EMDR & Trauma Therapy for the DMV

One therapist licensed in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia — wherever you are that day

I’m Jordan Nodelman, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW, BCD — an EMDRIA-Certified therapist and Approved Consultant, and a Board-Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work. I provide EMDR and trauma-focused psychotherapy by secure video to adults across the DMV.

[Request a consultation →] Click Here

Why licensure in all three jurisdictions matters

Telehealth licensing follows where you are physically sitting during the session — not where your therapist is, and not where you live.

In most of the country that’s a technicality. In the DMV it decides whether your therapist can see you at all. You might live in Silver Spring, work downtown, and spend Thursdays at a client site in Tysons. A therapist licensed only in Maryland can’t legally hold your session on the days you’re in the District. One licensed only in DC can’t see you from home.

I hold independent licenses in Washington DC (LICSW), Maryland (LCSW-C) and Virginia (LCSW). Your session happens wherever you are that day — your home office in Arlington, a parked car in Bethesda, a quiet room on the Hill — and it’s continuous care rather than a scheduling problem.

[Read more: why a multi-jurisdiction license matters in the DMV → Click Here]

Who I work with

The DMV runs on a particular kind of person: capable, driven, discreet, and very good at not showing strain. My practice is built around that person.

Clients come to me from federal agencies and the contracting world, law firms and lobbying shops, Capitol Hill, defense and intelligence, healthcare and research, policy organizations, and the private sector — along with people who’ve simply spent years being the one everyone else relies on.

What usually brings them in isn’t a crisis. It’s that the strategies that built their careers — compartmentalizing, pushing through, staying three steps ahead — have stopped working, or have started costing more than they return.

What I treat

Trauma and PTSD — single events and the accumulated kind. Intrusive memories, hypervigilance, sleep disruption, and the feeling that something from the past is still happening now.

PTSD triggers — present-day cues your body responds to as though the original event were occurring. Triggers aren’t overreactions; they’re a threat-detection system that learned something and was never told it was over. [More on PTSD triggers → Click Here]

Compartmentalized trauma — the experience you sealed away years ago so you could keep functioning, which is now surfacing in a new job, a new relationship, a loss, or a quiet stretch you expected to feel better than it does. [More on compartmentalizing trauma →]

High-functioning anxiety — the kind nobody sees. Constant scanning, difficulty being still, physical symptoms without a medical explanation, and an inner critic that never takes a day off.

Imposter syndrome and negative self-belief — “If they really knew me.” Beliefs like these feel like accurate self-assessment, which is why arguing with them rarely works. [More on imposter syndrome → Click Here]

Burnout and moral injury — especially among people whose work involves decisions with real human consequences, or who have been asked to act against their own values. [More on moral injury → Click Here]

ADHD and the shame of masking — particularly for adults who compensated so well that no one noticed, including them. [More on ADHD and shame → Click Here]

Therapy when your work is confidential

Many people in the DMV assume therapy means describing things they can’t — or legally mustn’t — discuss.

EMDR doesn’t require detailed verbal disclosure. To reprocess a memory, you need to be able to bring it to mind; you don’t need to narrate its contents to me. That’s one of the reasons EMDR is often a better fit than traditional talk therapy for people whose work is classified, privileged or otherwise sensitive. We work with what the experience did to you — the body’s response, the belief it left behind — rather than the operational details.

Other privacy practices I use:

• Private pay is available, so no diagnosis is submitted to an insurer unless you choose to file for reimbursement with a superbill
• Encrypted, HIPAA-compliant video on healthcare-grade platform called HIPAALink
• Flexible and off-hours scheduling for people whose calendars are visible to others

Will therapy affect my security clearance?

This is one of the most common reasons people in the region delay getting help, so it’s worth addressing directly.

According to Department of Defense guidance and my research on this topic (definitely worth checking on your own), seeking mental health care is not, by itself, a reason for a clearance to be denied, and an interim clearance cannot be denied solely because someone answered “yes” to Question 21 on the SF-86. Adjudicators focus on whether a condition impairs judgment or reliability — and official guidance describes seeking treatment as evidence of good judgment, not the opposite.

Question 21 asks about consultations with a health care professional for an emotional or mental health condition in the past seven years. It includes specific exceptions — for example, counseling for marital, family or grief concerns not related to violence by you, for adjustment following service in a military combat zone, and for being a victim of sexual assault.

I’m not a clearance attorney and can’t advise you on your specific situation — your facility security officer or a clearance attorney is the right source for that. But I work with many clients who hold clearances, and I’m glad to talk through practical concerns in an initial consultation.

How EMDR works

EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — is an evidence-based treatment for trauma recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the World Health Organization.

