You have heard EMDR is "moving your eyes back and forth while you think about something hard," and you want to know whether that is actually doing anything. Maybe a clinician suggested it after a PCL-5 screening came back high.

You have a chronic physical condition and the mental health side has caught up to the medical side in ways your previous therapy did not have to address. This article walks through what changes when chronic physical conditions enter the therapy picture.

A clear walkthrough of what happens at a Tennessee trauma therapy intake, how EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, and TF-CBT actually feel in practice, and how to choose the right modality. Includes telehealth specifics, common questionnaires, and questions to ask before you book.

EMDR and CPT are both evidence-based PTSD treatments. Compare mechanisms, session structure, guideline ratings, and which profile fits which therapy.

A plain-language walk through the current neuroscience of EMDR: what trauma does to the fear circuit, how bilateral stimulation taxes working memory, what fMRI and EEG studies show, and why memory reconsolidation is the leading explanation for durable change.

If you have spent any time researching trauma therapy, you have probably asked the same quiet question most adults ask us: "Can this actually work over a screen?" It is a fair thing to wonder. EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — was built around a therapist sitting across from a c

If you have been in OCD treatment — or researching it seriously — you have probably run into a question that the field itself is still working out: should EMDR be part of your care, or is ERP enough on its own? The short version, and the one most competent OCD clinicians will tell you, is that Expos

If you have scheduled your first EMDR session and are looking for what to actually do between now and then, this is the practical guide I would give you in my own office. EMDR is not like ordinary talk therapy — it has a defined protocol, a specific pacing, and a handful of things you can usefully d

Most people first hear about EMDR as a treatment for PTSD — and the PTSD evidence base is where it has its strongest clinical practice guideline support [1][2]. But clinicians have been using EMDR for non-PTSD anxiety presentations for three decades, and a growing peer-reviewed literature supports i

EMDR is one of the most-studied psychotherapies for trauma, recommended as a first-line treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization, NICE, and the American Psychological Association [1][2][3]. It is also a protocol that, in certain circumstances, should not be started — or should not be star

If a hospital stay, surgery, diagnosis, or long illness still sits in your nervous system — flashbacks, panic at medical appointments, sleep trouble — that is medical trauma. Learn how EMDR is adapted for medical trauma, ICU survivors, cancer survivors, and people with chronic illness, what the research says about EMDR for chronic pain, and how to tell if this treatment fits you.

A clinician's walkthrough of the 8 phases of EMDR therapy — from history taking and preparation through desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. What actually happens in each session, how long the protocol takes, and what a first appointment feels like.

What trauma actually means clinically — how big-T, little-t, and complex trauma differ, how PTSD gets diagnosed, and what evidence-based healing looks like.

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly If you are wondering what to do after a high PCL-5 score, you are probably not looking for a technical explanation alone. You are trying to decide whether the result means something serious, whether you should get help soon, and what kind of follow-up would actually be useful. A high trauma screener score can feel alarming, but it is also information you can use. When you understand what the number can and cannot tell you

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly If you are wondering should you retake the PCL-5, the best answer is usually this: retake it when you want to understand a pattern, not when you want one quick number to settle your anxiety. The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure designed to screen for PTSD symptoms and monitor change over time, but it is not a stand-alone diagnosis.[1,2] In this article, you’ll learn: why someone might want to repeat the PCL-5 when r

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly If you are wondering can the PCL-5 be wrong, you are asking a smart clinical question. The PCL-5 is a useful PTSD screener, but it is still a screener: a structured self-report tool, not a final diagnosis. A high score can point toward meaningful trauma-related symptoms, and a lower score can still miss part of what you are carrying. What matters most is not whether the number “counts.” It is whether the pattern fits your

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly When people search PCL-5 vs CAPS-5, they are usually not asking a technical measurement question. They are asking something more personal: “Do I need a quick PTSD screener, or do I need a full diagnostic evaluation?” That is an important distinction. The PCL-5 and CAPS-5 are both respected PTSD tools, but they do different jobs. The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure used to screen symptoms, monitor change, and someti

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly If you are asking what is a high PCL-5 score, the most direct answer is this: a total score in the 31 to 33 range or above is commonly used as a sign that PTSD symptoms may deserve closer evaluation. But a “high” score is not the same thing as a diagnosis. The PCL-5 is a structured screener, not the final word on whether you have PTSD, what is driving your symptoms, or what kind of help would fit best.[1] In this article,

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly If you are looking for trauma therapy for autistic adults, the biggest question is often not whether trauma is real or whether treatment can help. It is whether the treatment model in front of you actually fits how you process information, recover from overload, communicate distress, and stay engaged long enough for the work to do its job. Research and clinical guidance increasingly support the need for meaningful adaptat

Last reviewed: 04/12/2026 Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly When people look for trauma and insomnia treatment, they are often trying to solve a sleep problem that does not feel like “just insomnia.” You may mostly notice trouble falling asleep, waking up on edge, vivid nightmares, or a strong urge to stay alert at night. What is easy to miss is that sleep can become one of the main places trauma keeps showing up, even long after the original event is over.[1] Not every sleep prob