EMDR Therapy for Trauma | Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina del Rey, and Manhattan Beach

Support for High Functioning Professionals Who Carry More Then They Show

Melissa W Cooper Therapy - In person or virtual Private Pay Therapy

Healing Trauma When Your the One Everyone Relies On

High Functioning, capable people often carry the heaviest emotional loads. On the outside, you keep things moving in your career and for your family. On the inside, however, you may still be living with old wounds, persistent anxiety, or experiences that never truly felt resolved.

At Melissa W Cooper Therapy, I offer EMDR Therapy to help driven professionals, perfectionists, caregivers, and high functioning individuals heal from trauma in a way that feels supportive, respectful, and deeply grounding.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidenced-based trauma treatment that helps your brain process and release distressing memories. Instead of talking through every detail of the past, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation like eye movements or gentle tapping to help your nervous system finally complete the healing process it couldn’t finish at the time of the trauma.

This approach allows you to move forward without being weighed down by the memories, triggers, or patterns that keep you feeling stuck.

Why EMDR Works Well for High Functioning Individuals

You don’t have to fall apart to get support. EMDR meets you where you are and helps you heal in a way that feels manageable and empowering.

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Many High Functioning individuals are excellent at compartmentalizing their feelings until the pressure becomes too much.

EMDR can help you:

  • Release the emotional intensity of past experiences

  • Reduce anxiety and chronic overwhelm

  • Break long standing patterns like perfectionism, people-pleasing, or overworking

  • Resolve internal conflicts that talk therapy alone hasn’t shifted

  • reconnect with stability, confidence, and self-trust

  • Create meaningful change without having to “perform” in therapy

How EMDR Works

Graphic showing how EMDR therapy can help

Common Issues EMDR Helps With

You may benefit from EMDR at my Culver City practice if you if you struggle with:

  • Trauma from childhood, relationships, or past events

  • Anxiety hidden beneath productivity or “being the strong one”

  • Burnout or Chronic Stress

  • Feeling constantly on Alert

  • Shame, guilt, or self-doubt.

  • Sudden emotional reactions you can’t explain

  • Patterns that show up again and again, no matter how hard you try to change them

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Even if your life looks successful from the outside, unresolved trauma can keep you from feeling truly grounded, connected, and at ease.

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FAQs about EMDR

  • EMDR is an eight-phase, structured approach:

    1. History & Treatment Planning – Identifying target memories.

    2. Preparation – Building trust and teaching coping strategies.

    3. Assessment – Pinpointing thoughts, emotions, and body sensations related to trauma.

    4. Desensitization – Bilateral stimulation is used while focusing on traumatic memories.

    5. Installation – Positive beliefs are introduced and reinforced.

    6. Body Scan – Detects any residual tension or distress.

    7. Closure – Ensures stability after each session.

    8. Reevaluation – Tracking progress over time.

    The theory is that traumatic memories are stored in the brain in a “stuck” state. EMDR helps the brain process these memories and store them like ordinary ones — reducing emotional distress.

    • Rapid symptom relief: Often faster than traditional talk therapy

    • Doesn’t require detailed retelling of trauma

    • Effective for single-incident and complex trauma

    • Useful for adults, teens, and children

    • Can treat related conditions like anxiety, panic disorders, grief, and chronic pain

  • What Does the Research Say?

    EMDR has a strong base of clinical research:

    • Multiple studies have shown it to be as effective as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for PTSD.

    • Clients often experience significant relief in fewer sessions.

    • A 2013 meta-analysis found that EMDR produced faster symptom reduction than trauma-focused CBT in some cases.

    • EMDR is recognized internationally as a frontline treatment for trauma.

  • An EMDR session typically lasts 60–90 minutes. You’ll be guided through the process in a safe, controlled environment. You don’t have to go into detail about your trauma — just focus on what comes up while engaging in the bilateral stimulation.

    Your therapist may use:

    • Eye movements

    • Tapping (on hands, shoulders, or knees)

    • Audio tones

    The goal is to desensitize you to the memory and replace negative beliefs (like “I’m not safe”) with empowering ones (like “I survived, and I am strong”).

    • PTSD

    • Childhood abuse and neglect

    • Sexual assault

    • Grief and loss

    • Anxiety and panic attacks

    • Phobias

    • Chronic illness or pain

    • Performance anxiety

    • Depression (in some cases)

As a licensed psychotherapist and trauma informed and trained level 1 and level 2 EMDR practitioner it is important to me to answer any questions you might have. The following are some that I am most commonly asked:

EMDR is a well-researched, highly effective therapy that could help you finally move forward.

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Ready to Heal From Trauma?

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