EMDR Therapy
Are you seeking effective trauma treatment in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, or Elm Grove, Wisconsin? Margaret Olson, LCSW, offers EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help you move past painful memories, reduce emotional distress, and reclaim your life. Whether you’re struggling with post‑traumatic stress, anxiety, or lingering effects of difficult experiences, EMDR can support deep healing in a focused and efficient way.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is a trauma‑informed, evidence‑based therapy approach developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro that helps reprocess distressing memories and reduce their emotional charge. EMDR therapy “helps people heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences” and supports the brain’s natural healing mechanisms.
The model underlying EMDR is called the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which posits that mental health symptoms arise when traumatic or disturbing memories are incompletely processed and become “stuck.” EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, tapping, or auditory input) combined with trauma processing protocols to help the nervous system re-integrate those memories in a more adaptive way.
During EMDR sessions, you won’t need to relive or narrate every painful detail. Instead, the process gently guides your brain to access and reprocess memories more adaptively, allowing you to recall them with reduced emotional intensity and new insights.
How EMDR Can Help
As a licensed clinical social worker trained in EMDR, Margaret brings a trauma-sensitive, client-centered approach. Here are some ways she supports her clients during EMDR therapy:
Safe, paced processing: You set the pace. Margaret helps you establish stabilization, safety skills, and resource development before moving into deeper memory work.
Adaptive reframing: Through guided reprocessing, you may shift negative beliefs (e.g. “I am powerless”) into more positive, adaptive ones (e.g. “I am resilient”).
Integration across mind & body: EMDR addresses emotional, cognitive, and somatic experiences of trauma, helping you reconnect with your body in healing.
Symptom distress reduction: Margaret helps you track and reduce target symptoms (e.g. intrusive memories, anxiety, avoidance).
Generalization to everyday life: Processing work is structured so that the gains you make in sessions translate into everyday situations.
Support & containment: Some EMDR sessions can feel intense. Margaret ensures you have grounding tools, co-regulation strategies, and integration time to feel stable throughout.