Hi, I’m Leeor Gal! If you’ve seen me on Instagram, you know I take a lighthearted and down-to-earth approach to mental health. Part of that approach means being honest about when talk therapy isn’t enough, which is why we have therapists in Philadelphia that offer EMDR therapy so you can actually heal from what happened.

You might have spent months or years in therapy talking about your trauma. You understand it now and can tell the story without crying, but you still have nightmares. You still jump when someone touches your shoulder or feel like you’re living your life from behind glass.

That’s because trauma doesn’t live in the thinking part of your brain. It lives in the part that controls your body’s alarm system, the part that makes your heart race at loud noises or makes you freeze when touched unexpectedly. EMDR works with that part of your brain directly to process traumatic memories in a way that regular talk therapy can’t reach.

Complex PTSD develops from trauma that happened repeatedly over time, usually during childhood. Growing up with ongoing abuse, severe neglect, or addicted parents creates chronic fear and instability that affects your entire developing sense of self.

Unlike single traumatic events, complex PTSD impacts your identity, emotional regulation, and relationships. You might struggle to know what you want because you spent so much energy surviving, or have trouble with boundaries because you never learned you had the right to say no.

Complex PTSD therapy with EMDR addresses both specific memories and the broader impact on your sense of self. This work takes longer because we’re helping you develop the identity and safety that trauma interrupted during your formative years.

Childhood trauma affects your adult life in ways you might not even realize. Maybe you’re successful but struggle with relationships because you don’t trust people to stick around. Maybe you work constantly because you learned that your worth depends on what you produce. Maybe you take care of everyone else but can’t accept help from others.

Childhood trauma shapes how you see yourself and the world. If you learned early that people aren’t safe or that you’re not worth protecting, those beliefs can stick even when your adult life is completely different. Your brain is still operating from survival patterns that don’t serve you now.

EMDR helps you process these early experiences so they stop controlling your adult choices. We work on updating the beliefs you formed when you were too young to understand what was happening. Healing doesn’t erase your past, but it helps you respond to life from who you are now.

Accidents shatter your sense that bad things won’t happen to you. One minute you’re going about your normal day, the next minute everything changes. This can create lasting anxiety about activities that used to feel routine and safe.

Maybe you can’t drive on 95 without panicking. Maybe you avoid the intersection where your accident happened. Your brain learned that danger can come out of nowhere, so it stays on high alert waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

EMDR helps your brain process what happened so you can move through the world without constantly expecting disaster. We work on both the specific trauma of the accident and any ongoing anxiety it created about everyday activities.