EMDR Therapy & EMDR Intensives in Massachusetts & Rhode Island
When you understand what happened but still feel stuck in it
Sometimes understanding why you feel a certain way isn’t enough to change how your brain and body respond.
You may logically know that you’re safe now. You may have talked about what happened, understand your triggers, and even know exactly where your reactions come from.
But certain memories, situations, conversations, or reminders can still bring back anxiety, fear, shame, anger, or a feeling that you’re right back in the experience.
EMDR therapy can help you process experiences that your brain and nervous system haven’t fully been able to put in the past.
I’m Ashley Luongo, LMHC, an EMDR-trained therapist providing therapy to adults in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I specialize in trauma as well as experiences related to infertility, pregnancy loss, traumatic birth, postpartum mental health, and major life transitions.
EMDR INTENSIVES
Interested in a More Focused Format?
EMDR intensives offer extended sessions for people who want dedicated time to work on a specific experience or target. Intensives start at 90 minutes and can run up to 6 hours.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy used to help people process traumatic, distressing, or emotionally overwhelming experiences.
EMDR is different from traditional talk therapy. You don’t necessarily have to describe every detail of a traumatic experience over and over again.
Instead, we identify memories, beliefs, emotions, and physical sensations that continue to affect you today. Using bilateral stimulation and the structured EMDR process, we work toward helping your brain reprocess those experiences so they feel less immediate and have less influence over your present.
What Can EMDR Help With?
EMDR therapy may be helpful for adults experiencing:
- Trauma and PTSD symptoms
- Traumatic birth experiences
- Pregnancy loss or miscarriage
- Infertility and fertility treatment trauma
- Difficult medical experiences
- Anxiety and persistent fears
- Distressing or intrusive memories
- Relationship or attachment experiences
- Negative beliefs about yourself
- Experiences that continue to trigger strong emotional or physical reactions
You might intellectually know, “It wasn’t my fault,” while emotionally still feeling responsible.
You might know, “I’m safe now,” while your body continues reacting as though you’re in danger.
EMDR helps us work with that disconnect.
EMDR for Birth Trauma, Infertility & Pregnancy Loss
My clinical work has a particular focus on reproductive and perinatal mental health.
Fertility treatments, pregnancy loss, complicated pregnancies, emergency deliveries, NICU experiences, and traumatic births can sometimes leave people with memories or reactions that continue long after the medical experience has ended.
EMDR may be incorporated into therapy when these experiences continue to feel unresolved or traumatic.
What Happens Before EMDR Reprocessing?
EMDR doesn’t begin with immediately revisiting your most difficult memories.
Preparation is an important part of the process.
We’ll spend time understanding what you’re experiencing, identifying potential EMDR targets, developing resources and grounding strategies, and making sure you feel prepared for the work.
You remain in control throughout EMDR therapy, and we move at a pace that takes your history, needs, and current circumstances into account.
EMDR Intensives in Massachusetts
Traditional therapy isn’t the only way to receive EMDR.
I also offer EMDR intensives, which provide an extended period of time dedicated to focused EMDR work.
Instead of beginning and ending the process within a standard therapy session, an intensive allows additional time for preparation, processing, breaks, and closure.
An EMDR intensive may be worth considering if:
- You have a specific experience you want to address.
- Weekly therapy feels like it ends just as you’re getting into the work.
- You’ve already participated in therapy and feel ready for focused trauma processing.
- You want dedicated time to address a particular memory or belief.
- You’re interested in EMDR without necessarily beginning long-term weekly therapy.
We’ll first determine whether an intensive is appropriate for what you’re hoping to address.
You Don't Have to Keep Carrying the Experience the Same Way
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting what happened or deciding it no longer matters.
Instead, EMDR can help you reach a place where you can remember an experience without feeling as though you’re still living inside of it.
If something from your past—or from your path to parenthood—continues to show up in your present, EMDR therapy may help you begin processing it differently.
EMDR Therapy in MA & RI
I provide EMDR therapy for adults in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including virtual therapy and in-person services in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Ready to learn more about EMDR?
Schedule a consultation to talk about whether traditional EMDR therapy or an EMDR intensive may be right for you.