Virtual EMDR Counselling
Available across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
What Is EMDR? A Quick Answer
Your First Step Towards Change
Your path is unique, and healing from experiences that still feel stuck deserves an approach tailored to you: your history, your nervous system, and your vision for what feels possible next. We believe in your capacity to heal, and we're here to guide you.
Whether you're dipping your toe into therapy for the first time or EMDR is something you've been curious about for a while, choosing a new approach, and a new therapist, is an important step.
EMDR counselling can help you move through experiences that still feel raw, activating, or stuck, even when you've done everything you can think of to try to move past them. EMDR can move differently than talk therapy, sometimes faster, but it's still real work. It asks something of you too. You don't need to be certain EMDR is right for you before reaching out. That's something we can figure out together in the first conversation.
Start with a Free Initial Consultation
Is This How You Feel? Common Experiences That Bring People to EMDR
Maybe you've done talk therapy before, and it helped you understand what happened. But understanding it hasn't been enough to change how it feels in your body.
- Feeling triggered or flooded by things that logically “shouldn’t” be a big deal anymore
- A memory or experience that still feels emotionally raw, even years later
- Strong reactions in your body — a tight chest, racing heart, feeling frozen — that seem to come out of nowhere
- Getting stuck in patterns of thinking or behaving that you know aren’t serving you, but can’t seem to shift
- Feeling disconnected from yourself, or like you’re constantly bracing for something to go wrong
- A sense that you’ve done a lot of “processing,” but the distress hasn’t actually moved
That gap between knowing and feeling isn't something you can think your way out of. It usually means the memory got stored differently than your other memories, and it's still waiting to be processed.
At Calm Harbour Counselling in Calgary, we understand how exhausting it can be to keep carrying experiences that feel “over” on paper but still live in your body. EMDR offers a different way of working with those experiences, so they stop having the same grip on your present.
What Is EMDR, and How Does It Work?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that helps your brain finish processing experiences that got stuck, so they stop feeling as raw or easily triggered.
During a session, your therapist guides you through bilateral stimulation, often by having you follow their finger or a light bar back and forth with your eyes, though some people prefer tapping or alternating sounds instead, while you bring attention to a difficult memory.
You don't need to narrate every detail of what happened for it to work, and you stay in control of the pace throughout. It's completely normal to feel both hopeful and a little apprehensive about starting.
Who EMDR Can Help
EMDR was originally developed for PTSD, but research and clinical practice have shown it's helpful for a much wider range of experiences. EMDR may be a good fit if:
- You're looking for relief from symptoms connected to trauma or anxiety
- You want a stronger sense of self and personal capacity, or relief from physical tension and emotional flooding
- You feel stuck in patterns of thinking, feeling, or behaving that you intellectually know aren’t serving you, but can’t seem to change
- You want to build more resilience for facing future stressors
- Talk therapy has helped you understand your experiences but hasn’t fully resolved the distress connected to them
Therapy Goals for EMDR Clients
Emotional Processing
EMDR creates space to process experiences that have felt too big, too fast, or too overwhelming to fully work through on your own. EMDR helps distressing memories lose their charge, so they're easier to live with.
Increasing Understanding
Together, we'll explore how past experiences shape what you feel now: your triggers, your body's reactions, the beliefs underneath it all. Understanding that connection makes it easier to be kind to yourself instead of critical
Building Practical Skills
Before any reprocessing begins, we build up practical coping and grounding skills for staying calm and steady, in session and in everyday life. These tools stay with you well beyond our sessions.
Improving Relationships
Stuck experiences don't just live inside you. They can shape how safe it feels to trust, connect, or be open with others. As those memories start to settle, many people find they feel closer in their relationships, as it becomes easier to stay present and feel more secure with the people they love.
Discover EMDR Counselling in Calgary
If you're carrying experiences that still feel stuck, raw, or hard to shake, you already know it's not as simple as just getting over it. It can touch more than you'd expect: your relationships, how you see yourself, how safe the world feels day to day.
No two people carry an experience the same way. Before we start, we will take the time to understand what's actually stuck for you, so we're aiming the work in the right place.
We don't use a one-size-fits-all approach. Together, we'll figure out if EMDR is the right fit for you, and how it fits alongside anything else that's already helping.
How fast this moves is up to you, not a plan on paper.
EMDR and Neurodivergence (ADHD, Autism)
EMDR for Everyday Stuck Patterns, Not Just “Big” Trauma
Our Guiding Values in EMDR Counselling
Compassion
Safety
Collaboration
Acceptance
We Welcome Everyone
At Calm Harbour Counselling, we are committed to creating a space where you feel respected, understood, and safe to show up as yourself.
We work with individuals and couples from diverse backgrounds, including those who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, neurodivergent (ADHD/ASD) folks, and people navigating complex life experiences.
You don't need to have the “right words” or a clear starting point. We'll figure that out together.
EMDR Therapy: Our 5-Step Process
What Getting Started Looks Like
Step One:
Book a free consultation. If that feels like a lot, you can also reach out through our contact form.
Step Two:
Use the no-pressure call to ask questions and share what's been going on for you. You’ll agree on a time for a first session if it feels like the right fit.
Step Three:
Attend your first sessions. Before any reprocessing begins, we spend time on preparation — understanding your history and making sure you feel resourced, grounded, and ready.
Step Four:
Begin EMDR reprocessing when you feel ready, working through target memories or experiences at a pace that feels manageable.
Step Five:
Notice the shifts. Over time, distressing memories often feel less intense, triggers can lose their grip, and it becomes easier to feel present in your life.
Meet Our EMDR Therapist
Our EMDR therapist has experience supporting clients through trauma, anxiety, and stuck patterns that talk therapy alone hasn't fully resolved.
You’ll focus on building a strong therapeutic relationship, because feeling safe and understood is a key part of the process.
Frances Bucknor (she/her)
Specializing in neurodivergence (ADHD), trauma, anxiety, stress, identity, burnout, self-esteem, and depression. 2SLGBTQ+ Affirming.
Booking an EMDR Therapy Consultation
Starting EMDR can feel like a big step, especially if you're not sure what to expect.
We do our best to make the process simple and supportive. Book a free 15-minute consultation to ask questions, learn more, and see if it feels like a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Most People Want to Know Before Starting Counselling.
Start Virtual EMDR Counselling today
Your journey towards healing and change is a message away. Book your session online, or reach out through our contact form by clicking below. We're here to support you every step of the way.