Top 5 Truths About EMDR Therapy Phoenix
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If You’re Living in Phoenix and Carrying Trauma, You’re Not Alone
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It was another tough night.
You kept waking up from dreams that felt far too real. And in the daytime, triggers seemed to appear out of nowhere — leaving you overwhelmed, on edge, or wanting to crawl out of your skin just to feel “normal” again. Maybe you’re grieving the version of yourself you used to be, or maybe you’re realizing you never actually knew a true version of “normal” at all.
If you’re here reading this, it makes sense. Trauma can be excruciating, isolating, heavy, confusing, and exhausting — and you didn’t choose it. You didn’t cause it. And you don’t have to keep carrying it alone.
There are healing paths that meet you where you are and help you move out of survival mode.
One of those paths is EMDR therapy, a research-backed approach that helps your brain process trauma in a way talking alone often can’t. If you want a deeper explanation of how EMDR works, you can read my full guide:
➡️ EMDR Therapy Phoenix: A Trauma Therapist’s Complete Guide to Moving Forward and Hope
But for today, I want to share something more personal. I want to share the truths I’ve seen again and again in my years as an EMDR therapist in Phoenix, Tempe, and across Arizona.
Just like Phoenix summers, healing can feel intense, brutal even at times. But on the other side is relief, clarity, and a peace that feels worth the work.
Here are my top 5 truths surrounding EMDR Therapy in Phoenix.
Truth #1: EMDR Has Hills and Valleys and That’s Part of Healing
Every healing path has ups and downs.
EMDR is no different.
When beginning EMDR therapy, the first focus should not be to jump into trauma memories. The first step is something we call resourcing, which means building skills that help your nervous system feel safer, steadier, and more grounded. And there is a reason for this. By building these skills, you do two things - hopefully you can use them through the week to feel less heavy, you might sleep a bit better, feel calmer during the day or be thrown off less by stressors or triggers because you have something to help re-ground you. These are the small wins that matter (more on that soon).
As you feel more supported and regulated, we’ll slowly identify the memories you want to process — the roots underneath the pain, triggers, or patterns you're noticing today. This is the second space you use those skills. When doing EMDR therapy processing, some intense memories, emotions, and even body sensations can come up. Having the right tools to re-ground and center us in those moments is important to keep communicating to your body that you are safe.
And here’s where the hills and valleys appear:
Sometimes you feel strong, regulated, and hopeful (in session and out).
Sometimes processing brings up old emotions, sensations, or beliefs that you didn’t expect and can feel hard to grapple with.
And sometimes both happen in the same week.
This is normal.
It’s not a setback — it’s movement.
If you’re someone who feels nervous about the “deep stuff,” this post may help:
The valley isn’t a failure. It’s part of the path that leads to the peak.
Truth #2: The Small Wins Add Up — Even When You Don’t Notice Them at First
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I tell clients this all the time:
“The small wins are is your hard work showing up.”
Trauma didn’t form overnight. Most of it was built slowly, through the messages you were given, the roles you learned to play, the unsafe moments you endured, and the survival strategies your brain created to keep you alive.
Healing, too, happens in accumulated layers.
Small wins might look like:
Taking a deeper breath than you could last month
Feeling less panicked in a stressful situation
Handling a conflict with more groundedness
Sleeping a little better
Feeling warmth during resourcing
Noticing your self-talk softening
Being less reactive to a trigger
One of the things I love about EMDR is that it works with your brain’s own natural healing processes, including the same networks activated during REM sleep. This is why many clients feel subtle shifts in the days following a session.
In fact, this blog explains the brain-body connection if you’re curious ;)
➡️ How EMDR Therapy Phoenix Works and Why It Goes Beyond Talk Therapy to Move Out of Trauma
You don’t need giant breakthroughs every week for EMDR to be working. The small shifts are the foundations of the big ones.
Truth #3: EMDR Is a Journey — Structured, Personalized, and Not Rushed
One of the most common questions I hear is, “But how long will EMDR take?”
I know the real question behind this is really “Yeah, but when will I feel better and not have to think about this sh*t anymore?”
The honest answer?
It depends. It depends on your history, your nervous system, your support system, your trauma load, and how safe you feel with your therapist.
