Trauma and PTSD Therapy | EMDR Certified Therapist | California and Texas
Online Therapy and In-Person Counseling in Petaluma, CA
You don’t have to stay stuck in what happened.
Trauma lives in the body long after the event is over. Flashbacks, anxiety, emotional numbness, patterns you can’t seem to break — these aren’t signs something is wrong with you. They’re signs your nervous system never finished processing what happened.
EMDR therapy can help you finally move through it.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a research-backed therapy that helps your brain do what it was designed to do: process difficult experiences and put them in the past, rather than reliving them in the present.
When something overwhelming happens, the memory can get stuck. That stuck memory keeps influencing how you feel and respond, even years later. EMDR uses guided eye movements to help your brain update those memories, similar to the way deep sleep helps you process your day.
EMDR is recognized by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs as an effective treatment for trauma and PTSD. It’s not a new or experimental approach. It’s one of the most thoroughly researched trauma therapies available, with decades of clinical evidence behind it.
Many people experience meaningful relief in fewer sessions than they expect.
What Trauma and PTSD Can Look Like
Trauma doesn’t always look the way people expect it to. You don’t have to have survived a single dramatic event to be carrying it. Trauma can come from:
- A specific incident such as an accident, assault, or medical emergency
- Childhood experiences including neglect, emotional abuse, or growing up in an unpredictable home
- Repeated exposure to others’ pain or suffering over time
- Losses, betrayals, or experiences that overwhelmed your ability to cope
- Living or working in high-stress, high-stakes environments over an extended period
And it can show up as:
- Flashbacks or intrusive memories
- Hypervigilance and difficulty feeling safe
- Emotional numbness or feeling disconnected from your own life
- Anxiety, panic, or a persistent sense of dread
- Sleep disruption and difficulty resting
- Irritability or emotional reactivity that feels out of proportion
- Patterns of relating or behaving that you understand but can’t seem to change
- A sense that part of you is still living in the past even when your circumstances have changed
If any of this resonates, you’re not broken. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do to protect you. EMDR can help you update that response.
What EMDR Can Help With
EMDR therapy is effective for a wide range of experiences, including:
- Trauma and PTSD from a single incident or prolonged exposure
- Childhood wounds and early relational trauma
- Abuse and assault
- Anxiety and panic
- Grief and loss
- Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress
- Emotional patterns that feel impossible to shift through talk therapy alone
- Cross-cultural trauma and the impact of high-stress overseas experiences
How EMDR Is Different From Talk Therapy
Traditional talk therapy works primarily through conscious thought and insight. It’s valuable and it has limits when it comes to trauma, because trauma is stored not just in memory but in the body and the nervous system.
You can understand exactly why you feel the way you do and still feel it just as intensely. That’s not a failure of insight. It’s a sign that the work needs to happen at a deeper level than talking alone can reach.
EMDR works differently. Rather than focusing primarily on what you think about what happened, it works with how your nervous system is still holding it. The guided bilateral stimulation used in EMDR helps your brain’s natural processing system complete what it couldn’t finish at the time of the overwhelming experience.
The result isn’t that you forget what happened. It’s that the memory loses its grip. It becomes something that happened to you rather than something that is still happening to you.
What to Expect in EMDR Therapy
Starting trauma therapy can feel daunting, especially if you’ve been avoiding thinking about difficult experiences for a long time. Here’s what the process actually looks like.
Step 1: A Free Consultation Call A brief, no-cost phone call to talk through what you’re experiencing and whether EMDR is the right fit for you. There’s no pressure and no commitment required. If it’s not the right match, Marty will tell you honestly.
Step 2: History and Preparation EMDR therapy begins with building a solid foundation before any processing work begins. Marty will take time to understand your history, identify the experiences most relevant to your current struggles, and make sure you have the tools and resources needed to feel safe during the work. This phase is never rushed.
Step 3: Active Processing This is where the EMDR work itself happens. Using guided bilateral stimulation, typically eye movements, you’ll process the stuck memories and experiences that have been driving your symptoms. Sessions are paced according to your nervous system, not a predetermined timeline.
Step 4: Integration and Ongoing Support As processing progresses, you’ll notice changes in how you relate to past experiences, how you feel in your body, and how you show up in your daily life. Therapy continues to support integration of those changes and address any new material that surfaces.
Work With an EMDR Certified Therapist
Not all therapists who offer EMDR have the same level of training. EMDR Certification through EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association, requires completing specialized training, a significant number of supervised clinical hours, and ongoing consultation with an EMDR consultant.
Marty is EMDR Certified through EMDRIA and brings more than 10 years of clinical experience to this work. He understands trauma not just clinically but personally, having served as a therapist, pastor, and chaplain with a global hospital organization in Africa, working alongside people navigating some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
This is grounded, relational trauma therapy that meets you where you are.
[Learn more about Marty and his approach →]
Ways to Work Together
EMDR therapy is available in several formats depending on your needs, your schedule, and how ready you feel to dive in.
Weekly Individual Therapy Online throughout California and Texas, or in person at Marty’s private office in Petaluma, California. This is the most common starting point, consistent weekly sessions that build momentum over time. [Learn more about individual therapy services →]
Therapy Intensives For those ready to do concentrated EMDR work in a shorter period of time. Available as a 3-hour virtual session, a 6-hour single day, or a 12-hour two-day intensive. The intensive format is particularly well-suited to EMDR because extended sessions allow trauma processing to build momentum and move toward completion rather than stopping mid-stream. [Learn more about Therapy Intensives →]
Weekend Therapy Retreats at Wildwood Ranch A private Friday through Sunday retreat at Wildwood Ranch in Garden Valley, California. For those carrying significant trauma who want to do immersive, sustained therapeutic work in a peaceful and restorative natural setting. Lodging and meals included. [Learn more about Weekend Retreats →]
Common Questions About EMDR Therapy
No. While EMDR was originally developed for PTSD, it's now widely used for anxiety, panic, grief, childhood wounds, compassion fatigue, and emotional patterns that haven't responded to talk therapy alone. If something feels stuck, EMDR may be worth exploring.
Not necessarily. One of the things that makes EMDR different from traditional talk therapy is that you don't have to narrate every detail of what happened for processing to occur. Marty will guide you through what's needed without requiring you to relive experiences more than is therapeutically useful.
This varies depending on the nature and complexity of what you're working through. Some people experience meaningful relief in just a few sessions. Others with more complex or layered trauma histories benefit from a longer course of treatment. Marty will give you an honest sense of what to expect during the consultation.
Research supports the effectiveness of online EMDR delivery. Many people find that working from the comfort and safety of their own home actually supports the process. Online EMDR sessions are available to adults throughout California and Texas.
That's actually one of the most common reasons people seek out EMDR specifically. If talk therapy has helped you understand your patterns but hasn't shifted how you feel, EMDR may be able to reach what talking alone couldn't.
EMDR is primarily an individual therapy, though individual trauma work often has a significant positive impact on relationship dynamics. In some cases, elements of trauma-informed work can be incorporated into couples sessions. This is something Marty can discuss with you during the consultation.
You’ve Carried This Long Enough
Trauma has a way of making the past feel like the present. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
With the right support, it’s possible to process what happened, release what your nervous system has been holding, and begin living in a way that actually feels like your own life again.
