EMDR Therapy in West Hollywood, CA and Online for California Residents

You can't concentrate at work. Your partner has started calling your name twice before you actually hear it. Every spare minute gets swallowed by your phone, because sitting still with your own thoughts feels unbearable.

At night, it's worse. The scroll turns into doomscrolling, and doomscrolling turns into lying awake running worst-case scenarios on a loop. You wake up tired, drift through the day on autopilot, and do it again tomorrow.

Here's the truth you already suspect: this isn't just stress. It's your history, still running the show.

‍

Somewhere along the way, something happened that never got fully processed. Maybe it was one clear, painful event. Maybe it was years of smaller moments that added up, whether that’s a parent's criticism, a betrayal, a humiliation you never talked about. Either way, it never actually healed. It just got buried.

And buried things don't stay quiet. They shape how you hear feedback at work, how you read your partner's tone, how much of yourself you let people see. If you sit with it for a second, you'll probably notice: that old pain is coloring nearly every relationship you have right now, including the one with yourself.

You don't need another lecture about "processing your feelings." You need your brain to actually finish the job it never got to complete. That's exactly what EMDR does.

‍

EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is one of the most effective treatments out there for healing trauma on a neurological level. I offer it both in person at my West Hollywood office and online throughout California.

Here's the part people love most: unlike traditional talk therapy, you won't have to relive the painful details out loud, over and over, session after session. We don't need to pick the wound open every week for it to heal.

Think of your brain like a filing system. While you sleep, the left-right movement of your eyes helps file the day's experiences away, like saving a document to a folder. Most memories get filed cleanly. Traumatic ones don't. They get stuffed in half-open, spilling out anytime something reminds you of them.

In session, I guide you through calming left-right movements with my fingers, a light bar, or gentle tapping while you hold a difficult memory lightly in mind. That bilateral movement seems to reopen the file and let your brain finally re-save it properly, with the sharp edges sanded down.

Your brain already wants to heal this. It's been trying for a while. EMDR just clears the jam so it can finish what it started. Your only job is to show up. I'll guide the rest.

After EMDR therapy, most clients describe the healed memories as events from the past that no longer hold weight.

You won’t forget what happened. However, it won’t define who you are anymore. Your negative self-talk will fade into the background. Then, you’ll have more peace than you ever imagined.

Most importantly, you’ll leave energized to take back control of your life.

After doing this work, most clients describe their healed memories as things that happened, not things that are happening. You won't forget what you went through. It just stops running your nervous system.

The negative self-talk that used to follow you around such as your internal dialogue screaming to you that "I'm not enough," "I can't trust anyone," "something's wrong with me", starts to quiet down. In its place, you'll find something you may not have felt in a long time: actual peace. Not the fragile kind that one bad day can knock over. The kind that holds.

You'll leave sessions lighter, not heavier. Energized to take your life back, not drained from digging through old pain.

‍

After doing this work, most clients describe their healed memories as things that happened, not things that are happening. You won't forget what you went through. It just stops running your nervous system.

The negative self-talk that used to follow you around such as your internal dialogue screaming to you that "I'm not enough," "I can't trust anyone," "something's wrong with me", starts to quiet down. In its place, you'll find something you may not have felt in a long time: actual peace. Not the fragile kind that one bad day can knock over. The kind that holds.

You'll leave sessions lighter, not heavier. Energized to take your life back, not drained from digging through old pain.

I built my practice around a simple idea: that people, and men especially, carry pressures they never say out loud about work, about relationships, about whether they're actually okay. EMDR is one of my favorite tools for helping that weight finally come off.

In therapy for men, EMDR often unlocks the old moment, a father's disapproval, a public failure, a betrayal that's quietly been steering how a guy shows up at work and at home for decades, without him ever connecting the dots.

In couples work, EMDR helps one or both partners process the individual wounds that keep hijacking present-day arguments, so a disagreement about dishes stops turning into a referendum on whether you're loved.

For LGBTQ+ clients, EMDR offers a way to release the sting of rejection, identity-based trauma, or painful memories tied to coming out, without having to relive the story in detail to feel better.

People come to EMDR Therapy either online, or in-person at my West Hollwood-based practice for a variety of reasons beyond just a single dramatic event. By utilizing the techniques learned in EMDR Therapy, you will have a plan when your anxiety won't quiet down, and panic attacks seemingly come out of nowhere, whether that's due to phobias, grief that's stuck, or performance anxiety that shows up right when it matters most. These relationship patterns trace back to something that happened long before your current partner ever came along and EMDR Therapy will address these root causes.

If there's a specific memory that still gets your heart racing when it crosses your mind, or a feeling you can't quite explain that keeps showing up in your closest relationships, there's a good chance EMDR Therapy from Gavin Cross, LMFT can help you get underneath it.

Yes. EMDR Therapy adapts surprisingly well to secure video sessions. I guide clients through the same bilateral movement using visual cues on screen or self-tapping techniques I walk you through in real time. If you're anywhere in California and can't easily get to West Hollywood, or you'd simply rather do this from home, online EMDR therapy gets you the same process, same results.

There's no couch-and-clipboard energy here. You'll get comfortable, we'll check in, and then I'll guide you into calming bilateral movement while a specific memory or feeling sits gently in the background of your attention. You're not performing or reciting anything. You're just noticing what surfaces, at a pace that respects what you can actually handle that day.

Some sessions feel like a quiet unraveling. Others feel like something clicks into place all at once. Both are the process of working.

