EMDR Therapy in Washington DC, Online With an EMDRIA Certified Therapist
EMDR therapy at Life Migration Therapy is with Jamila Kani, LICSW, an EMDRIA Certified Therapist who sees adults by secure video in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Each session runs 75 minutes.
- $315per 75-minute EMDR session
- Free15-minute first call
When you book, choose Jamila Kani as your clinician. Individual EMDR therapy for adults 18 and over. Self-pay, and the practice doesn’t bill insurance.
Who provides EMDR therapy at Life Migration Therapy?
Jamila Kani, LICSW, is the practice’s EMDR therapist, and every EMDR session here is with her.
Jamila is certified by EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association, which is the professional association for EMDR therapists, and she has more than a decade in mental health and trauma care. She’s a licensed clinical social worker in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia, so one clinician can see you in any of the three.
She pairs EMDR with somatic, body-based work, and she has intermediate training in Somatic Experiencing. Somatic work pays attention to what your body and nervous system do when a memory comes up, as well as to the memory itself.
Her focus is sexual trauma and the trauma of living under systemic oppression, and she has deep experience with Black, Brown and LGBTQIA+ adults. You can meet Jamila Kani, LICSW and the rest of the team before you book. The practice was founded by Charika White, LICSW, LCSW-C, whose own sessions are talk therapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy in Washington DC.
What can EMDR therapy help with?
EMDR, short for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is an evidence-based trauma therapy. You hold a painful memory in mind while following short sets of eye movements, taps or tones, and over a series of sessions the memory loses much of its charge.
Trauma and PTSD
Flashbacks, nightmares and a body that stays on alert after something terrible happened.
Sexual trauma
Assault, abuse or coercion, including experiences from years ago that still feel close.
Systemic oppression
Racism, homophobia and anti-immigrant hostility, often a long run of smaller moments.
Anxiety and panic
Panic attacks or constant worry that started after something happened to you.
Depression after trauma
Low mood that set in after an assault, a loss or a frightening stretch of life.
Phobias
A fear tied to one event, like a car crash or a dog bite, that still shapes your day.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is where the research on EMDR is strongest. Cleveland Clinic also lists anxiety, depression and phobias among the conditions clinicians use it for, though the big guideline grades come from PTSD research, so those uses are less settled. Traumatic experiences don’t have to be dramatic to count, either. Repeated humiliation, a frightening childhood or years of feeling unsafe can leave a memory stuck in the same way.
The eight phases, the guideline grades and how EMDR compares with CBT are all covered in what is EMDR therapy. If talk therapy turns out to be the better fit for anxiety, depression or life transitions, Charika sees adults for that at the same practice.
Tell the practice what you’re carrying, in a few lines.
You don’t need to name the trauma here. The practice writes back, typically within 1 to 2 business days, to set up a free 15-minute call about EMDR with Jamila Kani, LICSW, an EMDRIA Certified Therapist. Booking online instead? Choose Jamila Kani as your clinician on the booking form.
Prefer to skip the form? Book your free call directly or call or text 301-244-8219.
Send the practice a message
EMDR for sexual trauma and the trauma of systemic oppression
Jamila focuses on two kinds of trauma that people often carry quietly for a long time.
Sexual trauma has trial evidence behind EMDR. In a 2005 study of 74 people with rape-related PTSD, EMDR and prolonged exposure, one of the most established PTSD treatments, didn’t differ significantly in results. Many people who have spent years not saying what happened out loud also find this part reassuring: Cleveland Clinic notes that EMDR doesn’t require talking in detail about the distressing event. The therapist needs enough to know which memory you’re working on, and that’s it.
The trauma of systemic oppression rarely arrives as one event. It builds from being followed in a store, misgendered at work, questioned about your status, or told you’re too sensitive for noticing any of it. The research on EMDR for oppression-based trauma is early, so the reason to see Jamila for it is fit. With deep experience alongside Black, Brown and LGBTQIA+ adults, she’s less likely to need you to explain why a memory still hurts, and more of the 75 minutes goes to the memory itself.
What does EMDR therapy in Washington DC cost?
An EMDR session with Jamila costs $315 for 75 minutes, paid directly by you.
Life Migration Therapy is self-pay and doesn’t bill insurance. EMDR is priced on its own, separate from the $210 rate for a talk therapy session, because each EMDR session runs longer. Whether a superbill or a reduced fee applies to EMDR is a question to ask on the free call.
Every fee the practice charges, with how superbills work for its other services, is listed under self pay mental health services.
How do I get started with EMDR?
The first step is a free 15-minute call to speak with the clinician and see if it’s a good fit, before anything is paid.
Book the free call
Schedule a consultation online and choose Jamila Kani as your clinician, or send a message first. You don’t have to share what happened to book it.
Have your intake
If EMDR fits, the first paid appointment is a $250 intake about your history and what you want to work on.
