Can a therapist see me if I live in Virginia but work in DC or Maryland?

Only if the therapist is licensed where the client is physically located during the session, since telehealth licensure follows the client's location rather than their home address. Jordan Nodelman is independently licensed in Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland, so sessions can take place wherever the client is that day.

Is online EMDR as effective as in-person EMDR?

For most clients, yes. Virtual EMDR uses adapted forms of bilateral stimulation and has comprised roughly three-quarters of this practice's EMDR caseload since 2020. Significant dissociation is the main presentation warranting careful assessment before proceeding virtually.

Is EMDR recommended by the VA for military and veteran PTSD?

Yes. EMDR is among the treatments specifically recommended by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for post-traumatic stress disorder, supported by a substantial evidence base in military and veteran populations.

How can I find an EMDR therapist in rural Virginia?

Specialist trauma care is scarce across much of rural Virginia, and virtual therapy removes the distance barrier. Online EMDR requires only a private space, a reliable internet connection and a device, and allows clients anywhere in the Commonwealth to work with an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant.

How much does EMDR therapy cost in Virginia?

The intake session is $250 and ongoing 60-minute sessions are $225. Some commercial insurance is accepted; the current list is maintained on the practice's insurance and FAQ page. Superbills for out-of-network reimbursement and private pay are also available.

EMDR Therapy in Virginia

Q: How long does EMDR therapy take?

It depends on what is being treated. A single-incident trauma in an otherwise stable adult may resolve in relatively few reprocessing sessions. Complex or developmental trauma takes considerably longer, largely because the preparation phase does.

Online trauma and PTSD treatment across the Commonwealth — from an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant

I’m Jordan Nodelman, LCSW, BCD — an EMDRIA-Certified therapist and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant, licensed to practice in Virginia. I work with clients anywhere in the Commonwealth by secure video.

I’m also licensed in Washington DC and Maryland, which matters more in this state than in most. More on that below.

[Request a consultation → Click Here] · Call 754-946-6600

Specialist care, wherever in Virginia you are

Virginia is not one market. It’s Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, Southside and the far Southwest — and the distribution of specialist mental health care across those regions is deeply uneven.

If you live in Arlington you have more therapists per square mile than almost anywhere in America. If you live in Wise County, Danville, or much of Southside, finding a clinician who is EMDRIA-certified — let alone an Approved Consultant — may mean a drive of several hours, if the option exists at all.

Virtual therapy isn’t a lesser version of care for those clients. It’s frequently the only way to reach this level of specialization. Roughly three-quarters of my EMDR caseload has been virtual since 2020, and the outcomes are comparable for most presentations.

You need a private space, a reliable connection, and a device. That’s it.

If you work in DC or Maryland

Virginia’s northern corner is a commuter region, and that creates a problem most people don’t discover until it’s inconvenient.

Telehealth licensure follows where you are physically located during the session — not where you live. A therapist licensed only in Virginia cannot legally see you from your desk in the District, or from a meeting in Bethesda. For someone who crosses the river daily, that restricts therapy to evenings and weekends.

I hold independent licenses in Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland, so your session happens wherever you are that day — and your care survives a move across the river.

[More on why multi-jurisdiction licensing matters in the DMV → Click Here] · [EMDR therapy in Arlington → Click Here]

Military, veteran and military-connected Virginians

Virginia has one of the largest military and veteran populations in the country. Naval Station Norfolk is the largest naval station in the world. Add the Pentagon, Quantico, Fort Belvoir, Langley, Oceana, the Newport News shipyards and the enormous defense contracting sector, and a very large number of Virginians are active duty, veterans, DoD civilians, contractors, or someone’s spouse, parent or child.

EMDR is among the treatments specifically recommended by the Department of Veterans Affairs for PTSD. That reflects a substantial evidence base with exactly this population.

What comes up:

Combat and deployment-related trauma — including in people who’ve been told they’re fine because their experience doesn’t match what they think PTSD is supposed to look like
Moral injury — the specific damage of having done, witnessed or been ordered into something that violated your own moral code. Burnout improves with rest. Moral injury doesn’t, which is why people carrying it so often conclude the problem is them. [More on moral injury → Click Here]
Military sexual trauma, which is under-reported, under-treated, and frequently carried for years before anyone asks
The transition out — losing structure, mission and identity at once, and discovering that civilian life doesn’t come with a chain of command
Military spouses — repeated relocations, interrupted careers, solo parenting through deployments, and a role that demands endless adaptability while rarely asking how you’re doing
Shipyard, first responder and public safety work — repeated exposure that accumulates rather than resolving

On security clearances. According to Department of Defense guidance, 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 of a “yes” to SF-86 Question 21. Adjudicators are concerned with whether a condition impairs judgment — and official guidance treats seeking care as evidence of good judgment. I’m not a clearance attorney; your facility security officer is the right source for your circumstances.

Northern Virginia

Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Fairfax, Loudoun.

The densest concentration of federal, intelligence, defense and contractor employment in the Commonwealth, alongside a large and growing technology sector. Also the most educated population in the country — which produces a particular kind of imposter syndrome in people who are objectively excellent and surrounded by people who are also objectively excellent.

Hampton Roads

Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk.

Military and maritime, with everything that follows: deployment cycles, family separation, shipyard and industrial work, and a regional culture where endurance is the expected response to difficulty. A lot of people here have been managing something for a very long time without calling it anything.

