Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR

Children, Adolescents and Adults

 

What is EMDR Therapy?

All information below credited to the EMDRIA International Association

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapy that has been developed to help people who have experienced trauma. It is based on the idea that when we experience a traumatic event, our brains may not process the memories of that event in the same way as memories of everyday events. As a result, these memories can become stuck in the brain, causing a range of negative symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and problems with sleep.

EMDR involves a therapist guiding the patient through a series of bilateral stimulation while focusing on a distressing / activating event, which reduces the vividness and emotion associated with the traumatic memories. The idea is that this process will help the brain to "unlock" the stuck memories and process them in a more healthy way.

The American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs/Dept. of Defense, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the World Health Organization among many other national and international organizations recognize EMDR therapy as an effective treatment.

How does EMDR therapy affect the brain?

Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, they may not be processed without help.

Stress responses are part of our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.” EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.

 

Overview of Experiencing EMDR Therapy

After the therapist and client agree that EMDR therapy is a good fit, the beginning sessions will involve discussing what the client wants to work on and improving the client's ability to manage distress.

When ready for the next phases of EMDR therapy, the client will be asked to focus on a specific event. Attention will be given to a negative image, belief, emotion, and body feeling related to this event, and then to a positive belief that would indicate the issue was resolved.

While the client focuses on the upsetting event, the therapist will begin sets of side-to-side eye movements, sounds, or taps. The client will be guided to notice what comes to mind after each set. They may experience shifts in insight or changes in images, feelings, or beliefs regarding the event.

The client has full control to stop the therapist at any point if needed. The sets of eye movements, sounds, or taps are repeated until the event becomes less disturbing.

EMDR therapy may be used within a standard talking therapy, as an adjunctive therapy with a separate therapist, or as a treatment all by itself.

EMDR can help with a wide range of issues:

  • Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias

  • Chronic Illness and medical issues

  • Depression and bipolar disorders

  • Dissociative disorders

  • Eating disorders

  • Grief and loss

  • Pain

  • Performance anxiety

  • Personality disorders

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other trauma and stress-related issues

  • Sexual assault

  • Sleep disturbance

  • Substance abuse and addiction

  • Violence and abuse

“Trauma is not what happens to you.

Trauma is what happens inside of you as a result of what happens to you.”

Dr. Gabor Mate

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FAQS

Common questions about EMDR therapy

  • EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing event or issue. EMDR focuses on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors associated with the memory, and allows the brain to resume its natural healing process.

  • A typical EMDR therapy session lasts 60 minutes. It could take one or several sessions to process one traumatic experience.

    The goal of EMDR therapy is to process completely the traumatic experiences that are causing problems and to include new ones that are needed for full health. The amount of time it will take to complete EMDR treatment for traumatic experiences will depend upon the history of the client. Complete treatment of a single EMDR trauma target involves a three-pronged protocol to alleviate the symptoms and address the complete clinical picture. The three prongs include:

    1) past memories

    2) present disturbance

    3) future actions

    Although EMDR therapy may produce results more rapidly than other forms of therapy, speed is not the goal of therapy and it is important to remember that every client has different needs. For instance, one client may take weeks to establish sufficient feelings of trust, while another may proceed quickly through the first phases of treatment only to reveal something even more important that needs treatment.

  • "Processing" does not mean talking about a traumatic experience. "Processing" means setting up a learning state that will allow experiences that are causing problems to be "digested" and stored appropriately in your brain. That means that what is useful to you from an experience will be learned, and stored with appropriate emotions in your brain, and be able to guide you in positive ways in the future.

    The inappropriate emotions, beliefs, and body sensations will be discarded. Negative emotions, feelings and behaviors are generally caused by unresolved earlier experiences that are pushing you in the wrong directions. The goal of EMDR therapy is to leave you with the emotions, understanding, and perspectives that will lead to healthy and useful behaviors and interactions.

  • A session may include:

    • Identifying a target memory or belief

    • Noticing thoughts, emotions, and body sensations connected to it

    • Using bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, tones)

    • Letting your brain process what comes up—kind of like dreaming while awake

    The therapist gently guides you through the process. You stay in control and aware the whole time.

  • No, not always. EMDR doesn't require you to share all the details out loud if you're not ready. You can process traumatic material without saying everything, which can feel safer for many people.

  • No. You're fully awake and in control during EMDR. It’s not hypnosis. You won’t be made to “forget” anything—you’ll just be less emotionally affected by it.

  • Yes. Many therapists successfully use EMDR in telehealth sessions. Virtual tools (like onscreen visual cues or audio tones) provide effective bilateral stimulation. It’s just as safe and effective when done by a trained EMDR clinician.