Wheelersburg, Ohio & telehealth statewide
EMDR Therapy in Wheelersburg, Ohio
Some things don’t get better with time. They get quieter — and then something small brings all of it back like it never left. EMDR therapy helps your brain finish processing what it never got to finish. Wildflower Wellness Group provides EMDR for adults across Wheelersburg, Portsmouth and Scioto County — in our office or online anywhere in Ohio.
The short version
What is EMDR therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — EMDR — is a structured, research-supported therapy for trauma and other distressing life experiences.
It does not ask you to relive or narrate every detail of what happened. Instead, you and your therapist identify a specific memory and the belief that got attached to it, then use short sets of alternating left-right stimulation while your brain does the reprocessing work.
Picture a memory that never got filed properly. Your nervous system keeps reacting as though the threat is still in the room — in your chest, your sleep, your temper, your choices. As the memory reprocesses, the emotional charge drops, the old belief about yourself loosens its grip, and the experience settles into the past where it belongs.
Evidence-based, not experimental
Does EMDR actually work?
EMDR is one of the most heavily researched trauma treatments available, and it is recommended by the organizations responsible for treating trauma at scale.
Recommended for PTSD
The World Health Organization recommends trauma-focused therapies, including EMDR, for adults living with post-traumatic stress.
Used in veterans’ care
The U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense include EMDR in their clinical practice guideline for the treatment of PTSD.
Structured, not improvised
EMDR follows a standard eight-phase protocol built around safety and preparation. Read our walkthrough of the eight phases.
An honest note about timelines. Many people feel relief sooner than they expected. Even so, anyone who promises you a set number of sessions before meeting you is guessing. What we can offer is a real assessment, a plan you understand, and a straight answer about whether EMDR is the right tool for what you are carrying.
Fit matters more than enthusiasm
Is EMDR right for you?
EMDR is often a strong fit for adults who recognize themselves in any of these:
- Triggered reactions. Emotional or physical responses set off by reminders of the past.
- Anxiety or panic with no obvious cause. The alarm goes off and nothing in the room explains it.
- Single-incident trauma. An accident, an assault, a medical event, a sudden loss.
- Childhood or complex trauma. Neglect, or years spent somewhere that was never safe.
- Feeling stuck. Numb or overwhelmed despite plenty of insight from talk therapy.
- Grief that won’t move. Time has passed and nothing has softened.
- Trauma tangled up with substance use. Where the using and the memories feed each other.
- Confidence blocks. Old failure or humiliation still setting the ceiling.
What to expect
What happens in an EMDR session
EMDR follows an eight-phase protocol. Here is how those phases actually unfold once you are in the room — or on the screen.
History and planning
We map what happened, what it costs you now, and what you want to be different. Together we choose the targets the work will aim at.
Preparation and resourcing
Before any reprocessing begins, you build grounding and calming skills so you go in resourced. This phase gets as long as it needs. It is not a delay — it is the work.
Reprocessing
You hold a target in mind during short sets of alternating left-right stimulation — guided eye movements, gentle tapping or alternating tones — and notice what shifts. You can slow down, pause or stop at any point.
Closure and re-evaluation
Every session ends with you settled and steady, not cracked open. At the next visit we check what held, what moved, and where to aim next.
The goal was never to erase a memory. It is to take the charge out of it.
Why people choose us for this
When trauma and substance use are tangled together
In this region that combination is closer to the rule than the exception. The using quiets the memories; the memories make the using make sense. Treated as two separate problems, each one keeps pulling the other back.
Our clinicians are dual-licensed in mental health and chemical dependency, so trauma and substance use can be treated inside the same relationship — same clinician, same plan, one conversation — instead of two providers who never speak to each other.
EMDR fits naturally into that work. Reprocessing the memories underneath a pattern of using tends to take pressure off the pattern itself.
Who you would be working with
Our EMDR therapists in Southern Ohio
EMDR at Wildflower Wellness Group is provided by independently licensed clinicians trained in the full eight-phase protocol.
Josh Adkins
LISW-S, LICDC
Independently licensed social worker and chemical dependency counselor, working with adults on trauma, addiction and the places the two overlap.
Meet Josh
Mindy Haaf
LPCC-S, LICDC-S
Independently licensed professional clinical counselor and supervising chemical dependency counselor, working with adults on trauma, anxiety and recovery.
Meet MindyCommon questions
EMDR therapy FAQs
Will I have to talk about the details of what happened?
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
Is EMDR safe?
What does bilateral stimulation actually feel like?
Does insurance cover EMDR therapy?
Can EMDR be done online?
How is EMDR different from CBT?
Do you provide EMDR for teenagers?
Starting EMDR therapy
If the past is still shaping how your days feel
That is not a character flaw and it is not permanent. It is unfinished processing — and it responds to treatment. Reach out and we will start with a straight conversation about what you are carrying and whether EMDR is the right way to work on it.
Wildflower Wellness Group does not provide emergency or crisis services. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.