Richmond and Central Virginia

State government, VCU and its health system, law, finance and a fast-growing professional sector. The pressures look more like DC’s than like Hampton Roads’ — high stakes, high visibility, and an expectation of composure.

Charlottesville, Blacksburg and the university towns

Academic environments run on a specific fuel: perpetual evaluation, unstable funding, and the sense that you’re one bad review away from being found out. Graduate students, faculty and postdocs are among the most reliably anxious populations I work with, and among the least likely to think their distress qualifies as a real problem.

The Shenandoah Valley, Southside and Southwest Virginia

Winchester, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Danville, Bristol, and the counties between them.

This is where virtual care matters most. Specialist trauma treatment is genuinely scarce across much of rural Virginia, and the distances are real. If you’ve been told the nearest EMDR therapist is two hours away, or that the waitlist is six months, a virtual specialist isn’t settling.

What I treat

PTSD and complex trauma — single incidents, and the accumulated developmental kind that never had a name.

PTSD triggers — a sound, a smell, a date, and your body responds as though it’s happening now. Not an overreaction: a threat-detection system that learned something and was never told it was over.

High-functioning anxiety — invisible from outside. Constant scanning, difficulty being still, physical symptoms with no medical explanation.

Imposter syndrome and negative core beliefs — “I’m not enough,” “if they really knew me.” These feel like accurate self-assessment, which is why arguing with them fails.

Compartmentalized trauma — sealed away so you could keep functioning, and now surfacing.

Burnout and moral injury.

ADHD and the shame of masking — especially in adults who compensated well enough that nobody noticed, including them.

Survivors of sexual violence and childhood abuse, with careful, paced work.

Why a specialist

Most therapists who list EMDR completed a basic training. That’s the entry point, not the ceiling.

I’m an EMDRIA-Approved Consultant — credentialed to train and certify other EMDR clinicians, which is how therapists earn EMDRIA certification — and a Board-Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work.

EMDR is an eight-phase treatment, and most of what goes wrong goes wrong in the first two. Reprocessing begun before the person could tolerate it. Targets sequenced by chronology rather than by charge. Dissociation missed at intake. Looping mistaken for resistance. A significant part of my professional work is helping other clinicians untangle exactly those cases.

If you’ve tried EMDR and it didn’t go the way you hoped, that history is useful information, not a verdict.

Fees and insurance

Intake session: $250. A longer first appointment to take history, understand what’s happening, and decide together whether I’m the right clinician.

Ongoing sessions: $225 for 60 minutes.

I accept some commercial insurance — the current list is on the insurance and FAQ page, since participation changes. Superbills are available for out-of-network reimbursement, and private pay is always an option for clients who’d rather nothing be submitted to an insurer.

Most therapy hours are 45 or 50 minutes. EMDR reprocessing doesn’t reliably fit in that, and stopping someone mid-processing to watch the clock is poor practice. The full hour is a clinical decision.

Serving all of Virginia

Sessions are virtual, so I work with clients throughout the Commonwealth:

Northern Virginia — Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, McLean, Tysons, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Fairfax, Leesburg, Ashburn Hampton Roads — Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Hampton, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg Central Virginia — Richmond, Petersburg, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg Shenandoah Valley — Winchester, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Front Royal Southwest and Southside — Roanoke, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, Danville, Bristol, Abingdon

Also across [Washington DC →] and [Maryland →]. [More on the DMV practice →]

Frequently asked questions

Do you have an office in Virginia? No. Virginia clients are seen virtually by secure video. In-person sessions are available only in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area.

Can you see me if I live in Virginia but work in DC or Maryland? Yes. I’m independently licensed in all three, so your session can take place wherever you are that day. Telehealth licensure follows your physical location, which catches a lot of Northern Virginia commuters by surprise.

Is online EMDR as effective as in person? For most clients, yes. Virtual EMDR uses adapted forms of bilateral stimulation and has been about three-quarters of my EMDR caseload since 2020. Significant dissociation is the main presentation that warrants careful assessment first.

Is EMDR used for military and veteran PTSD? Yes. EMDR is among the treatments specifically recommended by the Department of Veterans Affairs for PTSD, with a substantial evidence base in military and veteran populations.

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 carries specific exceptions. Consult your facility security officer or a clearance attorney about your own situation.

I live in rural Virginia and there’s no EMDR therapist near me. Can you help? That’s one of the main reasons I practice statewide. Specialist trauma care is genuinely scarce across much of Virginia, and virtual sessions remove the distance problem entirely. You need a private space, a reliable connection and a device.

Do I have to describe what happened in detail? No. EMDR doesn’t require detailed verbal narration. You need to be able to bring the memory to mind, not describe it — which matters particularly for people whose work is classified or otherwise confidential.

How much does therapy cost? The intake is $250 and ongoing 60-minute sessions are $225. Some commercial insurance is accepted; see the insurance and FAQ page for the current list. Superbills and private pay are also available.

How long does EMDR take? It depends on what we’re treating. A single-incident trauma in an otherwise stable adult may resolve in relatively few reprocessing sessions. Complex or developmental trauma takes considerably longer, mostly because preparation does. Be skeptical of anyone who quotes a number before assessing you.

Get started

A short consultation call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You describe what’s going on; I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right person — and if I’m not, I’ll point you somewhere better.

Request a consultation → Click Below:

Contact Jordan Today for Therapy in Virginia

Ready to Expand Your Possibilities?

Your reputation is your currency, and your mental clarity is your competitive edge. Reach out to inquire about becoming a therapy client in Virginia.

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; veterans and service members can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.