EMDR Therapy · San Francisco
EMDR therapy
for San Francisco.
You haven't had the time to really sit with what happened. The job, the schedule, the keeping-going: all of it has been loud for a long time. The thing you didn't have space to address is still running under the surface, affecting sleep, reactivity, how present you can actually be when it counts. EMDR works the memory at the level talk therapy doesn't reach.
EMDR is offered via secure telehealth across California with Jalyse Stewart, AMFT #153712 (supervised by Christina Mathieson, LMFT #115093).
Who we see in San Francisco
Functional on the outside. Stuck on the inside.
The San Francisco clients who come to us for EMDR aren't in chaos. Many of them are running full lives: jobs, kids, caregiving, long days, the kind of schedule that doesn't let the nervous system rest. There's just a part of them that hasn't been able to move on from something: a specific incident, a cumulative weight, a childhood that shaped how your nervous system reads every room, a betrayal that talk therapy has named but not quite reached.
The pattern: you can describe what happened, you can name what it cost you, you can sometimes laugh about it, and there's still a panic that flares when something brushes too close. The nervous system is still running an old program, and EMDR is one of the most well-researched ways to update that program.
We work with single-event trauma, complex and developmental trauma (CPTSD), medical trauma, birth trauma, accident trauma, sexual trauma, and the cumulative weight of a nervous system that has been holding too much for too long. EMDR research overview from EMDRIA.
How EMDR actually goes
Eight phases. No retelling.
EMDR isn't a single session of "doing the thing." It's an eight-phase protocol: history-taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. The first few sessions are about building the resourcing you need to do the active reprocessing safely. Then we get into it.
During the active phases, you bring up a target memory while focusing on bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements, but tapping or audio tones work too, and all of these can be done over video). You don't narrate the memory. You notice what comes up. The brain reprocesses, the somatic charge settles. Most clients are surprised by how little talking is involved.
Between sessions, your nervous system continues to integrate. We check in regularly about what's shifting, what's still active, and whether to keep targeting the same memory or move to the next.
Who you'd work with
Jalyse Stewart leads our EMDR work.
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) #153712
Supervised by Christina Mathieson, LMFT #115093
Jalyse is our trauma-trained clinician. EMDR-focused and IFS-informed, with somatic practices and CBT in the toolkit. She brings specific care to women and BIPOC clients carrying childhood trauma, complex trauma, and the kind of nervous-system load that has been adapted to over a lifetime. She works via secure telehealth with clients across California, including San Francisco.
Read Jalyse's full bioFAQ
Common questions about EMDR.
Does EMDR work over telehealth?
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Yes. Telehealth EMDR is now well-supported by research and recognized by the EMDR International Association as an effective format. The bilateral stimulation that's core to EMDR is delivered through guided eye movements, tapping, or audio tones that work just as well on screen. For most San Francisco clients, video makes EMDR more accessible, not less.
How is EMDR different from regular talk therapy?
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Talk therapy works with the story of what happened: what it means, how you make sense of it, what you tell yourself about it. EMDR works with how that memory is stored in the nervous system. You don't have to retell the trauma in detail. The brain reprocesses it while you focus on bilateral stimulation, and the somatic charge (the body's 'this is happening now' alarm) settles. Many clients describe it as something finally moving when nothing was moving before.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
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It depends on what we're working with. A single-incident trauma (a car accident, a medical event, a specific assault) often resolves in 6 to 12 sessions of active reprocessing, plus a few preparation and integration sessions on either side. Complex or developmental trauma (childhood abuse, layered relational injuries, CPTSD) takes longer because there are more layers to work through. We'll talk about a realistic timeline at intake.
Is in-person EMDR available in San Francisco?
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Currently EMDR is offered via secure telehealth only across our team. Many clients prefer it that way; being in your own space during reprocessing can actually support the work.
Will I have to relive the trauma during EMDR?
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No. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about EMDR. You bring up the memory enough to activate it, but you don't talk through it in detail or stay in the worst of it. The therapist's job is to keep you in your window of tolerance: present, regulated, and able to step out anytime. The reprocessing happens between you and your own brain. We just create conditions for it.
How do I fit weekly EMDR around a demanding work schedule?
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Most EMDR clients meet weekly during active reprocessing phases. Sessions are typically 50 minutes, though some phases benefit from 75-minute sessions. We offer evenings and weekends, and the telehealth format removes the commute-and-wait-time overhead that makes weekly therapy hard to sustain in a busy San Francisco schedule. If weekly feels impossible, every-other-week can work for the preparation and closure phases, but active reprocessing is most effective when done consistently.
References & further reading
- EMDRIA — EMDR research overview — EMDR International Association
- The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, MD — Bessel van der Kolk, MD
- No Bad Parts — Richard C. Schwartz, PhD (IFS) — Richard C. Schwartz, PhD / IFS Institute
- APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD — American Psychological Association
Ready to start moving what's been stuck?
Free 15-minute call. We'll talk about what you're carrying, whether EMDR is the right fit, and what a realistic course of treatment would look like.
Book a Free Consult