Early Intervention After Traumatic Events

You lived through something horrible and now you’re struggling to move past it.

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • Memories of the event keep popping into your mind

  • You can’t sleep or you have nightmares

  • You’re easily startled and constantly on-edge

  • The world no longer feels safe

  • You struggle to trust people, even those closest to you

  • You can’t focus

  • You feel guilt or shame about what happened

Therapy can help.

What counts as trauma? Anything that left you feeling helpless, scared, fearful for your or someone else’s life: car accidents, combat, natural disasters, violent crime, sexual assault, medical procedures that didn’t go as-planned. If you’re struggling to move past a traumatic event, please set up a phone consultation so we can discuss how I can help you.

I use EMDR ASSYST protocol (Acute Stress Syndrome Stabilization) to help clients in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event (within hours-3 months). This can be used for both individuals, and groups who have experienced the same traumatic event.

About EMDR ASSYST

ASSYST is an evidence-informed, early intervention approach developed from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy principles. It is designed to help people process distressing experiences shortly after a traumatic event by reducing emotional intensity, and supporting the brain's natural healing process.

Unlike traditional talk therapy, ASSYST focuses on helping the nervous system process disturbing memories in a gentle and structured way, often reducing symptoms such as:

  • Intrusive memories or images

  • Heightened anxiety or panic

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Feelings of overwhelm or emotional numbness

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Increased emotional reactivity

  • Ongoing distress related to the event

Individual Early Intervention

For individuals who have recently experienced a traumatic event, early intervention sessions can provide immediate support and help prevent distress from becoming more entrenched. Sessions are tailored to your specific experience and needs, with the goal of promoting stabilization and recovery.

Group Early Intervention

Following a shared traumatic event, communities and organizations often benefit from receiving support together. I provide EMDR ASSYST group interventions for:

  • Workplaces and businesses

  • First responders

  • Healthcare teams

  • Schools and educational settings

  • Community organizations

  • Faith communities

  • Teams or groups impacted by a critical incident

Group interventions provide a structured, confidential, and supportive environment that allows participants to process the event while remaining connected to others who share the experience.

Benefits of Early Intervention

Research suggests that early support following traumatic events may:

  • Reduce acute stress symptoms

  • Increase feelings of safety and stability

  • Improve emotional regulation

  • Support resilience and recovery

  • Decrease the likelihood that traumatic stress symptoms will persist over time

When to Seek Support

If you or your organization has experienced a recent traumatic event, seeking support in the days or weeks afterward can be an important step toward healing.

If you would like to learn more about EMDR ASSYST early intervention services or discuss whether this approach may be appropriate for your situation, please contact me to schedule a free phone consultation by email: hello@anchoredmentalhealthwi.com or text: 262-864-1353.

For additional information and research visit EMDR international Association (www.emdria.org) or EMDR Institute, Inc. (www.emdr.com).

Therapy Process

  • Please reach out schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation.

    Email: hello@anchoredmentalhealthwi.com
    Text: 262-864-1353

    Because my practice is part time, I prefer to schedule these calls in advance so I can ensure that I am in a location where your call can be confidential, and I am able to give you my undivided attention.

    During your consultation call, I want to make sure that we both feel we are a good fit to work together. We'll talk briefly about what you’re hoping to get out of therapy, as well as logistical things like scheduling and payment, and answer any questions that you have. If we decide that we’d like to work together, we will schedule your intake appointment on that same phone call, or you can schedule through the client portal. 



    Your first session will be 75 minutes long. You’ll have plenty of time to share about why you’re coming to therapy, and give me background information about your life. We’ll end the session by creating a treatment plan together.

  • The number of sessions needed to treat trauma varies depending on the person, the number of traumatic events that needs to be reprocessed, and the severity of the symptoms. You can decide if you would like you sessions to be 50 or 75 minutes, although 75 minutes is recommended for the reprocessing phase of EMDR.

  • Maintenance planning is a crucial phase of therapy. It can be tempting to stop going to therapy as soon as you feel your symptoms lessen but it is important to close out our time together so we can set you up to better cope with any symptoms that you may experience in the future. My goal is to not only help you recover from your current symptoms, but to help you create a toolkit you can use if the need arises. Often times we only need one session for this.