Some memories never finish being processed. Instead of settling into the past, they stay active, carrying their original emotional and physical charge. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation while you hold the memory in mind, which appears to let the brain complete what it couldn’t at the time. The memory remains. What changes is its grip.

What matters as much as the method is how carefully it’s delivered. Most EMDR that goes wrong goes wrong because reprocessing started before the person had the stability to tolerate it. I spend real time on history, formulation and preparation before we reprocess anything, and with complex trauma that groundwork is part of the treatment, not a delay before it.

[How EMDR therapy works → Click Here] · [What to expect in your first session → Click here]

Ways to work together

Weekly individual therapy — 55-minute sessions by secure video. The core of the practice.

EMDR intensives — extended sessions of 90 minutes or longer, scheduled over a shorter span than weekly therapy. They suit people with demanding travel schedules, people who find that a 55-minute session ends just as the work opens up, and people who want to focus deeply over a defined period. Intensives begin with a full assessment, and whether they’re a good fit depends on what we’re treating. [More on EMDR intensives → Click Here]

Concierge care — for highly visible clients who need additional flexibility, privacy and scheduling accommodation. [More on concierge care → Click Here]

Serving the DMV

Sessions are entirely virtual for DMV clients. I regularly work with people in:

Washington DC — Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Navy Yard, Foggy Bottom, Logan Circle, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park

Maryland — Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Rockville, Potomac, Takoma Park, College Park, Annapolis, Baltimore and the rest of the state

Virginia — Arlington, Alexandria, McLean, Tysons, Falls Church, Reston, Fairfax, Vienna, Herndon and the rest of the Commonwealth

[EMDR therapy in Washington DC] · [EMDR therapy in Maryland] · [EMDR therapy in Virginia]

I’m also licensed in Vermont and Florida. [Vermont clients] · [Florida clients]

Frequently asked questions

Can you see me if I live in one DMV jurisdiction and work in another? Yes. I’m independently licensed in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia, so your session can take place wherever you are in the region that day. Telehealth licensure is based on your physical location during the session, which is why single-jurisdiction licensing often doesn’t work in the DMV.

Is online EMDR as effective as in person? For most people, yes. Virtual EMDR uses adapted forms of bilateral stimulation, and roughly three-quarters of my EMDR caseload has been virtual since 2020. Some presentations — significant dissociation in particular — need careful assessment first, which is part of the initial consultation.

Will therapy affect my security clearance? According to Department of Defense guidance, seeking mental health care is not by itself a reason for a clearance to be denied, and adjudicators focus on whether a condition impairs judgment. SF-86 Question 21 includes specific exceptions, such as counseling for marital, family or grief concerns not related to violence, and for being a victim of sexual assault. For advice on your specific situation, consult your security officer or a clearance attorney.

Do I have to tell you details about my work? No. EMDR doesn’t require detailed verbal disclosure of what happened. You need to be able to bring an experience to mind, not describe it. For clients whose work is classified or privileged, that often makes EMDR a better fit than traditional talk therapy.

Do you take insurance? Private pay is available for clients who prefer that nothing is submitted to an insurer, and I can provide a superbill if you want to seek out-of-network reimbursement. See the insurance and FAQ page for current details.

How long does EMDR take? It depends on what we’re treating. A single-incident trauma in an otherwise stable adult can resolve in relatively few reprocessing sessions. Complex or developmental trauma takes longer, mostly because the preparation phase does. I’m wary of anyone who promises a number of sessions before assessing you.

Do you offer in-person sessions in the DMV? No — DMV care is fully virtual. In-person sessions are available only in the Fort Lauderdale, FL area.

About Jordan

I came to clinical social work after a career in private equity and operations, which means I understand the environments many of my clients work in — the pace, the politics, the stakes, and the cost of looking like you have it all together.

• Board-Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD)
• EMDRIA-Certified Therapist and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant
• State-Qualified Supervisor, providing guidance to clinicians earning their licenses and EMDR credentials
• MSW with a trauma concentration, Barry University; undergraduate study at Boston University and Université Grenoble Alpes

Outside the therapy room I’m a street photographer. It’s a practice of noticing — what’s in the frame, what’s just outside it, what changes when you shift your angle a few degrees. I bring the same attention to clinical work.

[More about me]

Get started

If something here sounded familiar, the next step is a short, confidential consultation. You tell me what’s going on; I tell you honestly whether I’m the right fit — and if I’m not, I’ll point you to someone who is.

[Request a consultation]

Nodelman Counseling & Psychotherapy, LLC is not a crisis service. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. 988 is the free, 24-hour US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.