What Is EMDR? A Neurodiversity Affirming Approach to Trauma Therapy

Guest Post by Sophia Rodriguez, LMFT

I had the pleasure of interviewing Sophia Rodriguez, LMFT, an EMDR and trauma specialist who has a particular passion for working with neurodivergent clients. Sophia is the owner of HeartFelt Mind Therapy, where she works with Gen Z and Millennial clients navigating trauma, anxiety, relationships, people-pleasing, and neurodivergence.

As someone who incorporates a trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming approach into her work, Sophia brings a really thoughtful perspective to the intersection of trauma, autism, ADHD, and mental health. She is also trained in EMDR, a trauma therapy that can help people process experiences that continue to affect them in the present. She’s also a long time friend and colleague who I deeply respect and admire.

In this interview, we talk about how EMDR works, how it can be adapted for autistic and ADHD clients, the difference between working with single-incident and complex trauma, and how EMDR can help neurodivergent people process the shame and negative beliefs they may have internalized about being different.

Whether you’re considering EMDR for yourself, looking for a neurodivergent-affirming therapist, or simply want to better understand how trauma and neurodivergence can intersect, I hope you find this conversation helpful.

Tell us more about yourself. How did you get to where you are today? What made you interested in working with neurodivergence and trauma?

I’m Sophia Rodriguez, a licensed marriage and family therapist. I’ve always been curious about the mind, the world around us, and our relationships with one another. That curiosity has been present throughout my life, so becoming a therapist felt like a very natural path and one that aligned with my innate curiosity about people and human behavior. I’m now the practice owner of HeartFelt mind Therapy, where I provide individual and couples therapy to Gen Z & Millennial men and women navigating trauma, anxiety, relationship issues, neurodivergence, and people-pleasing. 

I have ADHD, so I have a personal understanding of what it can be like to navigate neurodivergence. Whether it’s executive dysfunction or rejection sensitivity, which is a heightened sensitivity to perceived rejection, I understand how these experiences can interfere with someone’s relationships, work, and day-to-day life.

My work with trauma has become a significant part of my practice. I was trained in EMDR over two years ago, and it transformed the way I practice. I work with complex trauma and PTSD, and I approach my work from a trauma-informed lens. I have a fairly broad definition of trauma: anything from the past that continues to negatively impact our present. It doesn’t have to be one major, identifiable event. It can also be experiences that have accumulated over time and shaped the way we see ourselves, our relationships, or the world around us.

Most people can identify with some form of unresolved or impactful experience from their past, although the degree to which those experiences affect someone’s present life varies. Being able to witness people process those experiences, develop new ways of relating to them, and ultimately support them in transforming their own lives has been such an honor. 

Can you explain how EMDR works and what makes it effective?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It uses bilateral stimulation, which is repetitive stimulation on both sides of the body, such as eye movements, alternating taps, or alternating sounds through headphones. While engaging in bilateral stimulation, clients focus on a distressing memory, feeling, belief, or physical sensation.

When we experience something highly stressful or overwhelming, the information associated with that experience may not become fully stored in our brains with other memories and experiences in an adaptive way. Instead, aspects of the experience, such as emotions, physical sensations, beliefs, and perceptions, can get "stuck" and therefore continue to be triggered in the present. 

Throughout EMDR therapy, people often experience changes in the way they relate to their past experiences. The memories themselves don't disappear or change, but they become less vivid, less emotionally charged, and less connected to the negative beliefs or physical reactions that you might experience in the present day. 

Our brain has a natural ability to heal itself and to reprocess information. For example, when we are in REM sleep, we experience alternating eye movements, which is associated with memory consolidation and information processing. associated with memory processing. EMDR mirrors this experience, keeping the client one foot in the past and one foot in the present. 

The goal isn’t simply to help someone remember something without becoming upset. It’s to help that experience become something that belongs in the past rather than something their mind and body continue to respond to as though it’s happening in the present.

Is there a difference in how EMDR helps with long term trauma (bullying, childhood trauma, etc.) versus more single incident trauma (car crash, natural disaster, etc.)?

