What Your Therapist Thinks
What Your Therapist Thinks
Felicia Keller Boyle & Kristie Plantinga
Talking in Therapy isn’t Enough? Reprocessing Trauma with EMDR
58 minutes Posted Mar 25, 2026 at 3:55 pm.
Introduction
Setting the Record Straight on EMDR
What EMDR Actually Feels Like
Why Trauma Lives in the Body
Top Down vs Bottom Up Healing
Why You Cannot Think Your Way Out
This Work Is Hard but Necessary
Understanding the Trauma Triangle
When EMDR Actually Works Best
Clearing Trauma and Losing Your Identity
The Power and Risk of EMDR
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58:40
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Show notes

Erica Bonham, LPC, MA joins Kristie and Felicia to demystify EMDR therapy and how it actually works to heal the brain. They explore how bilateral stimulation mimics REM sleep to "unstick" traumatic memories trapped in the nervous system. Erica advocates for a bottom-up approach to recovery to address the somatic and emotional roots of distress.

Some takeaways:

• How bilateral stimulation helps the brain reprocess

• Why a somatic approach is often more effective than cognitive insight

• How to develop compassion for the internal mechanisms that try to keep us safe

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Episode referenced: What Type Of Trauma Do I Have? Understanding Trauma

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*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.


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