Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a unique type of therapy in which both sides of your brain are activated. As your brain awakens, your counselor will assist you in observing and comprehending events that have occurred. This will assist you in making sense of and accepting these recollections.

Eye movement can be utilized as a type of treatment for people who suffer from anxiety. According to research, many people’s negative attitudes have been reconstructed and their symptoms have been reduced after successful EMDR therapy.

However, EMDR is about a lot more than just eye movements and memories. It is critical to establish a relationship of trust with your therapist. You will also devise strategies for dealing with major emotions that arise during the process.

This post discusses the cost of EMDR sessions in detail. 

Price Comparison

EMDR therapy costs between $100 to $300 per appointment, with each session lasting no longer than an hour. On the other hand, BetterHelp‘s cost ranges from $60 to $90 per week. Every week, one live session is included. 

The monthly package costs $240 to $360 per month and includes four monthly sessions. Both the plan last around 30 to 45 minutes, whereas, Virtual EMDR is a self-administered EMDR therapy platform. 

 

BetterHelp Virtual EMDR Traditional Therapy
$60 to $90 per week

(One live session)
(30 to 45 minutes)

1 Month Plan

$199 after discount $69

 (1 therapy session)

(Unlimited access to virtual EMDR)

$100 to $300 Per Session
(Up to 1 Hour Sessions)
$240 to $360 per month

(Four live sessions)
(30 to 45 minutes)

3 Months Plan

$399 after discount $149 

(3 months unlimited access to virtual EMDR)

 (Less than $50 per month)

6 Months and Coaching

 $899 after discount $299 

(6 months unlimited access to virtual EMDR)

(1 bonus personal coaching session)

12 Months and Coaching $999 after discount $499 

(12 months unlimited access to virtual EMDR)

(2 bonus personal coaching sessions)

What is EMDR?

Francine Shapiro developed EMDR therapy as an alternative treatment for trauma-related anxiety disorders after traditional conversation therapy failed her patients time and time again.

This technique employs left/right eye movement suggestions that are specifically designed to assist people in breaking up negative thinking linked with their memory or experience.

EMDR is a groundbreaking technique that uses bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, sounds, or tapping to assist the brain in processing and integrating distressing memories.

How Effective is EMDR therapy?

Many of our emotional problems stem from being caught in a particularly painful or traumatic prior experience. The challenging aspect is that you might not even realize you are telling yourself the same old story over and over.

Unprocessed traumatic memories become nestled in your mind. They have the ability to make you feel and act as if you are in the past when triggered. 

This pattern keeps you fixed and prevents you from growing and transforming. Hence, EMDR is used to help you get out of the negative circle you are trapped in.

EMDR therapy is considered to be relatively safe, with far fewer side effects than prescription drugs. Moreover, according to one study conducted in 2012, EMDR therapy helped 77 percent of adults out of the 22 participants with psychotic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

It was discovered that after treatment, their anxiety. delusions, depression, and hallucinations, symptoms were greatly improved. The study also discovered that symptoms did not worsen as a result of treatment.

Online EMDR Session Costs

Online EMDR can be conducted through an online video call with a therapist, or by using a tool to assist the patient through the various phases and steps of the procedure. 

During the virtual or online EMDR session, the same concepts of EMDR are included. This is a more affordable and beneficial way to enter EMDR therapy. We have listed down the two options you can opt for:

BetterHelp

BetterHelp’s online counseling provides a lot of freedom. You and your therapist can decide whether you want several longer sessions or a few shorter ones. 

Every Betterhelp counselor is licensed and trained, with over 1000 hours of work experience and over three years of expertise. 

To avail of their services, you can opt for either their monthly or weekly plan. The weekly plan costs between $60 to $90 per week and includes one live session for 30 to 45 minutes.

On the other hand, the monthly package costs $240 to $360 per month and includes four monthly sessions which last for 30 to 45 minutes. 

Furthermore, you also have the choice to choose from live chat sessions, video calls, or phone calls to open up in the way that feels most comfortable.

Virtual EMDR

VirtualEMDR is a website that offers an EMDR therapy curriculum that is entirely virtual and self-administered. This means that anyone can follow the program and use the tools to finish the therapy sessions without a therapist.

The self-administered EMDR therapy consists of graphics, guidelines, and videos to help the client through the eight stages of EMDR in a sequence. 

Virtual EMDR takes a step-by-step approach to educating the client. This is significant because the therapist is usually in charge of this. Instead of hearing directly from a therapist, you read and watch videos to learn about EMDR protocols and what you need to accomplish.

Moreover, the Virtual EMDR application provides a session worksheet that automatically records sessions. It also tailors your therapy to your specific requirements and offers a support chat option that allows participants to ask questions.

On the other hand, this platform includes an eye movement tool that can be adjusted to meet your specific demands for bilateral stimulation.

The most significant advantage of using Virtual EMDR is that it makes EMDR therapy much more economical. Because EMDR sessions can last up to 12 hours, the total therapist charge might be extremely high.

Virtual EMDR offers four plans, all of which are now offered at a discounted price. The 1-month plan costs $69 dollars which include one therapy session and unlimited access to virtual EMDR.

The 3 months plan cost $149 and offer 3 months of unlimited virtual EMDR access. Whereas, their most popular plan which is the 6 months and coaching plan cost $299. This includes 6 months of unlimited virtual EMDR access as well as one bonus personal coaching session.

Lastly, the 12 months with coaching is $1,499 and includes 12 months of unlimited access to virtual EMDR and 2 bonus personal coaching sessions.

Final Thoughts

EMDR is best known for treating trauma and PTSD. It is also used to treat complicated trauma, depression, anxiety, and other conditions. 

With the help of Virtual EMDR, self-administering EMDR therapy has become easy and for some, it may be a more practical option. 

With the assistance of their EMDR professionals, they have created a robust virtual self-administering EMDR platform that is simple to use and structured similarly to EMDR offered by an in-person therapist.

When compared to the expense of a single session with a licensed therapist, the pricing is really reasonable. Even if your EMDR sessions take a few months to finish, you will have saved a lot of money.

Author

  • Mary-Beth Zolik, M.Ed LMHC

    Mary-Beth is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a M.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Montevallo. Mary-Beth has been in the field of psychology in a variety of roles for the past 20 years.