EMDR Therapy in Minnesota
The substance was never the whole problem for many clients, so NorthStar Regional uses EMDR therapy in Minnesota on the trauma underneath. EMDR helps the brain file traumatic memories as the past, so they lose their power without losing their facts. You do not have to relive the memory or retell the story in detail, and you stay in control. Trained clinicians provide EMDR in our residential and outpatient programs and at our Shakopee clinic. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and no trauma diagnosis is required.
EMDR at a glance
History and preparation
You and your therapist map what needs reprocessing. You also build the grounding skills you’ll use during sessions.
Reprocessing sessions
Brief sets of guided eye movements while you notice what surfaces, with rest between sets.
Integration
The memory becomes less painful session by session. The rest of your treatment gets easier, because the trauma behind the substance use is less intense.
Inpatient Rehab
Trauma work at the residential level. Here, safety and a stable setting let you go deeper into the work.
Licensed Treatment Programs
Founded 2015
Addiction and mental health care in one system
Multiple Campuses
Across the Twin Cities metro
MN Department of Health: Licensed
MN Department of Human Services: Licensed
Understanding the therapy
What EMDR Does
The brain does not process traumatic memories the way it handles other memories. Instead of feeling like something in the past, they keep coming back as if they were happening right now. You feel the racing heart, the shame, the need to make it stop. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) uses guided eye movements or other back-and-forth attention while you briefly revisit the memory. That lets the brain finally process it again and file it as past.
You don’t relive it. You don’t have to tell it in detail, and you stay in control throughout. Over sessions, the memory keeps its facts and loses its power. The American Psychological Association and the VA recognize EMDR for PTSD. It is the therapy our clients ask about most, because it works on the things people came here to stop drinking over.
Is this right for you?
Signs You Need Trauma Treatment
EMDR is designed to treat trauma. If several of these signs sound like your life lately, it’s worth asking whether EMDR could help.
The Past Feels Present
Some memories feel like they’re happening all over again. Your heart races, dread sets in, and you need it to stop right now.
You Drink or Use to Quiet Something Specific
You drink or use to shut off one particular feeling or memory. When that’s the reason, trauma is often behind it.
You Can’t Rest at Night
You have nightmares, wake up at 3am, or dread going to bed at all. Night is when you feel least able to protect yourself.
You Plan Your Life Around Triggers
You avoid certain places and brace yourself for certain dates. A smell or sound can throw off an ordinary afternoon.
When Talking Isn’t Enough Anymore
You’ve told the story many times, and it still has a hold on you. EMDR is designed to help in exactly that situation.
Your Body Reacts Even When Your Mind Doesn’t
You startle easily, your muscles never fully relax, or you shut down in the middle of a conversation. These are physical signs of trauma, even when you try not to think about it.
If even a few of these sound like you, that is reason enough to call. You don’t need to be certain, and you don’t need a diagnosis. A comprehensive assessment will sort out where this fits in your care. Reading this for someone you love? Start with our guide for parents or our guide for spouses and partners.
How It Helps
EMDR for Trauma, Addiction, and Mental Health
At NorthStar Regional, EMDR isn’t an add-on. It is a working part of dual diagnosis care. Trauma drives substance use, substance use makes trauma worse, and depression and anxiety often come with both. EMDR treats the root cause while the rest of your program treats the pattern, in the same plan, by the same team.
For Addiction
Every substance we treat is explained on its own page, from the first assessment through sober living.
For Mental Health
At designated NorthStar Regional programs, these conditions are treated together with addiction as co-occurring care, in one plan. Standalone mental health treatment, no substance use diagnosis needed, is available through our outpatient clinic in Shakopee.
What to expect
What an EMDR Course Looks Like
The clinical manual lists eight phases. Three of them matter most to you.
History and Preparation
You and your therapist map what needs reprocessing. You also build the grounding skills you’ll use during sessions. Nothing gets touched before you’re ready.
Reprocessing Sessions
Brief sets of guided eye movements while you notice what surfaces, with rest between sets. Sessions are structured, contained, and paced by you.
Integration
The memory becomes less painful session by session. The rest of your treatment gets easier, because the trauma behind the substance use is less intense.
Where You'll Find It at NorthStar Regional
EMDR at Every Level of Care
EMDR is part of the program you’re already in, so you don’t need a referral somewhere else.
Residential
Inpatient Rehab
Trauma work at the residential level. Here, safety and a stable setting let you go deeper into the work.
Outpatient
Intensive Outpatient and Virtual IOP
EMDR alongside group work, in person or from home.
Mental Health
Outpatient Mental Health
Our outpatient clinic in Shakopee offers EMDR. You don’t need an existing diagnosis to contact us.
