EMDR Birth Trauma Intensive

Walk into this birth like a participant, not a passenger

Without your last one writing the script

A one-week EMDR intensive for mothers who can't stop replaying their emergency cesarean, to process the impact of their last birth and plan for a VBAC feeling powerful, not panicked.

BOOK YOUR EMDR INTENSIVE CONSULT CALL

You're ready for this birth
to feel different

You want to think about this birth without your last one pulling you under. To plan your VBAC from clarity, not fear. To actually be present for this pregnancy, instead of holding yourself back from getting excited, because last time, it didn't go to plan.

That's exactly what this intensive is built for.

BUT RIGHT NOW...

You're pregnant again. And instead of excited, you're overwhelmed

(or you're just trying to think about getting pregnant again, and you're overwhelmed)

Every appointment. Every conversation about birth plans. Every kick that should feel like connection just pulls you into the what ifs of this next birth going sideways.

Maybe you just feel this low-grade dread when someone asks if you're excited, and you have to fake a smile, because the honest answer is:

I'm terrified

Every appointment. Every conversation about birth plans. Every kick that should feel like connection just pulls you into the what ifs of this next birth going sideways.

Maybe you thought you'd made peace with what happened. And then you see a birth announcement, or your growing belly tugs on your cesarean scar, and suddenly you're back there. Heart pounding.

You can feel yourself holding back, from bonding with this pregnancy, from making plans, from letting yourself want this birth to be different. Because wanting it to be different means admitting how scared you actually are.

You're scared that if you plan for a VBAC and need another cesarean, it will destroy you. That you'll feel like a failure. That this time, you won't come back from it.

You've tried talking about it. Journaling. Maybe even a different type of therapy. And it helped, to a point. But your body still reacts like it could happen again.

And the due date keeps getting closer.

HERE'S WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU

Your nervous system learned that birth was dangerous, and it hasn't had a reason to believe this time will be any different.

You need EMDR

That tightening in your chest when you think about your due date? That's not anxiety you need to manage. That's your nervous system doing its job.

This isn't about convincing yourself your last birth wasn't that bad, or white-knuckling through the rest of this pregnancy hoping the fear lifts on its own. It's about supporting your body to process the pain and fear from your last birth, so that thinking about this one starts to feel different. And eventually, even exciting.

If you're ready for this birth to feel different, you don't need more information, a better birth plan, or more time.

BOOK YOUR EMDR INTENSIVE CONSULT CALL

EMDR works differently

And the intensive format matters, specifically for you.

Most trauma therapy asks you to retell your birth story until it hurts less. EMDR works differently.

Think of your brain like a filing system. When something traumatic happens, the memory doesn't get filed properly. It just stays open, on repeat, setting off the alarm every time something reminds you of it. EMDR helps your brain finally file it away. The memory doesn't disappear. It just stops running in the background.

Why an intensive? The format exists for one reason: you may not have fourteen weeks before your due date, and you may not want to spend a year in therapy before you feel ready to get pregnant again. We condense that work into one focused week, so you have time to integrate before your baby arrives.

JESSICA RITA, MA, CCC

LICENSED THERAPIST · EMDR CLINICIAN · SOMATIC THERAPIST
PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH · CCPA REGISTERED

I specialize in birth trauma and perinatal mental health because I've sat with enough mothers to know that what happens in the operating room doesn't always stay there.

It follows women into this pregnancy. Into every appointment. Into every conversation about their birth plan. And into the quiet terror of wondering whether they can actually go through birth again.

I know this personally. I planned a homebirth. Did all the prep. And then ended up with an emergency cesarean instead. The birth I had imagined and the one that actually happened, there was a big gap between them. And motherhood, which I had pictured as grounded and present, arrived woven with anxiety instead.

I know what it's like to feel completely disconnected from the version of motherhood you thought you were stepping into. And I know what it's like to find your way back to yourself inside it. I also know the particular ache of wanting a VBAC while your nervous system is quietly telling you it might be impossible.

That's exactly why this work exists. Not only to help you walk into this birth feeling more confident, but to support who you get to be on the other side of it. Present. Grounded. Actually there.

WHAT MY CLIENTS EXPERIENCE

They arrive white-knuckling toward their due date. They leave lighter + more confident.

Hopeful, dare I say giddy, as they look toward their next birth. Not because the last birth suddenly makes sense. Not because they've rewritten the story into something easier to tell. But because what happened becomes something they can actually use as information for this birth, rather than just the weight of it.

Their nervous system finally has a reason to stand down. Something settles in the body. Insights arrive that weren't available before.

They can think about the last birth without their chest tightening.

The flashbacks have reduced, or stopped entirely. They've made peace with what happened, not by pretending it was okay, but because their body is no longer running it as a warning.

They trust themselves again. Their instincts. Their body's signals. Their ability to make decisions for themselves and their baby. And they walk into this birth present, not performing confidence they don't feel. Actually there.

Whatever happens in that room, they're okay. If the plan changes, it's not a verdict on them. If they need another cesarean, it's a collaborative decision, not powerlessness, not failure. And if they're planning a VBAC, they're doing it with genuine confidence. Not desperate hope.

WHAT WE DO TOGETHER

Four phases, moving

from root to ready.

01

Understand the whole picture

We map the beliefs running underneath everything, not just about the birth, but about yourself. We trace them back to where they started, so we're not just trimming what's visible. We're getting to the root.

02

Resource

Before we go anywhere near the hard stuff, we build the inner toolkit your nervous system needs to feel safe. We find the beliefs you want to grow, and help your body feel them as a physical experience, not just words on a page.

