The Landscape of Trauma Therapy Has Shifted
The after-effects of trauma are all-encompassing. Living in fear, feeling anxious, dealing with flashbacks that appear without warning — these aren't character flaws or signs of weakness. They're the nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do: protect you from something it learned was dangerous.
If you're struggling, please know you're not alone — and that the world of trauma therapy has made significant advances in the last two decades. We understand more about how trauma lives in the brain and body than we ever have. And two of the most effective newer methods are Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
They're often mentioned in the same breath — but they're quite different in what they were designed for, how they work, and what they ask of you. One important thing to understand upfront: RTT was not developed as a trauma therapy. It was designed as a subconscious belief-change modality — for anxiety, depression, self-worth, habits, phobias, relationship patterns. But because it always goes to the root cause scenes where those patterns formed, it ends up working with trauma — big T or little T — almost every single time. In many ways, that's exactly why it's so powerful: it finds the wound that EMDR would only reach if you already knew it was there.
How the Traumatized Brain Actually Works
Before comparing the two methods, it helps to understand what both are trying to do — because they're solving the same underlying problem from different directions.
Think of your brain as a massive filing system. Every experience you have gets processed and stored in the appropriate place — this mostly happens during REM sleep. Your brain is extraordinarily organized, and it needs everything filed correctly to function well.
A traumatic experience arrives that the brain doesn't know how to categorize. It's too intense, too confusing, or too threatening to process normally.
Rather than leaving it unprocessed, the brain shoves it into the closest available drawer — but it doesn't quite fit. The drawer can't fully close.
That half-open drawer keeps disrupting everything around it. Future experiences — relationships, safety, self-worth — get filtered through the unresolved file.
Both RTT and EMDR go back to that stuck file. Their goal is the same: refile it correctly so it stops popping up and interfering with daily life. How they do it is very different.
Where They Came From
Developed over 35 years of working with thousands of clients worldwide. Peer combined hypnotherapy with elements of psychotherapy, NLP, IFS, and CBT to create a comprehensive method that could address a wide range of challenges — not just trauma — with significant speed. RTT practitioners complete approximately 350 hours of training.
Discovered almost accidentally — psychologist Francine Shapiro noticed that the bilateral eye movement of her evening walks was helping her process the distress of a difficult divorce. She began experimenting with it in her practice, saw significant results, and developed EMDR specifically for trauma treatment. Certification requires ~40 hours of training plus a master's degree in mental health.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It uses bilateral stimulation — typically side-to-side eye movements — to activate both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously. The theory is that this recreates the natural reprocessing that happens during REM sleep, allowing the traumatic memory to be reorganized and stored correctly.
You remain fully conscious throughout. EMDR works best when you can identify a specific memory, image, or event you want to reprocess — and it was designed specifically for trauma, PTSD, and anxiety rooted in defined experiences.
The process unfolds across eight structured stages:
The 8 Stages of EMDR
A typical EMDR treatment plan involves 6–12 sessions, 60–90 minutes each, scheduled once or twice weekly.
The Hypnotherapy Side: RTT and Beyond
RTT — Rapid Transformational Therapy — is my primary certification and the foundation of how I work. It combines hypnotherapy with elements of psychotherapy, NLP, CBT, and Internal Family Systems to work directly at the subconscious level, where most emotional patterns are actually stored. It was developed by Marisa Peer over 35 years of practice with thousands of clients, and it's genuinely exceptional.
It's worth being precise about what RTT actually is, because it's often mischaracterized. RTT is not officially classified as a trauma therapy. It's a subconscious belief-change modality — designed for things like anxiety, depression, self-worth, habits, phobias, and relationship patterns. It doesn't have the same body of peer-reviewed clinical research that EMDR does for PTSD specifically, and it's not recognized as a standard trauma protocol in mainstream psychology.
And yet — in practice, it works with trauma almost every single session. Here's why: RTT always regresses the client back to the root cause scenes that are driving the pattern. Those scenes are almost always formative emotional wounds — sometimes big T trauma, sometimes the quieter, ordinary moments that carried enormous weight for a child's mind. The method doesn't set out to find trauma. It sets out to find the origin of a belief. And the origin is almost always some version of pain.
This is, I think, why it's so powerful for people who've struggled to make progress with other approaches. EMDR goes where you point it. RTT lets the subconscious lead — and the subconscious always goes where it needs to go.
