Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR therapy
EMDR Some experiences stay with us longer than they should. A difficult relocation, a sudden loss, a relationship that fell apart in a foreign country, a childhood that left its mark — these aren’t always things you can simply talk your way through. EMDR works differently. It helps the brain process memories that feel stuck, so that they gradually lose their emotional charge and stop disrupting your daily life.
What is EMDR?
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is a structured, evidence-based therapy originally developed to treat trauma and PTSD. When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes stores the memory in a way that keeps it feeling raw and present, even years later. A smell, a sound, an unexpected moment can bring it flooding back as though it just happened.
In EMDR therapy, you briefly recall the distressing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements. Research shows that this dual-attention process reduces the emotional intensity of the memory, helping the brain form new, healthier associations with it. The goal isn’t to erase what happened, but to help it settle — so that it becomes part of your history rather than something that continues to control how you feel today.
EMDR is not just for trauma
Although EMDR is best known for treating trauma and PTSD, the evidence base has grown considerably. It is now widely used for depression, anxiety, grief, shame, chronic self-criticism, and relationship patterns that feel impossible to shift — no matter how much you understand them intellectually.
For expats in particular, EMDR can be especially relevant. Years of uprooting, cultural adjustment, identity loss, accumulated losses of community and belonging — these experiences layer on top of each other in ways that talk therapy alone doesn’t always reach. EMDR works at the level where those experiences are actually stored.
How we work
Our approach to EMDR is informed by somatic and attachment-focused principles. This means we pay careful attention to nervous system regulation and the pace at which processing feels manageable for you. Nothing is rushed. The therapeutic relationship comes first — and within that safe, grounded space, real and lasting change becomes possible.
EMDR sessions at Expat Psychologist Amsterdam are conducted by Liia Kivela, PhD, who specializes in evidence-based trauma therapy and has over a decade of experience as an expat herself.