03

Process

We go to where the memory is actually stored and give your brain what it needs to finally digest what happened. Not retell it. Not relive it. Digest it, so you can think about your last birth without being pulled back into it.

04

Future template

We turn toward the birth you actually want. We imagine it together, work with anything that surfaces, and anchor the confidence and clarity your body needs to carry into that room.

HERE'S WHAT'S INCLUDED

Everything you need to

do this work properly.

01

1:1 Intake Session

80 minutes

We map your goals and build your treatment plan together, where the memory lives, what triggers it, what you most want to walk into this birth feeling. You'll leave with a custom workbook for the week ahead. This session is about building safety. This time, you're not alone in the room.

02

3× 1:1 EMDR Processing Session

5 hours each · Mon / Wed / Fri

Sessions run as two 2.5-hour blocks with a lunch break between. We open with resourcing, then work with how the birth is living in your body right now, the fear, the dread, the way it shows up day to day, and process it at the root. We're not managing symptoms. We're updating the threat assessment.

03

1:1 Integration + Follow-Up Session

80 minutes · 2 weeks after

We close the loop. We check what's shifted, what still needs attention, and prepare you for the birth ahead. You'll know what you actually want, not just what you're trying to avoid.

04

Between-Session Messaging Support

Throughout the intensive

Processing doesn't stop when the session ends. You have direct access to message me if something surfaces, shifts, or feels like too much. You're not navigating the in-between alone.

05

Custom Nervous System Regulation Audio

Made for you

Designed specifically for you, not a template, not a generic meditation. Built around your specific triggers to support your nervous system between sessions, and carry you into your labour, delivery, and postpartum.

BY THE END OF OUR WORK TOGETHER

You will.

  • Think about your last birth without being pulled back into the overwhelm of it.

  • Plan your VBAC from genuine confidence, not desperate hope.

  • Know your triggers, so you can work with them in the moment rather than be ambushed by them.

  • Have the language and confidence to advocate for yourself with your care provider.

  • Make your birth decisions from your own knowing, not your fear.

  • Feel the spaciousness to bond with your baby and be present in this pregnancy.

  • Walk into that room, present. Actually there.

THE INVESTMENT

One week to change how you walk into this next birth

EMDR BIRTH TRAUMA INTENSIVE

$4,000 CAD

  • 1:1 Intake Session, 80 mins

  • 3× 1:1 EMDR Processing Sessions, 5 hrs each (Mon/Wed/Fri)

  • 1:1 Integration + Follow-Up Session, 80 mins

  • Between-session messaging support

  • Custom nervous system regulation audio tracks

This price increases to $5,000 after June 21st. You don't need to complete your intensive before then, book your week for July or August. You just need to confirm your spot before June 21st with a deposit to lock in the $4,000 rate.

The more pressing deadline is your due date. The further along you are, the less runway we have to do this work properly before your baby arrives.

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT BE ASKING

Before you decide.

I'm only in my first trimester. Is it too early?

No. Earlier is often better. The sooner we work with what your nervous system learned from the last birth, the more of this pregnancy you get to actually be present for. If the fear is already here, that means it's the right time.

I'm not sure I even want a VBAC. What if I'm planning another cesarean?

This work isn't about convincing you to have a VBAC. It's about making sure that whatever you choose, you're choosing it from clarity, not fear. Whether you're planning a repeat cesarean or a VBAC, you deserve to walk into that room without your last birth writing the script for this one.

I've already done therapy for this. Why would EMDR be different?

Talk therapy works on the story of what happened. EMDR works on where the memory is actually stored, in your body. If you've done therapy and you can talk about your birth without falling apart, but your body still reacts, heart racing, chest tightening, flashbacks, that's because your nervous system is still running the last birth as a threat. EMDR is designed specifically to work with that.

What if it makes things worse before my birth?

That's exactly why the intensive format matters. We don't crack things open and leave you hanging. The consecutive sessions mean we move through the hard part together, with momentum, and close the loop before your due date. You're not doing this alone, and you're not doing it in a way that leaves you more activated than when we started.

How much time do I need to clear during the intensive week?

Three days, each one five hours of processing time with a lunch break in the middle. The hope is that in between those days, you have spaciousness to care for yourself. To rest, to integrate, to be with what's moving through you. Think of it like a retreat you clear space for, not something you fit around a full schedule.

I'm worried I can't afford this right now.

The first thing worth knowing is that extended benefits coverage is common in Canada, many clients find some or all of their intensive is covered by their extended health benefits, with the remainder covered by their partner's. It's worth checking with your provider, because the out-of-pocket cost may be significantly less than you're expecting. Payment plans are available for the portion that isn't covered.

And here's the bigger picture: this work doesn't just pay off in how you walk into this birth. It pays off in your postpartum, in your bond with your baby, and in the kind of mother you get to be in all the years that come after. That's not a small return.

What if this doesn't work for me?

Although there are no gaurantees, EMDR is one of the most researched and effective treatments for trauma, evidence-based, not experimental. I can't guarantee your specific outcome. What I can tell you is that if you're here, reading this, something is already telling you it's time. I'd love to have a conversation about whether this is the right fit before you commit to anything.

IF YOU'VE READ THIS FAR, YOU ALREADY KNOW

You're not looking for more information.

You're deciding whether you're allowed to want this. Whether it's too much to spend on yourself. Whether you can trust that it will actually work. I can't make that decision for you.

But I can tell you this: you don't have to walk into this birth the way you walked out of the last one. You don't have to spend the rest of this pregnancy with dread as your baseline. You don't have to keep pretending you're fine when your body is telling you it's not.

Your next birth is still ahead of you. Let's make sure you're ready for it.

Jess x

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