People always want a number, so here's an honest one: it depends on what we're untangling. If we're working through a single, well-defined memory, plenty of clients feel real, lasting relief in 6 to 12 weekly sessions. If the pain is older or layered, years of small moments instead of one clear event, it takes longer, because we're working through more than one thread, not because anything's wrong with you or the process.

Either way, you're not signing up for years on a couch. EMDR is built to move. I'll check in with you regularly about what's shifting and what still needs attention, so you always know roughly where you stand and what's realistic to expect next.

Yes. EMDR Therapy adapts surprisingly well to secure video sessions. I guide clients through the same bilateral movement using visual cues on screen or self-tapping techniques I walk you through in real time. If you're anywhere in California and can't easily get to West Hollywood, or you'd simply rather do this from home, online EMDR therapy gets you the same process, same results.

EMDR Therapy from Gavin Cross, LMFT doesn't clock out when the session ends. It's normal to notice a stray memory, a vivid dream, or a shift in mood over the next day or two, as your brain keeps quietly filing things away in the background. That's not a setback. That's the work continuing without you having to do anything.

I'll teach you a few grounding tools early on so you always have something to lean on if a feeling surfaces unexpectedly between appointments. Most people find that after the first handful of sessions, this settles down, and what's left behind is just a calmer relationship with the memory itself, not a new problem to manage.

Healing isn't always a straight line, either. Some weeks feel like a door swinging wide open. Others feel like quiet maintenance. Both are part of the same process: finally finishing something your brain started a long time ago and never got to complete.

You can visit me in West Hollywood online through secure video connection. EMDR Therapy tends to work best with consistency, so most clients start off meeting weekly and adjust from there as things shift.

Before any of that, we start with a free consultation, a low-stakes conversation where you tell me what's going on, I tell you honestly whether EMDR sounds like the right fit, and we both decide if we want to work together. No pressure, no obligation, no awkwardness if it's not a match. Current session rates are shared during that consultation, or you can confirm them anytime through the contact page.

Here's what surprises most people: you don't need a single, dramatic "big-T" trauma to benefit from EMDR. The number one reason clients actually walk through my door isn't a diagnosis, it's everyday anxiety. The tight chest before a work meeting. The spiraling thoughts at 2 a.m. The way you brace for criticism before anyone's even said anything. If that's you, there's almost always an earlier memory or pattern underneath it that EMDR can help you finally put down.

Beyond that, EMDR Therapy tends to be a strong fit if you've got a memory that still runs your heart rate up years later, if talk therapy has left you feeling more raw instead of more free, or if you're tired of understanding your problems intellectually without actually feeling different. You don't need to have a clear label for what happened to you. You just need to be tired of carrying it.

If you're in crisis right now, this page isn't the right resource. Please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or head to your nearest emergency room.

I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #133554). During my clinical internship, I was selected for a track where supervisors coached my technique live from behind a one-way mirror, earningme a Restoration Therapy Level II certification for navigating complicated emotions. I then trained in EMDR, for general anxiety and trauma recovery, and attachment therapy, because old wounds are almost always relational at the root. 

EMDR is backed by serious organizations too, not just my own experience with it. Groups like the EMDR International Association and the American Psychological Association's Society of Clinical Psychology recognize it as an effective trauma treatment. I mention that not to get clinical on you, but because it matters that this isn't a trend, rather it's a tool with real staying power.

You've carried this long enough. The past shaped you, but it doesn't get to run the rest of your life uncontested. Schedule your free consultation and let's find out what's on the other side of it.

Curious about the process before you book? Check out more therapy FAQs or browse the blog for more on healing from trauma, including a closer look at how EMDR and bilateral tapping show up in real relationships.

There's no couch-and-clipboard energy here. You'll get comfortable, we'll check in, and then I'll guide you into calming bilateral movement while a specific memory or feeling sits gently in the background of your attention. You're not performing or reciting anything. You're just noticing what surfaces, at a pace that respects what you can actually handle that day.

Some sessions feel like a quiet unraveling. Others feel like something clicks into place all at once. Both are the process of working.

What is EMDR therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a therapy that helps your brain finally file away painful memories that got stuck, using guided eye movements or tapping, so those memories stop hijacking your present.

Do I have to relive my trauma in detail during EMDR?

No. That's one of the biggest differences between EMDR and traditional talk therapy. You don't have to narrate the painful story out loud over and over. You bring the memory to mind briefly while I guide bilateral movement, and your brain does the rest.

Does EMDR actually work?

Yes. EMDR is recognized as an effective trauma treatment by organizations including the EMDR International Association and the American Psychological Association's Society of Clinical Psychology, and it's one of the tools I rely on most because I've watched it work.

How many sessions of EMDR will I need?

It depends on what we're working through. Some people feel real relief from a single stuck memory in 6 to 12 weekly sessions. Deeper or repeated trauma takes longer, since we're untangling more than one thread.

Can I do EMDR therapy online?

Yes. I offer EMDR both in person at my West Hollywood office and online throughout California, using guided visual movement or tapping techniques adapted for secure video sessions.

What can EMDR help with?

EMDR works equally well across a wide range of issues including trauma, everyday anxiety, panic, phobias, grief, old relationship wounds, and the kind of self-doubt that traces back to a specific painful memory. No single one of these is the primary use case; it's effective across all of them.

EMDR is backed by serious organizations too, not just my own experience with it. Groups like the EMDR International Association and the American Psychological Association's Society of Clinical Psychology recognize it as an effective trauma treatment. I mention that not to get clinical on you, but because it matters that this isn't a trend, rather it's a tool with real staying power.