Counselling & Psychotherapy · Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured therapy that helps the brain process distressing memories so they lose their emotional charge. It is best known for trauma and PTSD but is also used for anxiety, phobias, grief and painful experiences that still feel present. CARESPACE offers EMDR with trained Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers at locations in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. No referral is needed.
What emdr therapy involves
EMDR is based on the idea that distressing experiences can get stuck in the nervous system, so a memory keeps triggering the same fear, shame or body response long after the event. During EMDR, you briefly focus on a memory while following bilateral stimulation, usually side-to-side eye movements, taps or tones. This appears to help the brain reprocess the memory, so it becomes something that happened rather than something still happening.
EMDR follows eight phases. The early sessions are about history, understanding your goals and building coping tools so you feel steady. Processing sessions come after that, and you do not have to describe the memory in detail for it to work. A processing session is structured and guided, and your therapist checks in frequently. Between sessions, you may notice shifts in how you think about the experience.
Good for
- PTSD and single-incident trauma such as accidents or assaults
- Complex or childhood trauma
- Anxiety and panic
- Phobias
- Grief and traumatic loss
- Distressing medical or birth experiences
- Performance anxiety
- Low self-worth rooted in past experiences
- First responder and workplace trauma
What to expect
Your first sessions are not processing sessions. Your therapist gets to know your history, what you want to work on and how you cope, and teaches you grounding and calming skills you can use in and out of session. When you are both ready, you move into processing specific memories. Some memories resolve quickly; others take several sessions. Your therapist monitors how you are doing throughout and adjusts the pace so the work feels manageable rather than overwhelming.
One team, one plan
Trauma lives in the body as well as the mind. Many clients doing EMDR also work with a registered massage therapist or an osteopathic practitioner for chronic tension, a naturopathic doctor or nurse practitioner for sleep and nervous system support, or a kinesiologist for movement that helps regulate stress. Your therapist can bring these in within the same location, with your consent, so your care stays coordinated.
Psychotherapists who can help
Every CARESPACE psychotherapist can discuss whether emdr therapy is right for you. Sort by next availability or by the location closest to you.
Psychotherapists in Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Shane Parsons, RP
Psychotherapist
When change feels overdue but still hard to begin, Shane Parsons, RP gives you a calm, practical place to finally talk honestly and move forward.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Shagun Jariwala, BA (Hons), MACP candidate, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When stress starts spilling into your sleep, work, relationships, school, or family life, you do not have to sort through it alone.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Halima Fuller, MA, PhD, RP
Psychotherapist
When stress, self-doubt, relationship pain, or substance use begins to define your days, you deserve a therapist who sees more than the struggle.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Ria Wooten, BSc, MDiv, RP
Psychotherapist
You can look composed on the outside and still feel anxious, disconnected, or trapped in painful patterns — and that is exactly where Ria Wooten begins.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Shantel Kim, BSW (Hons), MSW, RSW
Psychotherapist
You may understand what you believe you “should” do and still find it difficult to begin, follow through, or make meaningful changes on your own.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Tianna Baron, SSW, BSW, RSW
Psychotherapist
When anxiety, big emotions, school stress, or a hard life transition start taking over daily life, you want a therapist who understands both the feelings underneath and the…
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Momna Sajid, BASc, MACP, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When the same argument keeps returning, when expectations leave you feeling as though you have disappeared inside your roles, or when your child’s emotions or behaviour are becoming…
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Ayshen Tuncel, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
Life can become overwhelming in ways that aren’t always visible to others. You may find yourself overthinking, being hard on yourself, trying to meet expectations, or carrying emotions…
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Weekend availability
Cliann Dsouza, BA, MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
You may be feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or caught in worries that are difficult to switch off.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Hossein Kaji, BSc, MA, MA, RP, PhD
Psychotherapist
When anxiety, depression, trauma, or addiction start shaping your days, you need more than a listener — you need a therapist who can help you understand what is…
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Evening availability
Zoey Hu, BA, MA, RP
Psychotherapist
If you’re searching for counselling in Waterloo, you’re probably not looking for a generic therapist.