Treatment Options
Explore Our Addiction and Mental Health Therapies and Services
Recovery rarely rests on one method. Below are the addiction and mental health therapies and services at NorthStar Regional. Each has its own page. Your comprehensive assessment, the full evaluation that sets your plan, decides which mix of therapies your plan starts with.
The therapies
The standalone services
Who's behind the work
About NorthStar Regional
NorthStar Regional is Minnesota’s treatment system built around access: alcohol and drug treatment centers and mental health care across multiple Twin Cities metro locations. Founded in 2015, we provide one connected continuum: detox (withdrawal management), residential, outpatient, mental health, and a sober housing pathway. Separate men’s and women’s campuses, co-occurring care at designated programs, and no faith requirement set us apart. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and if you are uninsured, our admissions team helps you through enrollment. A person can walk in with nothing and leave with everything they need to build a life.
Paying for Care
Insurance and Payment Options
Our team helps review your benefits and handles the paperwork with you. If you have no insurance, we help walk you through enrolling for benefits. County case managers, probation officers, hospitals, and crisis teams send clients to us because, in their words, we just get it done.
Insurance and State Funding
Commercial plans, Medical Assistance (Medicaid), county placements, and private pay. We verify benefits and handle the paperwork with you.
We Are Here to Help
We help review your benefits, find your right starting point, and schedule you for the same day or the next whenever possible. Then we pick you up anywhere in the Twin Cities metro.
How Admission Works
What Happens From Your First Call to Your First Night
You did the hard part when you picked up the phone. Here is exactly what happens next, so nothing about day one is a mystery.
You Call and a Real Person Answers
A real person answers, usually within seconds, and asks one short question: substance use, or mental health? There is no phone tree, and you don’t have to tell your life story. We ask only what we need and handle the rest.
We Help with the Details
Our team helps review your benefits, and a short screening covers withdrawal risk, medical needs, and mental health, so you land at the right level of care. Then we schedule you, same day or next day whenever possible.
We Pick You Up
You get reminder calls and texts before pickup. For residential, your admissions coordinator and your driver also call you together, so you know who’s coming, what car to look for, and when to expect them. Many of our drivers are in long-term recovery themselves, and yours will help with your bags.
A Real Person Meets You When You Arrive
Your driver walks you inside and introduces you by name to the team member waiting for you. Your intake team completes your application with you. If you’re hungry, there’s a meal waiting. From there, treatment starts, and we help take care of the logistics along the way.
“The client has done the hard work by picking up the phone. We will carry them the rest of the way.”
Sarah Roy, Executive Vice President
Reviews from Google
Why Clients Choose NorthStar Regional
Don’t just take our word for it. Here is what alumni say about their time in treatment.
Keep reading
Related Articles and Resources
Resources
Before You Call
How admissions works, guides for families, and the forms you can complete early. More resources are linked throughout the site, or contact admissions and we’ll send anything by email.
Questions we hear every day
Common Questions About EMDR
What is EMDR therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a structured therapy, proven by research. It helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they stop driving daily life. You follow guided eye movements or another back and forth cue. This lets you go back to the memory safely until it loses its charge.
Does EMDR really work?
Yes. It’s one of the most studied trauma therapies there is. The American Psychological Association and the VA both recognize it for PTSD treatment. It doesn’t erase memories, but it changes what they do to you.
How does EMDR relate to addiction?
For many of our clients, substance use grew around trauma: the drink or the drug was the only thing that quieted it. Treating the addiction without treating the trauma leaves the cause of the substance use untreated. EMDR reaches trauma that talk therapy alone often cannot, so it is built into our treatment programs, not offered on the side.
What does an EMDR session feel like?
Structured and surprisingly calm. You don’t have to narrate every detail of what happened; your therapist guides brief sets of eye movements while you notice what comes up, then you rest and report. You stay in control the whole time.
How many sessions does EMDR take?
It depends on the history being treated: some people feel a shift in a handful of sessions, while complex trauma takes longer. Your therapist sets expectations at the start and adjusts as you go.
Who provides EMDR at NorthStar Regional?
Trained EMDR clinicians on our mental health team. It’s offered inside residential and outpatient programs. It is also offered through our outpatient mental health clinic.
Do I need a trauma diagnosis to get EMDR?
No. If trauma is part of your story, formally diagnosed or not, EMDR can be part of your plan. Your comprehensive assessment sorts out where it fits.
Will insurance cover EMDR?
Coverage depends on your plan, the service, eligibility, and authorization requirements. Our team helps review your benefits and available payment options. Benefits verification is not a guarantee of payment.
Admissions
Make the First Call and We'll Take It from There
Confidential, no obligation, and answered by someone who knows what you’re facing and cares to listen.