The way I approach the treatment can look different. With a single-incident trauma, such as a car accident or natural disaster, there’s often a more concrete event or period of time that we can identify as a target. With complex or long-term trauma, the experiences are often more embedded in someone’s development and their understanding of themselves and their relationships. There may have been years of experiences reinforcing the same underlying themes.

I may also alter the framework of EMDR depending on what the client needs, and one way of doing so is through narrowing the focus, which is what clinicians reference as EMD. 

With EMD, we stay very specifically focused on one event rather than allowing the brain to follow all of the associations that come up. That can be helpful when someone is becoming overwhelmed, flooded, or dissociative, because we want them to remain within their window of tolerance.

With standard EMDR, there’s more freedom for the brain to make associations. I often describe it like getting on a train and allowing your brain to take you where it needs to go. You might start with one memory, and your brain may connect it to another memory, belief, relationship, or physical sensation. We allow that processing to unfold while I monitor the client’s level of regulation and help guide the process.

So ultimately, EMDR can be used for both single-incident and complex trauma. The difference is often about how we structure and pace the treatment based on the individual’s needs and the complexity of what they’re processing.

What are some unique ways EMDR can be helpful for someone who is neurodivergent?

There are so many societal expectations about how we’re supposed to think, behave, communicate, and function. Our world is designed around neurotypical ways of functioning, and when someone’s brain works differently, they can internalize the message, which can create shame or make someone feel something is wrong with them.

EMDR can be a really powerful way of going back to some of those formative experiences where shame or negative beliefs may have been internalized. Maybe someone remembers feeling different, less than, ostracized, misunderstood, or like they were constantly getting in trouble for things that were actually related to the way their brain works. We can go back to those experiences with the knowledge they have now about their neurodivergence and begin to reprocess some of those memories.

I’ve seen that contribute to a greater sense of confidence, a stronger sense of self, and a deeper understanding of identity. It can also help someone develop more self-compassion and appreciation for their differences, rather than viewing those differences through the lens of shame.

TLDR: one unique way EMDR can be helpful for neurodivergent individuals is that we’re not just processing a traumatic event. We can also work with the experiences and harmful messages that taught someone that being different meant there was something wrong with them.

What are some ways you adapt EMDR when working with someone who is neurodivergent (autistic, ADHD, or both)? 

One of the ways I adapt EMDR is by offering different forms of bilateral stimulation. There are several options, including eye movements, headphones with alternating sounds, or tactile buzzers that alternate from one side of the body to the other.

In my own practice, I’ve noticed that many of the neurodivergent clients I’ve worked with have preferred headphones or tactile buzzers over eye movements. That’s not true for everyone, but it’s been an observation within my practice.

For some clients, tracking a light bar can feel distracting, particularly if they’re already taking in a lot of sensory information. Closing their eyes and using auditory or tactile bilateral stimulation can sometimes make it easier to focus internally on what they’re processing.

Some clients may also need more internal resourcing before we begin reprocessing. That means making sure they have coping skills and tools that allow them to stay as regulated as possible. Maintaining the client’s window of tolerance is always a priority. EMDR isn’t about pushing someone past their capacity. It’s about creating enough safety and regulation that they can engage with difficult material without becoming overwhelmed.

How could I work with you for EMDR while still keeping my individual therapist?

It’s absolutely possible to have a primary therapist and an adjunct EMDR therapist. In fact, it can be a really helpful option for someone who has already established a strong therapeutic relationship with their therapist but whose therapist isn’t trained in EMDR.

In that situation, you can work with an EMDR therapist specifically for trauma processing while continuing to see your primary therapist for your ongoing therapeutic needs. With the client’s consent, the therapists can communicate and collaborate so that everyone is on the same page and there isn’t an overlap in treatment.

Typically, adjunct EMDR is more focused and goal-oriented. Your primary therapist can continue providing that longer-term support, while the EMDR therapist focuses specifically on the EMDR work.

You can add EMDR to your existing therapy if that feels like the right fit for you, or you can also seek an EMDR therapist as your primary therapist. It just depends on your needs and what makes the most sense for your treatment.

How can people reach out to you for EMDR therapy?

The best way to reach me is through my email, Sophia@heartfeltmindtherapy.com. You can visit HeartFeltMindTherapy.com and use the contact form to reach out directly.

You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at @HeartFeltMindTherapy, where I share mental health education and information about my practice.