I also want to be honest that I don't always stick rigidly to the RTT structure. Over years of practice, I've expanded my toolkit — every person, every issue, and every session is different. What I do is best described as advanced clinical hypnotherapy, with RTT as the backbone and a broader range of methods available when the session calls for them.
The full version of this work — strategy session, deep-dive hypnotherapy, custom daily audio, and ongoing support — is what I call the Rapid Healing Immersion. Most clients who come to me for trauma or deep pattern work engage in the Immersion, and most see significant results within 30 days.
Side by Side
| Dimension | EMDR | Ellen's Approach (Clinical Hypnotherapy) |
|---|---|---|
| Level of mind | Conscious — you remain fully aware | Subconscious — accessed through hypnotic state |
| Requires known trauma | Yes — works best with a specific identifiable event | No — the subconscious finds the root itself |
| Mechanism | Bilateral eye movement reprocesses stuck memory via REM simulation | Regression to root scene, belief update, subconscious reprogramming |
| Scope | Designed primarily for trauma and PTSD | Anxiety, depression, self-worth, habits, phobias, relationship patterns — and inadvertently, trauma almost every session |
| Typical sessions | 6–12 sessions, weekly | Significant results within 30 days (Rapid Healing Immersion) |
| Practitioner training | ~40 hrs + master's degree in mental health | ~350 hrs of dedicated hypnotherapy training |
| Self-worth & identity | Addressed indirectly through coping and belief installation | Central to the process — directly targeted in every session |
What Each Does Best
Which One Is Right for You?
There's no universally correct answer — but there are meaningful differences that make one a better fit depending on your situation. Here's how to think about it:
Consider EMDR if…
- You have a clearly identified traumatic event or events you want to process
- Your challenges are specifically related to that trauma — not a broader pattern
- You prefer to remain fully conscious and in analytical control throughout
- You're working within a traditional mental health framework
- You want a treatment with extensive mainstream clinical research behind it
Consider Ellen's approach if…
- You're not sure what's driving your patterns or symptoms
- You've tried talk therapy and feel like you're circling the same ground
- Your challenges go beyond a single event — anxiety, self-worth, identity, depression
- You want to work at the subconscious level where the patterns actually live
- You want meaningful results faster than a multi-month treatment plan
Ellen's perspective
I have deep respect for EMDR. It's a well-researched, effective method and for the right person with the right presentation, it can be genuinely powerful. But in my practice, the majority of clients I see fall into a particular category: they've often already done significant work — therapy, sometimes including EMDR — and something still hasn't shifted.
What I consistently find is that the root of most emotional patterns is not the obvious traumatic event. It's usually something quieter — a moment earlier in life when a child's mind drew a conclusion that became the blueprint for everything that followed. Hypnotherapy finds that moment. And when we update it at the subconscious level, the change is often faster and more complete than anything the conscious mind could produce.
If you're not sure which is right for you, a free consultation is the honest place to start. I'll tell you directly what I think will actually help.
Important Considerations Before You Choose
Regardless of which method you're considering, the most important variable is the practitioner — not the modality. A good method in the wrong hands can be ineffective or, in sensitive cases, destabilizing. Before working with anyone, it's worth honestly assessing:
- Their depth of training and experience. How many hours of formal training do they have? How many sessions have they guided? These aren't bureaucratic questions — they're the difference between someone who has genuinely seen a wide range of presentations and someone who hasn't.
- Whether you trust them and feel safe. The therapeutic relationship matters enormously in subconscious work. If something feels off, listen to that. You should feel genuinely comfortable and held before going anywhere deep.
- Their practical and personal experience. The best practitioners have done their own deep work. Understanding what it feels like from the inside changes how skillfully you hold the space for others.
The modality is the vehicle. The practitioner is the driver. Choose both carefully.
When hypnotherapy may not be appropriate
Regressive hypnotherapy is a powerful process — and powerful processes require careful screening. There are certain presentations where this work is not recommended or requires significant modification:
If any of these apply to you, please disclose them during a consultation — a good practitioner will appreciate the honesty and give you an honest assessment of whether this work is appropriate, and if so, how it would need to be modified.
Ready to explore? Book a free 45-minute consultation with Ellen here.