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Evening availability
Maycee Dias, BSc (Hons), MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
From post-secondary life to career and family transitions, Maycee Dias offers counselling in Kitchener to help you navigate anxiety, relationship challenges, and workplace stress while making choices that…
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Evening availability
Michael Kessler, BSW, MSW, RSW
Psychotherapist, Clinic Director
Clinical care with a human touch – providing individual and relationship therapy to explore unique challenges, develop practical tools, and support lasting success.
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Evening availability
Renee Wallace-Konu, B.A., MEd, M.A.
Psychotherapist
As a Registered Psychotherapist training and work experience in Sex /Couples/Family Therapy and an OCT Certified teacher I have had a long extended and multifaceted career in “human…
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Evening availability
Faith Gunn, BA, MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
Faith is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) who is committed to creating a kind, welcoming space where you can show up just as you are.
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Evening availability
Aella Rose, BA (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When anxiety keeps your mind running, old experiences keep echoing into the present, or burnout has made you feel numb instead of strong, what you need most is…
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Evening availability
Kaitlin Boyko, BA, MA (Hons), RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
You can stop carrying anxiety, self-doubt, and relationship pain alone, because Kaitlin Boyko offers therapy that helps you feel understood from the very first conversation.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Brock Vaughan, BA (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
You may look like you are keeping up while your inner world feels busy, heavy, or hard to explain.
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Evening availability
Albert Yang, BSc, MS, MFT, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
Does your child struggle to express big emotions? Are you a teen, young adult, or couple feeling stuck in cycles of anxiety, conflict, or self-doubt? Albert Yang, MS,…
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Evening availability
Ummehani Rehmani, BSc, MSc, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
You may be functioning on the outside while feeling anxious, emotionally exhausted, disconnected, or uncertain underneath.
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Available this week
Chloe Fansher, BA (Hons), MA, RP
Psychotherapist
If you’re searching for counselling in Kitchener, chances are something in your life already feels too loud, too painful, or too hard to keep carrying on your own.
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Evening availability
Zahra Rajwani, BA (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
If you’ve been looking for counselling in Kitchener because something inside no longer feels manageable—old wounds that keep resurfacing, anxiety that will not let your mind slow down,…
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Evening availability
Christine McCarthy, BA, MACP, MScEd, RNMH, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When life feels heavier than it should, Christine McCarthy helps you make sense of the change, calm the noise, and find your footing again.
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Evening availability
Mariana Walker, BSc (Hons.), MSc, RP
Psychotherapist
When your thoughts will not slow down, your motivation disappears, or your emotions feel heavier than you can explain, even everyday life can start to feel like too…
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Xinhe (Leah) Liu, BA (Hons), MA, RP(Q)
Psychotherapist
If you’re living with anxiety, depression, social isolation, trauma, addiction patterns, disordered eating, self-harm urges, or a life transition that has shaken your sense of who you are,…
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Available this week
Claire Quenneville, BA (Hons), MA, RP
Psychotherapist
You do not need to keep carrying anxiety, overthinking, or life transitions alone—and Claire Quenneville, BA (Hons.), MA, RP helps you feel understood from the very first conversation.
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Evening availability
Davis Bretz, BA, MSW, RSW
Social Worker, Psychotherapist
When life feels difficult to manage—whether due to anxiety, stress, relationship challenges, or a broader sense of being stuck—it can be hard to know how to move forward…
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Available this week
Sue Barg, BSW, RSW
Psychotherapy Supervisor
If you’re looking for steady, trauma-informed supervision, Sue Barg helps you grow without losing the heart of why you entered this work.
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Evening availability
Karimeh Haddad, BASc, MA, MA, RP
Psychotherapist
When life feels overwhelming or tangled, you want a therapist who helps you feel understood quickly and gives you a clear way forward.
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Evening availability
Brianna Comeau, BA, MSW, RSW
Psychotherapist
You don’t have to keep carrying anxiety, social pressure, and relationship stress alone when Brianna Comeau, BA, MSW, RSW, offers care that is both deeply compassionate and clinically…
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Available this week
Muskan Abbi, MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
If life looks different than you thought it would, Muskan Abbi, MA, RP (Qualifying), can help you make sense of what changed without making you feel judged for…
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Available this week
Josh Zettel, BA (Hons), MA, RP, CMPC, CCC
Psychotherapist, Certified Mental Performance Consultant, Clinic Director, Assistant District Manager
You do not have to keep carrying anxiety, pressure, or life-transition stress alone when the right support can help you feel steadier in both mind and life.
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Vipjit Sidhu, BA (Hons), MA, MSc, RP
Psychotherapist, Clinic Director
When anxiety keeps running in the background, emotions feel bigger than you can manage, or family dynamics keep pulling you back into the same painful patterns, it makes…
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Evening availability Weekend availability
Graham Tebbit, MSc, MACP, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
You know what you’re capable of.
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Next available: Nov 23
Madeleine Burnett, BAS (Hons), MACP, RP
Psychotherapist, Clinical Director
You may already know you need therapy, what you need now is a psychotherapist who can help you feel understood, steady, and safe enough to truly change.
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Next available: Nov 27 Limited availability
Anjali Majeethia, BA, MA, RP
Psychotherapist
You do not have to keep carrying trauma, anxiety, overwhelm, or a difficult life transition alone—Anjali Majeethia offers grounded support that helps you feel safe enough to begin.
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Beth Thomsett-Scott, BSc, MSc, MA, RP
Psychotherapist
If you’re searching for counselling in Waterloo because anxiety, grief, or relationship strain keeps following you home, Beth Thomsett-Scott offers a place to breathe, be heard, and begin…
No availability About Beth -
Brendan Monroy, BA (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When you’re searching for counselling in Kitchener, you’re not just looking for a therapist — you’re looking for someone who makes it feel possible to be fully honest.
No availability About Brendan -
Ivania Salmeron, BA (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
When you are carrying loss, trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional overwhelm, or the sense that your body is holding more than words can explain, it can be hard to…
No availability About Ivania -
Marlee Kernick, BASc. (Hons), MA, RP (Qualifying)
Psychotherapist
If you are searching for counselling in Kitchener because your relationships feel strained, your emotions feel harder to manage than they used to, or psychological distress has been…
No availability About Marlee
Common questions
Do I need a referral, and will insurance reimburse EMDR?
No referral is needed. Book online or call 519-208-2273. CARESPACE does not bill insurance directly; you pay at your session and receive a detailed receipt to submit to your extended health plan. EMDR at CARESPACE is delivered by Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers, so it is reimbursed under whatever your plan allows for those designations rather than as a separate category. Check your plan for annual limits and which provider types it reimburses.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
It varies. A single distressing event in an otherwise stable life can sometimes be processed in relatively few sessions once the preparation phase is complete. Complex or long-term trauma takes longer, because there are more memories and more work needed to feel safe first. Your therapist will give you a realistic picture after the initial sessions and review it with you as you go. The pace is set by you, not by a schedule.
Do I have to talk about the trauma in detail?
No. One of the reasons many clients choose EMDR is that you do not need to describe what happened in detail for the processing to work. Your therapist needs enough to identify the target memory and what it brings up, but the processing itself is largely internal, with brief check-ins. If talking in detail feels unsafe or retraumatizing, say so; your therapist can work with less and still help you move forward.
What does EMDR feel like during a session?
Most clients describe it as unusual but manageable. You hold a memory in mind while following your therapist’s fingers, a light bar, or alternating taps or tones, in short sets. Thoughts, images, feelings or body sensations come and go, and you briefly report what you notice between sets. Emotions can rise, then typically settle as the memory processes. Your therapist pauses or uses grounding tools whenever you need. You stay in control throughout.
Is EMDR a good fit for me?
EMDR is often a good fit when a past experience still triggers strong reactions, intrusive memories, avoidance or a sense of being unsafe, even if you logically know you are okay now. It is used for trauma, but also anxiety, phobias and grief. If you are in an ongoing crisis or feeling very unstable, your therapist may start with other approaches to build safety first. An initial consultation is the best way to find out.
Ready to book?
Book online with any practitioner above, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will match you with the right person and the closest location.