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EMDR for Depression: Overcome the Trauma That Drives Your Symptoms
Rewire your brain to resolve and release painful, traumatic memories—so you can take charge of your depression and take back your life.If you have depression, you may struggle with intense emotions or negative thoughts. You may find everyday tasks overwhelming. And you may feel irritable, sad, or exhausted most days. If you’ve tried to get better, but haven’t found your way, it’s possible that your depression is driven by underlying trauma—and in order to effectively treat your depression you must first address the source. Written by a psychologist and based in cutting-edge eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, this book can help you get started.EMDR for Depression offers a comprehensive approach to help you resolve and release traumatic memories, build a greater sense of confidence and connection, and rediscover hope. You’ll find soothing practices to regulate your nervous system, balance your emotions, and feel more in charge of your life. You’ll also learn mindfulness and self-compassion skills to help you stay in the moment and see yourself—and your experiences—with greater clarity and empathy. Finally, you’ll identify what it is you truly value and care about in life, so you can discover greater meaning, purpose, and fulfillment now and in the future.The strategies taught in this book are also infused with evidence-based techniques from motivational interviewing (MI), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and positive psychology to help you find your way out of the darkness of depression. No matter how hopeless things may seem now, there is a way forward. This book can help light the way.
- GenresMental Health
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2026
About the author
Lara Barbir
1 book2 followersLara Barbir, PsyD, PMH-C is a clinical psychologist, speaker, and founder of Transcendent Therapy, a private practice based in California. She also serves as faculty at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Through her clinical work, teaching, writing, and speaking, Dr. Barbir is on a mission to help individuals heal unresolved emotional patterns and create more emotionally secure future generations. Her work focuses on reparenting, nervous system regulation, and understanding depression through a trauma-informed and attachment based lens.
She specializes in working with high-functioning adults navigating depression, complex trauma (PTSD), anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, particularly during the peri- and postnatal periods, integrating approaches such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and interpersonal psychotherapy.
Prior to founding her private practice, she spent over six years working within the VA healthcare system alongside interdisciplinary medical teams.
Dr. Barbir earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Radford University in Virginia and is the creator of a reparenting-based framework designed to help individuals move from survival mode into emotional security.
Through her clinical work, teaching, writing, and speaking, Dr. Barbir is on a mission to help individuals heal unresolved emotional patterns and create more emotionally secure future generations. Her work focuses on reparenting, nervous system regulation, and understanding depression through a trauma-informed and attachment based lens.
She specializes in working with high-functioning adults navigating depression, complex trauma (PTSD), anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, particularly during the peri- and postnatal periods, integrating approaches such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and interpersonal psychotherapy.
Prior to founding her private practice, she spent over six years working within the VA healthcare system alongside interdisciplinary medical teams.
Dr. Barbir earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Radford University in Virginia and is the creator of a reparenting-based framework designed to help individuals move from survival mode into emotional security.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was an incredibly in-depth look at how EMDR is used to help treat depression, and it was so much more than I expected!
More than just explaining how EMDR works, this book is intended to be used while working alongside an EMDR professional, so you are limited in what you can accomplish on your own. But it's indepth explanations were easy enough for a layperson just learning about EMDR to understand. It also offers many practices that can be done at any time without the help of a practitioner, such as grounding and breathing exercises, or imagining yourself at some future point in your life, and acknowledging how that feels and appears to you. It can also help with identifying triggers and figuring out your "why." I've read a lot of books in this area and was surprised to still find suggestions that were new to me in this book!
While I love the depth to which the instructions go, each chapter ends with a nice summary of the information provided, which I found super helpful. I also loved that it has a complete summary of using EMDR for your depression journey at the end of the book, and takes you briefly through each phase of treatment.
It covers so much more than just EMDR and how it works, including a range of supporting topics such as self-compassion, mindfulness, and easily provides an overall better sense of trauma and how our bodies deal with it. An excellent resource!
More than just explaining how EMDR works, this book is intended to be used while working alongside an EMDR professional, so you are limited in what you can accomplish on your own. But it's indepth explanations were easy enough for a layperson just learning about EMDR to understand. It also offers many practices that can be done at any time without the help of a practitioner, such as grounding and breathing exercises, or imagining yourself at some future point in your life, and acknowledging how that feels and appears to you. It can also help with identifying triggers and figuring out your "why." I've read a lot of books in this area and was surprised to still find suggestions that were new to me in this book!
While I love the depth to which the instructions go, each chapter ends with a nice summary of the information provided, which I found super helpful. I also loved that it has a complete summary of using EMDR for your depression journey at the end of the book, and takes you briefly through each phase of treatment.
It covers so much more than just EMDR and how it works, including a range of supporting topics such as self-compassion, mindfulness, and easily provides an overall better sense of trauma and how our bodies deal with it. An excellent resource!
July 25, 2026
I was very impressed with the level of detail and warmth that Dr. Barbir infused in her book, EMDR for Depression. As a clinician, I see it as an excellent accompaniment for those who are working with a therapist trained in EMDR. Dr. Barbir takes the time to walk through each phase of treatment in an easy-to-read text, holding the reader with great care while anticipating, normalizing, and addressing the inevitable fears and self-doubts that a therapy client might experience on this "road less traveled" to healing and acceptance. I especially liked the sections on "necessary ingredients" and "resource building," which are presented with such clear rationale for their usefulness. They also provide the reader with the tools to build a strong, safe, and stable internal base from which to explore difficult experiences with courage and confidence. Dr. Barbir has done a wonderful job of demystifying the process of EMDR and warmly inviting those who may need it most to find hope and worth in themselves, as well as in EMDR therapy. A perfect read for those who are considering or undergoing EMDR--and clinicians, seasoned or not, will find the book a great resource as well.
December 3, 2025
EMDR for Depression by Dr. Lara Barbir is a valuable, compassionate resource that clearly demystifies EMDR therapy for a lay audience. The book is well-structured and provides excellent evidence-based strategies for managing depression and integrating techniques from other therapies like ACT.
I’m giving it four stars rather than five because, while the self-help strategies are excellent, this book cannot fully replace the safety and expertise of working with a trained EMDR professional to process deep trauma. It’s a superb guide for education and supplemental work, but best used in conjunction with professional therapy. Highly recommended as part of a holistic healing journey!
I’m giving it four stars rather than five because, while the self-help strategies are excellent, this book cannot fully replace the safety and expertise of working with a trained EMDR professional to process deep trauma. It’s a superb guide for education and supplemental work, but best used in conjunction with professional therapy. Highly recommended as part of a holistic healing journey!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I found this to be a well-done introduction to using EMDR to address the roots of your depression. The background information and research noted is thorough and informative and the breakdown of the phases of EMDR is easy to follow. The referenced online exercises will be very helpful when you begin to work through the process. I also appreciated the gentle and encouraging tone of the writing.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews