Why Choose EMDR Therapy with Andrea Bey, LMFT?

You’re ready to move forward with your life, but you feel shackled by your past. Your life is a cycle of two steps forward, and three steps back. You’re frequently triggered, and the triggers often don’t make sense. You’re tormented by negative beliefs about yourself and held back by fears of abandonment, humiliation, being harmed, messing up, looking stupid, etc.

You’re ready to unlock the shackles that chain you to your past; you just don’t know how. 

I’m here to help you

Transform Trauma and Anxiety with EMDR Therapy

I use a cutting-edge approach called EMDR therapy that facilitates your ability to heal your own brain. What I love most about EMDR therapy is its emphasis on self-healing and client empowerment.

EMDR therapy targets the negative symptoms you are experiencing, such as stress, anxiety, and distressing memories, right at the source. EMDR is very efficient and doesn’t require you to talk about each detail of your past for years, only to feel exactly the same. I will help you build the resources needed to work through your troubling symptoms so you can move forward with your life.

Call me today at (805)225-4495 to grab your free 15-minute consultation and reclaim ownership of your life. I’m a female San Luis Obispo therapist for women also serving the areas of Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Avila Beach, Grover Beach, Santa Maria, Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and throughout CA. My specialties include Online Therapy, online EMDR Therapy Los Angeles, Trauma Therapy, Relational Trauma Therapy, and Anxiety Therapy. Healing is possible. You don’t have to be held back by anxiety, stress, or your past any longer. I look forward to speaking with you!

What is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy. I know it’s a mouthful! It’s a therapeutic approach that was created to promote healing after trauma and distressing life experiences. 

EMDR therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which is the idea that many of the negative symptoms we experience (i.e. anxiety, depression, excessive worry, exaggerated startle response, feelings of shame and guilt, nightmares, etc.) are the result of incomplete processing, or maladaptive encoding, of traumatic information in the brain. 

I like to use the analogy of our brain being like a computer, and unprocessed traumatic information being like a virus in the system. EMDR treatment is a way to “debug” the system and re-wire the brain for optimal functioning.

How does EMDR therapy work? 

EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation (movement back and forth) with eye movements, tapping, sounds, etc. to reprocess traumatic information that is stuck. Bilateral stimulation (right, left, right, left…) is thought to be similar to what our brain does naturally during REM sleep.

EMDR therapy is an 8-phased approach that reprocesses past memories, current triggers, and future potential challenges, along with the negative beliefs attached, to alleviate symptoms and restore the most adaptive functioning in the brain. 

EMDR therapy essentially jump-starts healthy processing after trauma occurs. This enables us to move forward with confidence, without being constantly triggered and re-traumatized by “old stuff.”

What types of issues can be treated with EMDR therapy?

In addition to being an evidence-based treatment for PTSD, EMDR therapy can be helpful in treating:

• Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias

• Chronic Illness and medical issues

• Depression and bipolar disorders

• Dissociative disorders

• Eating disorders

• Grief and loss

• Pain

• Performance anxiety

• Personality disorders

• Trauma and stress-related issues, including Complex PTSD

• Sexual assault

• Sleep disturbance

• Substance abuse and addiction

• Violence and abuse

  This information has been quoted from the EMDR International Association: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/

Is online EMDR therapy effective?

Yes! I have lots of tools, strategies, and techniques for effectively engaging in online EMDR therapy. Many of my clients report that after a few minutes they often forget that we are not in the same room together.

Trauma reprocessing can be life-changing. It can also be exhausting! Many of my clients report that they appreciate being in the comfort of their own home while working through tough material. In addition, online therapy enables clients to seamlessly move into a relaxing self-care activity right after their session, without the need to drive home first.