Start EMDR sessions
Sessions with Jamila run 75 minutes on video. EMDR’s early phases build coping skills before any memory work begins.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
The number of sessions depends on what you’re working on, and the practice doesn’t put a timeline on healing. For PTSD, the VA and Department of Defense’s 2023 guideline says EMDR and the other leading trauma therapies typically take 10 to 12 weekly sessions of 60 or 90 minutes. That’s the guideline’s published figure for PTSD in general. Cleveland Clinic expects longer-term trauma to take eight to 12 sessions or more, and trauma that built up over years can need more time in the preparation phase before processing starts.
How does online EMDR therapy work?
Online EMDR therapy is the same structured treatment, delivered over secure video while you sit somewhere private.
A session moves between short sets of bilateral stimulation and brief check-ins. Bilateral stimulation means stimulating both sides of the body in turn, with eye movements, taps or tones. You bring up the target memory, follow a set, then pause while the therapist asks what you’re noticing: a feeling, a thought, a body sensation. Then you go again.
The VA and Department of Defense recommend secure video for trauma-focused therapies like EMDR when the therapy has been validated for video or other options aren’t available. A 2026 chart review of 279 veterans found no difference in completion between telehealth and face-to-face EMDR, though the face-to-face group improved somewhat more. Every session at Life Migration Therapy is held by secure video.
Which form of bilateral stimulation Jamila uses on a video call, and what happens if the connection drops partway through, are both good questions for the free call. As with any online therapy, you’ll need to be in a state where your therapist is licensed during each session, which for Jamila means Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia. From Capitol Hill to Columbia Heights, a laptop and a door that closes are the whole setup.
Questions about EMDR therapy in DC.
How much does EMDR therapy cost per session in Washington DC?
EMDR therapy at Life Migration Therapy costs $315 per 75-minute session with Jamila Kani, LICSW, paid directly by you. New clients have a $250 intake appointment first, and the 15-minute call before that is free. Every fee is self-pay, and the practice doesn’t bill insurance.
Is EMDR therapy legit?
EMDR is a legitimate, evidence-based treatment for PTSD, and the major clinical guidelines include it. The VA and Department of Defense’s 2023 PTSD guideline grades it Strong for, alongside cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure. In 2023 the World Health Organization made a conditional recommendation based on low-certainty evidence, and the APA’s 2025 guidance lists EMDR among its suggested interventions.
Can EMDR be done online?
EMDR can be done online over secure video, and every EMDR session at Life Migration Therapy is online. The VA and Department of Defense recommend secure video for trauma-focused therapies like EMDR when the therapy has been validated for video or other options aren’t available, and a 2026 chart review of 279 veterans found no difference in completion between telehealth and face-to-face EMDR.
Do you have to talk about the trauma in EMDR?
EMDR doesn’t require a detailed account of the trauma. You hold the memory in mind during short sets of eye movements, taps or tones, and between sets you say in a few words what you’re noticing. The early sessions, and the end of each session, are more conversational.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
The number of EMDR sessions depends on what you’re working on, and Life Migration Therapy doesn’t put a timeline on healing. As published guidance, the VA and Department of Defense guideline says EMDR and the other leading PTSD therapies typically take 10 to 12 weekly sessions. Cleveland Clinic expects longer-term trauma to take eight to 12 sessions or more.
Who is the EMDR therapist at Life Migration Therapy?
The EMDR therapist at Life Migration Therapy is Jamila Kani, LICSW, an EMDRIA Certified Therapist licensed in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. She works one on one with adults 18 and over and pairs EMDR with somatic, body-based work.
Do I have to be in Washington DC for online EMDR?
You need to be physically in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia during each online EMDR session, because those are the three places Jamila Kani, LICSW, is licensed. You can join from home or any private room in those three places.
Can I use insurance for EMDR at Life Migration Therapy?
Life Migration Therapy doesn’t bill insurance for EMDR or for any other service, because the practice is self-pay. Whether a superbill or a reduced fee is available for EMDR sessions is a question to ask on the free 15-minute call.
Is EMDR better than CBT?
EMDR hasn’t been shown to be better than CBT overall. For PTSD, the VA and Department of Defense give EMDR the same top grade as cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure, and a 2026 trial of 89 adults found remote EMDR and CBT worked about equally well overall. Talk therapy and CBT at the practice are with its founder, Charika White, LICSW, LCSW-C.
Does EMDR work for sexual trauma?
EMDR has trial evidence for PTSD after sexual assault. In a 2005 study of 74 people with rape-related PTSD, EMDR and prolonged exposure didn’t differ significantly in results. You also don’t have to describe what happened in detail, and sexual trauma is one of the two areas Jamila Kani, LICSW, focuses on.
What does pairing EMDR with somatic work mean?
Pairing EMDR with somatic work means paying attention to what your body and nervous system do when a memory comes up, as well as to the memory itself. Jamila Kani, LICSW, works this way and has intermediate training in Somatic Experiencing.
Start with a free 15-minute call.
Ask about the $315 sessions, the intake or how EMDR works on video, then decide whether to book with Jamila.
