The EMDR Institute Incorporated states EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.  Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.  When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound.  If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes.  The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health.  If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies have been done on EMDR therapy.  Some of the studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions.  Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions. In another study, 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions. There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, you can easily see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the “everyday” memories that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and all the myriad problems that bring them in for therapy. Over 100,000 clinicians throughout the world use the therapy.  Millions of people have been treated successfully over the past 25 years.

EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment.  Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used during one part of the session.  After the clinician has determined which memory to target first, he asks the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and to use his eyes to track the therapist’s hand as it moves back and forth across the client’s field of vision.  As this happens, for reasons believed by a Harvard researcher to be connected with the biological mechanisms involved in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, internal associations arise and the clients begin to process the memory and disturbing feelings. In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level.  For instance, a rape victim shifts from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, “I survived it and I am strong.”  Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.  The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them.  Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed. As a natural outcome of the EMDR therapeutic process, the clients’ thoughts, feelings and behavior are all robust indicators of emotional health and resolution—all without speaking in detail or doing homework used in other therapies.

There are several ways to schedule an appointment.

You can call me directly at 970.672.0664. I do my best to answer phone calls, but if you get my voicemail that means I’m either in session or simply away from the phone. Please feel free to leave a message on my confidential voicemail, and I will return your call as soon as possible, typically before the end of the business day.

You can send me an email at kate@kateheitzler.com

If you have any questions, just ask! I’m here to help. I sincerely look forward to hearing from you!

I understand that having health insurance can be important when you have medical issues and expenses. However,  using medical insurance for counseling has some risks involved that I want to make you aware of. In order to use your medical insurance for counseling, you must be given a mental disorder diagnosis and that diagnosis will become a part of your permanent medical record.  Having a mental diagnosis on your record may carry long-term implications and may hinder you from being able to obtain life insurance, disability or health insurance in the future. Additionally, filing an insurance claim means your diagnosis, dates of service, etc., are no longer totally confidential, and your insurance company will be aware of your treatment and diagnosis. 

Most insurance companies do not pay for couples counseling as they do not see relationship struggles as a medical problem.

This is why I do not accept insurance directly. I want to help you with your relationships– not potentially cause more problems or frustrations later due to a diagnosis on your records!

Some therapists accept insurance for reimbursement without informing their clients of this crucial information. I want you to be fully informed of these risks and implications before you make a decision to use your insurance for counseling. Hopefully, this knowledge will help prevent any unwanted emotional, relational and financial stress that may be caused by having an mental disorder diagnosis on your medical record.

For individuals who completely understand the risks involved with being given a mental diagnosis, and who still want to use their insurance for counseling, I will provide a statement via email 24 hours after each session for insurance reimbursement for out-of-network counseling.