, and the stability of a therapeutic environment specifically designed to support trauma processing work.
Take the First Step
Highlands in Bloom accepts clients from across California and the United States. Our admissions team is available daily for a complimentary, confidential clinical consultation. Call us at (805) 892-6313 or visit highlandsinbloom.com/contact to request a consultation. We are in-network with Blue Shield of California and Aetna and accept most major PPO plans.