The EMDR Coach

10/16/2026

New blog: What Therapists Miss in Su***de Risk Assessment: A Nervous System Approach — a trauma-informed framework that moves beyond checklist screening to consider nervous system capacity, trauma history, and body disconnection. Essential reading for clinicians who want more accurate, compassionate risk formulation and safer care.

Read more: https://wix.to/Jw0SzgZ

***dePrevention

Su***de risk assessment often misses the nervous system and trauma factors that predict action. Learn what therapists overlook and how to assess more fully.

10/15/2026

Polyvagal Theory can change how you read and respond to client activation during EMDR. Learn to spot nervous system states, know when to slow down, and when it's safe to keep processing.

Read the full guide: https://wix.to/YTFgr7Q

Polyvagal Theory does not need to be complicated. Learn how EMDR therapists can recognize nervous system states and use that information to guide pacing, resourcing, and reprocessing.

10/13/2026

Truth Bomb: Your Kids Need Safety — Kids don’t need perfect parents. They need adults who protect their emotional safety, make room for feelings, and keep them out of adult conflict.

Read Dana’s short, powerful post on why safety matters more than being right. https://wix.to/ri9UefB

Your Kids Need Safety. Children do not need perfect parents. They need adults who protect their sense of safety, make room for their emotions, and keep them out of adult conflict. In this Truth Bomb, Dana explains why protecting that sense of security matters more than proving who is right.

10/12/2026

New episode: "Your Body Isn’t Broken" with midlife metabolic health coach Jennifer Rozon. Dana Carretta-Stein and Jennifer dig into perimenopause, under-fueling, stress, recovery, and how to rebuild trust with your body. A thoughtful, hopeful conversation for anyone navigating midlife changes — 28 minutes of practical insights and compassionate advice.

Read/listen: https://wix.to/0jEfZxI

Your Body Isn’t Broken. In Episode 18, Dana Carretta-Stein and midlife metabolic health coach Jennifer Rozon explore what can happen when women stop fighting their symptoms and start listening to them. From perimenopause and under-fueling to stress, recovery, and sustainable habits, this conversat...

10/11/2026

If you're getting everything done, you probably assume you're doing okay, right?

Not necessarily.

In my experience, some of the most "together" people I work with are also the most frozen.

Freeze is one of your nervous system's oldest survival responses. When fighting back or getting away isn't an option, the body conserves energy and turns feeling down.

Functional freeze is what happens when that shutdown keeps running in the background while you keep performing on top of it.

Ask yourself:

➡️ When was the last time I felt genuinely excited about something?

➡️ Do I feel my feelings, or do I just think about them?

➡️ When someone asks how I am, do I actually check before I say "fine"?

If those were hard to answer, that's useful information. Slide 7 is a good place to start.

For therapists: clients in functional freeze can look like ideal EMDR candidates on paper. High-functioning, articulate, motivated. But if they can't access emotion or body sensation, processing can stall. Build that capacity in Phase 2 before moving into processing.

If you want gentle, body-based support between sessions, I put together a list of the regulation tools I recommend to clients, with discount codes. Comment THERAPY TOOLS and I'll send it to you.

10/10/2026

Feeling the urge to control people or outcomes? That impulse often masks fear. In this short Truth Bomb, Dana explains how shifting from controlling to navigating can open the door to healing and calmer relationships.

Read more: https://wix.to/Kbe9kvg

10/10/2026

If you're healing, you probably expect it to feel good, right?

So when it feels hard, you assume you're doing it wrong.

Not always.

Your nervous system prefers familiar over comfortable. Even when an old pattern hurt you, it was predictable. And predictable registers as safe.

So when you start doing things differently, like setting a boundary, saying no, or letting someone really see you, your body can read that change as a threat.

That's the brutal part. (Nobody puts that on the vision board.)

The beautiful part is that every time you stay with it, your nervous system gets a chance to learn something new.

Next time growth feels brutal, ask yourself: is this hard because it's wrong, or because it's new?

For therapists: clients often read the discomfort of change as proof that therapy isn't working. Naming this early, during Phase 2 psychoeducation, can help them stay in the work right when things start shifting.

If you want help spotting the progress that's easy to miss, grab my free resource, "10 Signs You're Healing from CPTSD," on my website. Link in my bio, or comment FREE and I'll send it to you.

10/09/2026

Why does a client who ‘‘knows’’ they’re safe still get triggered? In EMDR and trauma therapy, the nervous system can react as if danger is happening now even when the mind understands safety. This post unpacks why that mismatch matters and where to focus the work to help clients regulate and integrate their experiences. Read the full article for practical clinical insights and case-focused guidance: https://wix.to/mSl7dyP

Why can clients logically know they're safe and still feel triggered? Learn how trauma responses show up in EMDR therapy and what therapists should assess.

10/08/2026

New episode out: You Can't Rush Healing — Episode 19 with trauma therapist Hannah Guy. Dana Carretta-Stein and Hannah explore why recovery can feel painfully slow, how EMDR preparation builds capacity, and why honoring your nervous system’s pace is part of the work. Listen for real insights on gentler, sustainable healing.

Read or watch now: https://wix.to/PmYmZgK

You Can't Rush Healing. In Episode 19, Dana Carretta-Stein and trauma therapist Hannah Guy discuss why trauma recovery can feel painfully slow, how EMDR preparation builds capacity, and why healing is not about forcing yourself through distress. Sometimes respecting your nervous system's pace is par...