Here’s the good news: EMDR isn’t random. It follows a clear, structured 8-phase protocol:
History taking
Preparation (resourcing)
Assessment
Desensitization
Installation
Body scan
Closure
Reevaluation
This structure creates safety and predictability — nothing surprises you, nothing is rushed, and we don’t go deeper until your nervous system is ready.
If you want more detail on what the first session looks like, you can read:
➡️ What to Expect in Your First EMDR Therapy Phoenix Session
And here’s something many people don’t know:
Your brain continues processing after session.
Sometimes a night of deep REM sleep helps things “click” in new ways. EMDR doesn’t just change the moment, it changes the days and weeks that follow.
Healing isn’t linear, and EMDR isn’t meant to be quick — it’s meant to be effective.
Truth #4: Healing Isn’t All Rainbows — But the Relief Is Real
I hear this often after a memory successfully reprocesses:
“It’s not what I imagined… but it’s better than it was.”
People are sometimes surprised that EMDR doesn’t make life feel magically perfect — it simply removes the emotional charge from memories that once felt unbearable.
You don’t forget the memory.
You just don’t relive it anymore.
The negative beliefs that once stuck to you loosen. The sensations settle. The meaning shifts.
Trauma is a lot like those old sticky hands we used to get from vending machines (do you remember those?!)
Over time, they collect dirt, dust, and debris — messages we inherited, beliefs others put on us, expectations we didn’t choose. Eventually, the hand stops sticking the way it was meant to. It becomes less colorful and less sticky, with a bunch of gunk and dirt on it.
EMDR helps your brain clear that debris.
You don’t have to carry old messages that were never yours to carry and quite possibly were never actually true.
If you want to understand why triggers flare so intensely, this may help:
➡️ When Trauma Triggers Take Over: Understanding Your Nervous System & How EMDR Helps You Heal
Healing isn’t perfect but it can be profound.
Truth #5: When You Change, Life Around You Changes Too
Think about who you were 6 months ago.
One year ago.
Five years ago.
You are not the same person you were in months or years before. And that’s the point.
When EMDR helps you shift the beliefs tied to trauma memories, your life begins to shift with you:
You may:
Set stronger boundaries
Leave relationships that harm you
Feel steadier in your own skin
Show up differently with your loved ones
Speak to yourself more compassionately
Pursue things you never felt worthy of
Stop settling for less
This growth often makes life feel unfamiliar in the best possible way, but also know that it’s normal to feel a bit intimidated by this too. It might feel exciting and a bit unnerving, after all, it is something new.
If you’re curious how EMDR works even when done online, you might like:
➡️ Moving Out of Survival Mode: How EMDR Therapy Phoenix Works Online
Healing isn’t about becoming someone new — it’s about becoming who you always were beneath the trauma.
Are You Looking for an EMDR Therapist in Phoenix or Tempe?
Finding a therapist you feel safe with matters.
EMDR requires training beyond a master’s program — and it also requires warmth, attunement, and connection.
If you’re considering EMDR therapy in Phoenix, Tempe, or anywhere in Arizona, I’d love to offer you a free 15-minute consultation. We can talk about what’s been happening in your life, what you’re hoping for, and whether I’m the right fit.
You deserve support. You deserve relief. And you deserve a path forward that honors your story.
About Kandace Ledergerber
EMDR Therapy Phoenix - Kandace Ledergerber.
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Kandace Ledergerber is a trauma therapist and Certified EMDR Therapist offering EMDR Therapy in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, and virtual EMDR therapy in Florida. She helps high-achieving adults and trauma survivors move from survival mode into nervous-system safety using EMDR therapy and EMDR intensives. Her work goes beyond talk therapy—helping clients reprocess trauma held in the body so they can feel grounded, connected, and at home within themselves again.
TL;DR
EMDR isn’t a quick fix — it’s a steady, structured healing process that helps your brain and body resolve trauma safely and at your pace.
Healing comes with hills and valleys; feeling “up and down” is normal and part of how EMDR works.
Small wins matter. Subtle shifts in your reactions, body, and self-talk add up to real, meaningful change.
EMDR follows an eight-phase protocol that builds safety first, then processes trauma without forcing you to relive it.
Healing isn’t perfect or magical, but it brings powerful relief — and when you change, your boundaries, relationships, and sense of self often transform too.
