Montrose is a walkable, mixed part of Houston: bungalows and garage apartments off Westheimer, people who work restaurant and hospital shifts, artists, students, and professionals who chose the neighborhood because they did not want the suburbs. The reasons people from here look for EMDR are as varied as the neighborhood: a break-in or an assault, a car wreck, a painful family history, a relationship that ended badly, or years of feeling on guard without a clear reason.

Many of the adults we see have already spent real time in talk therapy and found it useful. They can explain what happened. What they want now is help with the part that still reacts in the body as if it is happening. That is the kind of memory EMDR was designed to work with.

Privacy matters too. Because the practice is private pay, nothing is billed to an insurer unless you choose to submit a superbill yourself. If you would rather not be seen walking into a therapist’s office in your own neighborhood, a short drive to Washington Avenue, or a telehealth session, can help.

Sessions are private pay at $125 to $225 for 45 to 50 minutes, depending on the clinician (see the rate card). The first 15-minute consultation, by phone or Zoom, is free.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) pairs a specific memory with bilateral stimulation, usually guided eye movements, tapping, or tones, while you stay fully awake and in control. The aim is not to relive the event. It is to let a memory that still feels present get filed as something that happened in the past. EMDR is one of the trauma therapies recommended in PTSD treatment guidelines from the World Health Organization and the VA and Department of Defense.

The protocol has eight phases, and the early ones are about history and preparation, not reprocessing. Your clinician learns what you are carrying, and you practice ways to settle your body before any memory work starts. How long preparation takes depends on the person. Someone working through one recent event may move into reprocessing within a few sessions. Someone with a long history, or who tends to shut down or flood, usually spends longer building that footing first, and that time is part of the work, not a delay.

Because the practice also offers Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing and neurofeedback under one roof, your plan does not have to start with EMDR if something else fits better first. That decision is made with you, case by case. For the full picture, see our EMDR therapy in Houston page, what EMDR costs and how many sessions people commonly need, and what is normal between sessions.

Nearby: EMDR near Upper Kirby, EMDR near the Heights. See all EMDR locations served in Houston and our session rates.