EMDR for children & adolescents.
Developmentally adapted trauma-informed therapy that builds regulation, confidence, and resilience — at home and at school.
Reassurance for the parent, freedom to heal in the way that fits the child.
We work with parents as partners in care. You'll understand what your child is doing in session, why it's designed that way, and how to support the work between visits. Confidentiality is real, explained in an age-appropriate way, and held with care for everyone in the room.
Meeting kids where they are.
EMDR supports children in overcoming trauma, anxiety, and emotional challenges through drawing, storytelling, and play. Younger clients don't need to talk through overwhelming material — they process it in a language that fits their stage of development.
When your child might benefit.
Ongoing anxiety, worry, or panic that affects school or sleep
Big emotional reactions that feel disproportionate to the trigger
Withdrawal, shutdown, or irritability after a difficult experience
Difficulty settling the body — restlessness, stomach aches, hypervigilance
A recent loss, medical event, accident, or family transition
Trouble regulating after school, at bedtime, or during transitions
“You know your child. We know this work. We do it together.”
Common questions
Parent involvement is calibrated to the child's age, developmental stage, and clinical needs. With younger children, parents often join for portions of sessions and meet separately for coaching. With adolescents, we protect appropriate confidentiality while keeping parents informed of themes, safety concerns, and progress. Your clinician will map this out clearly at the start so there are no surprises.
No. EMDR with children is structured so that reprocessing does not require extensive verbal retelling. Younger clients often process through drawing, story, sand tray, or play — a language that fits their developmental stage. Your child sets the pace of what they share out loud, and the clinician monitors regulation throughout.
It depends on your child's history, current stressors, and goals. Single-incident work is often shorter; developmental trauma or ongoing stressors take longer because we build regulation skills first. Your clinician will discuss expected timelines during treatment planning and check in on progress against measurable milestones so you always know how the work is moving.
Yes. In West Virginia we're in-network with Aetna, BCBS/Highmark, Peak Health, PEIA-UMR, TRICARE, The Health Plan, and UHC/Optum. In North Carolina we're in-network with Optum, UnitedHealthcare (including UBH), BlueCross, and BlueShield. Coverage for minors follows the same in-network rules — see the Payment page or ask us at intake.
Progress looks different for every child because children are living, changing people, not checklists. What we watch for are the specifics you live with every day. How are school mornings going? How does your child move through transitions? What happens in the presence of a person or place that used to set everything off? Sleep. Reactivity. The small moments that told you something needed to shift.
Inside sessions, your clinician is tracking what is happening at a body level and monitoring target-specific changes over time. Between sessions, we will check in with you about the concrete behaviors that brought you in. Progress reviews are built into treatment. We do not leave you guessing.