EMDR Therapy Vancouver — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Talk to Dr. Samuel directly — your first 20 minutes are free.
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No forms, no gatekeepers, no obligation. English or فارسی.
Call for a Free 20-Minute Consult — 6047210604EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based therapy for trauma and PTSD. At Dr. Samuel’s Vancouver practice, EMDR is offered as a standalone treatment or integrated with neurofeedback and other trauma-informed approaches. Sessions are available in English and Farsi.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is a psychotherapy developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. It is now recognized as a first-line treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the BC Ministry of Health. EMDR helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories — not by erasing them, but by reducing their emotional charge so they no longer trigger distress in the present.
During EMDR, the therapist guides you through bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements, taps, or tones) while you hold a target memory in mind. This bilateral stimulation appears to activate the brain’s natural information-processing system — similar to what happens during REM sleep — allowing traumatic memories to be integrated rather than remaining “stuck” in their original, dysregulated form.
What EMDR Treats
EMDR has the strongest evidence base for trauma and PTSD, but is also used effectively for anxiety, phobias, grief, and complex trauma:
Single-incident trauma — Motor vehicle accidents, assaults, medical emergencies, sudden loss. EMDR often resolves single-incident PTSD in 3–12 sessions.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) — Prolonged trauma such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, refugee experiences, or political persecution. Complex trauma typically requires a longer course of treatment and a stabilization phase before trauma processing begins.
Immigration and political trauma — Many Iranian-Canadian clients in Vancouver carry trauma related to the 1979 revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, political persecution, or the 2022 uprising. Dr. Samuel has specific training and lived experience working with this community in Farsi and English.
Anxiety and panic — EMDR can target the root traumatic experiences that maintain anxiety disorders, phobias, and panic attacks.
Grief and loss — Complicated grief, including loss of home country, family separation, or sudden bereavement.
The 8-Phase EMDR Protocol
EMDR follows a structured 8-phase protocol that ensures safety and effectiveness:
Phase 1 (History and Treatment Planning) — Understanding your history, identifying target memories, and developing a treatment plan. Phase 2 (Preparation) — Building coping skills and stabilization resources so you can handle whatever arises during processing. Phases 3–6 (Assessment, Desensitization, Installation, Body Scan) — The core trauma-processing phases, using bilateral stimulation to reprocess target memories. Phases 7–8 (Closure and Reevaluation) — Ending sessions safely and reviewing progress.
For complex trauma, Phase 2 (stabilization) may span several sessions before processing begins. Dr. Samuel often integrates neurofeedback during this phase to help regulate the nervous system before trauma processing starts.
EMDR + Neurofeedback: An Integrated Approach
Dr. Samuel’s practice offers an integrated approach that combines EMDR with neurofeedback therapy. For many clients with complex trauma or severe PTSD, neurofeedback helps regulate the nervous system first — reducing hyperarousal, improving sleep, and stabilizing emotional reactivity — which makes the EMDR processing phases more accessible and effective.
This combination is particularly effective for clients who have previously found trauma processing overwhelming, or who have not responded fully to EMDR alone.
EMDR in Farsi — For the Iranian Community in Vancouver
Trauma processing in EMDR requires precise language — and for many Iranian-Canadian clients, that means processing in Farsi. Dr. Samuel conducts EMDR in both English and Farsi, and understands the specific cultural context of Iranian trauma, including the role of آبرو (face/shame), intergenerational conflict, and collective political grief.
See also: Farsi Therapist Vancouver | Counselling for the Iranian-Canadian Community
Book an EMDR Consultation in Vancouver
Start with a free 20-minute consultation to discuss your history, your goals, and whether EMDR is appropriate for your situation.
Call or text: 6047210604
Email: [email protected]
Location: Suite 1300, 1500 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC (downtown)
Further Reading
For related services: trauma therapy Vancouver, individual therapy, and neurofeedback therapy. See also the blog post neurofeedback for PTSD and trauma, and for Iranian-Canadian clients: Iranian therapist Vancouver.
