Online EMDR Therapy

 The Short Answer

Yes — this is a question that gets asked often, and the answer is reassuring. Online EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy produces outcomes comparable to in-person EMDR therapy. This is supported by a growing body of research, and it is consistent with what I observe in my own clinical work every week: clients doing deep, transformative processing from the comfort and safety of their own space, achieving the same meaningful shifts they would in a traditional therapy room.

What the Research Shows

The evidence base for online EMDR has grown substantially — particularly since the pandemic, when clinicians worldwide transitioned to telehealth and researchers began studying outcomes systematically.

• A 2024 systematic review published in *Frontiers in Psychiatry* examined sixteen studies involving over 1,200 participants and found that remote EMDR therapy produced significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and depression — outcomes consistent with in-person delivery (Kaptan, Kaya, & Akan, 2024).

• A 2024 randomized controlled trial directly compared in-person and virtual EMDR and found no significant differences in treatment outcomes between the two formats (Sheikhi et al., 2024). This is the type of study — head-to-head, randomized — that carries the most weight in clinical evidence.

• A 2025 multisite retrospective review studying veterans who received EMDR across both in-person and telehealth settings confirmed similar effectiveness in both formats, with clinically meaningful reductions in both PTSD and depression symptoms (Fairbanks et al., 2025).

• And an earlier real-world service evaluation of 93 patients found statistically significant and clinically meaningful symptom reductions in adults, children, and adolescents receiving EMDR online — across multiple standardized outcome measures (McGowan et al., 2021).

What began as a necessary adaptation during the pandemic has become a well-studied and well-supported approach to delivering EMDR — not a compromise, but a genuine clinical option with strong evidence behind it.

How Bilateral Stimulation Works Online

If you are familiar with how EMDR works, you know that bilateral stimulation — the rhythmic left-right engagement of both hemispheres of the brain — is central to EMDR processing. So a reasonable question is: how does that translate to a screen?

The short answer is that it translates effectively — and in some respects, the online format offers more flexibility than a traditional office setting in terms of how bilateral stimulation can be customized.

I use a secure telehealth platform built specifically for EMDR therapy. Unlike generic screen-sharing tools, this platform generates the visual bilateral stimulation directly on your device — producing smooth, precise movement even on slower internet connections. It integrates encrypted video conferencing with therapist-controlled bilateral stimulation in a single window: nothing to install, nothing to configure. You click one secure link and you are in the session.

The bilateral stimulation can be delivered in several ways, and we will find the combination that works best for you:

• Visual: A moving light or dot on your screen that your eyes track. I control the speed, direction, and size in real time.

• Auditory: Alternating sounds that shift between your left and right ears through headphones or speaker. Many clients find this the most natural and comfortable form — it allows you to close your eyes during processing if that feels right.

• Tactile: Self-administered tapping such as the butterfly hug and other movements. These can be used individually or combined and synchronized. The flexibility often means we can find what works optimally for you.

I have also completed advanced training specifically in the clinical nuances of delivering EMDR via telehealth. This goes beyond knowing how to use the technology. It means understanding how to read somatic cues through a screen — the subtle shifts in breathing, the micro-movements in the face and shoulders that signal what is happening in the nervous system. It means knowing how to pace bilateral stimulation differently when someone is in their own space rather than mine. How to adapt resourcing and containment techniques for remote delivery. And how to maintain the relational attunement that makes depth-oriented EMDR work — the kind I do — possible in a virtual format.

Why Many Clients Prefer This Format

For a significant number of my clients, online EMDR is not just a workable alternative — it is their preferred way to do this work. And not only because of convenience.

• You process in your own space. EMDR moves material that has sometimes been held in the body and nervous system for decades. When that material surfaces, you are already home. You do not have to get in a car, navigate traffic, or re-enter the outside world while still integrating what just shifted. You can sit quietly for a few minutes after we end. You can make a cup of tea. You can take a walk. Many clients tell me this makes a real difference in how the processing settles between sessions.

• There is no commute bookending the session.You arrive without the activation of rushing, and you leave without the abrupt transition from a therapist’s office to the world. For work that engages the nervous system as directly as EMDR does, this matters more than it might seem.

• Consistency becomes easier. Without travel time, sessions are simpler to fit into a full life — and the consistency of regular sessions is one of the strongest predictors of progress in depth-oriented work.

• Geography is no longer a barrier. If you are looking for an EMDRIA-Certified EMDR Therapist who integrates IFS (Internal Family Systems), somatic, and relational approaches — that combination is not common. Online therapy with me means you can access it across the country, with few exceptions.

• The relationship translates.This is the concern I hear most often before someone begins online therapy, and the one that dissipates most quickly once we start. The relational attunement, the pacing, the felt sense of being held in the work — these are present whether we share a physical room or not. What matters is not the medium. It is whether you feel genuinely seen. My clients consistently tell me that they do.

Who Can Access Online EMDR

I am licensed to provide telehealth therapy in New Jersey and New York, and authorized to practice across over 40 additional states through the PSYPACT Telepsychology Practice Interjurisdictional Compact.

Whether you are in Bergen County and prefer the ease of online sessions, in Rockland County and want to avoid a commute, or across the country and seeking a depth of EMDR expertise that is not available locally — online therapy makes that possible.

What You’ll Need

A quiet, private space. Most clients use a computer, laptop, or tablet with a reliable internet connection; however, we can make use of a cell phone if these aren’t available to you. Headphones or ear buds are great: we can also make use of speakers on your device in most cases if we’ll be using auditory bilateral stimulation.