Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
EMDR therapy helps your brain naturally process and heal from trauma and distressing memories without requiring extensive retelling of painful events.
What Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing?
EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy that has transformed trauma treatment since its development by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987. It's recognized as a frontline trauma treatment by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, backed by over 30 randomized controlled trials.
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing model: your brain has a natural ability to process experiences, but trauma can overwhelm that capacity. When this happens, memories get stored in raw, unprocessed form, retaining the vivid sensory details, intense emotions, and distorted beliefs from the moment of the event. These memories can be triggered by present-day experiences, causing you to react as though the trauma is happening again. EMDR activates your brain's natural healing mechanisms through bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements) to help these stuck memories finally process and resolve.
Importantly, EMDR doesn't require you to talk in extensive detail about what happened. The healing happens through your brain's own processing system, not through verbal retelling.
How Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Works
EMDR follows a structured eight-phase protocol. The first two phases focus on history-taking and preparation. Your therapist identifies target memories, explains the process, and teaches you self-regulation techniques like the Safe Place exercise so you feel grounded before any processing begins.
During the core processing phases, your therapist helps you activate a target memory while guiding you through bilateral stimulation, typically following their fingers or a light bar with your eyes. During each set, you simply notice whatever comes up: images, thoughts, emotions, body sensations. Between sets, your therapist checks in briefly and guides where to direct your attention next. This continues until the memory no longer carries its original emotional charge, the negative self-beliefs have shifted, and there's no residual tension in the body.
The final phases ensure each session ends with you feeling stable, and subsequent sessions confirm that gains have held. Clients consistently report that after successful processing, the memory remains but no longer controls them. It feels like something that happened in the past rather than something still happening now.
What Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Can Help With
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Complex trauma and childhood abuse
Anxiety and panic attacks
Phobias and irrational fears
Grief and complicated bereavement
Disturbing memories from accidents or violence
Performance anxiety and creative blocks
Negative self-beliefs rooted in past experiences
Nightmares and sleep disturbances related to trauma
Emotional distress from adverse childhood experiences
Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Right for You?
EMDR is an excellent choice if past experiences continue to affect your present-day well-being, relationships, or quality of life. It works for single-incident traumas (accidents, assaults, sudden loss) as well as complex, repeated trauma (childhood abuse, domestic violence, prolonged stress). It's also effective if you don't identify your experiences as "trauma" but recognize that certain past events (bullying, rejection, medical procedures) still trigger disproportionate emotional responses.
EMDR is a particularly strong choice if talk therapy has been helpful but incomplete. Many people can discuss their experiences intellectually without a corresponding shift in their emotional or physical responses. EMDR bridges that gap by accessing the memory where it's actually stored: in the sensory, emotional, and body dimensions. And because it doesn't require detailed verbal retelling, it's especially appealing if you find recounting painful events to be retraumatizing.
What to Expect in Sessions
You'll begin with one or two sessions dedicated to assessment and preparation. Your therapist will learn about the experiences causing distress, identify target memories, explain EMDR in detail, and teach grounding techniques. You won't begin processing until both you and your therapist agree you're ready.
During processing sessions, you'll hold a specific memory in mind while following bilateral stimulation. You may experience vivid images, strong emotions, or physical sensations that shift as processing unfolds. You're always in control and can pause or stop at any time. It's common to feel tired afterward, similar to an intense workout.
For a single traumatic memory, many clients experience substantial relief within three to six processing sessions. Complex trauma involving multiple events typically needs several months of treatment. Clients who complete EMDR consistently describe a profound shift: traumatic memories no longer trigger the same intense responses, negative self-beliefs have been replaced with more compassionate perspectives, and they feel a sense of freedom they didn't think was possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Approaches
Explore other therapeutic modalities that complement Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Ready to Write Your Next Chapter?
Your first step is the hardest. We'll walk the rest together.