Who you’re talking to
I’m Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC. Over 25 years I’ve worked with trauma, anxiety, and relationships — from Red Crescent refugee camps and veterans’ clinics to community mental health here in Vancouver. I won’t be shocked by what you bring me, and I won’t rush you.
As an Iranian-Canadian clinician working in both English and Farsi, I understand the weight of آبرو, the pull between cultures, and how hard it can be to say “I need help” out loud. We go at your pace, find what’s really driving things, and work through it together.
And no — your problem doesn’t need to be a crisis to belong here. Most of the people Samuel sees are simply tired, stuck, or quietly carrying something heavy.
What happens when you call?
Dr. Samuel answers personally. No secretary, no forms, no gatekeeping.
Ask anything: fees, insurance, whether this approach fits you. Completely confidential.
Book a first session — or don’t. Either way you leave with clarity and zero obligation.
Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available.
Frequently Asked Questions — EMDR Therapy in Vancouver
What is EMDR, in plain language?
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is a structured therapy in which you briefly hold a distressing memory in mind while following side-to-side eye movements, taps or tones. That bilateral stimulation lets the brain finish processing the memory, so it stops firing as if it were happening now and becomes something that happened then. Samuel Ezzatilord, PhD, RCC, CCC, LMCC, offers EMDR in Vancouver in English and Farsi.
Does EMDR actually work? What is the evidence?
Yes. EMDR is one of the most researched trauma treatments and is recommended for PTSD in the major clinical guidelines, including those of the World Health Organization. Trials show it comparable to trauma-focused CBT for PTSD, often in fewer sessions and without detailed retelling. Samuel is candid about its limits: it is a trauma-memory treatment first, and it works best inside a plan that also addresses sleep, safety and the rest of your life.
What does EMDR feel like — is it hypnosis?
No. You stay fully awake and in control, and you can stop at any moment. Most people describe it as tiring but not overwhelming: the memory is brought to mind briefly, the eye movements or taps run for short sets, and between sets you say a few words about what you notice. Over the session the memory usually loses its charge — it is still there, but it no longer grips.
Do I have to describe the trauma in detail for EMDR to work?
No. EMDR works with the memory held privately in your mind; Samuel needs only enough to know what you are working on. This is one reason many people who could not face talk therapy find EMDR possible.
Is EMDR covered by extended health, ICBC or CVAP in BC?
Yes in most cases. EMDR sessions with Samuel are Registered Clinical Counsellor sessions, covered by most extended health plans; ICBC covers counselling on an active claim after a collision without a referral; CVAP funds counselling after a crime. Fees and expenses are covered by ICBC, CVAP, FNHA, IFHP, RCMP, VAC, and most other insurers, and direct billing is available. Coverage is confirmed on the free call.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
A single, recent event — one collision, one assault, one medical scare — often resolves in a handful of sessions after preparation. Multiple or long-standing traumas take longer, because each memory network is worked in turn and preparation is more careful. Samuel does not start processing until you have grounding tools that work, and reviews progress with you openly.
What can EMDR treat besides PTSD?
Anxiety and panic that trace back to specific events, phobias, driving fear after an accident, grief that will not move, the intrusive memories left by an emotionally abusive relationship, performance anxiety, and the ‘small-t’ traumas — humiliations, medical events, losses — that never seemed serious enough to mention but still fire. It is used within Samuel’s couples work too, when one partner’s reactivity has a history.
Can EMDR be done online?
Yes. Bilateral stimulation works by video using on-screen movement or self-tapping, and outcomes in studies of remote EMDR are comparable to in-person when the client has a private, uninterrupted space. Samuel offers EMDR in person at 1300–1500 West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver and by secure video anywhere in BC.
Is EMDR available in Farsi?
Yes. Samuel runs EMDR entirely in Farsi for clients who prefer it — many find that a memory formed in Persian processes more completely in Persian. جلسات به فارسی برگزار میشود.
How do I start EMDR therapy in Vancouver?
With a free 20-minute phone call directly with Samuel — no receptionist, no forms. Call or WhatsApp 604-721-0604, or text one line and he will call you back within a day. He will tell you honestly whether EMDR is the right first step, or whether preparation, IFS or another approach should come first.