What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach used to help individuals process distressing or traumatic experiences. Sometimes, difficult memories can feel “stuck,” continuing to trigger strong emotions, body sensations, or negative beliefs long after the event has passed. EMDR is designed to support the brain’s natural healing process, so those memories become less activating and easier to recall without feeling overwhelmed.
How EMDR Works
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, most commonly guided eye movements, alternating tapping, or alternating tones while the client briefly focuses on aspects of a targeted memory. This structured process can help the brain reprocess and integrate the experience in a more adaptive way, reducing emotional distress and shifting unhelpful beliefs (for example, from “I’m not safe” to “I’m safe now,” or from “It was my fault” to “I did the best I could with what I knew”).
The goal is not to erase the memory, but to reduce its intensity and help it feel more “in the past,” so it no longer drives present-day reactions as strongly.
What the EMDR Process Typically Looks Like
EMDR therapy follows an organized, phased approach that often includes:
History-taking & treatment planning: Identifying goals, symptoms, and potential targets for EMDR work.
Preparation & stabilization: Building grounding skills, coping tools, and resources to support emotional regulation.
Assessment: Clarifying the memory, associated negative belief, emotions, and body sensations.
Reprocessing (desensitization): Using bilateral stimulation while noticing what comes up, with regular check-ins.
Installation & integration: Strengthening a more adaptive belief and integrating insights.
Body scan, closure, and reevaluation: Confirming the body feels settled, ending sessions with stabilization, and reviewing progress over time.
What to Expect in Sessions
Clients remain fully awake, aware, and in control throughout EMDR. Many people find they do not need to share every detail of their experience out loud for EMDR to be effective. Sessions can focus on the emotions, body sensations, and beliefs connected to the memory. The therapist carefully guides the process, helping clients stay within a manageable “window” of tolerance.
What EMDR Can Help With
EMDR is commonly used to support concerns such as:
Trauma and PTSD
Anxiety, panic, and chronic stress
Grief and loss
Childhood wounds and attachment-related distress
Distressing life events
Negative self-beliefs
Phobias and performance-related distress
Safety and Stability
EMDR is most effective when it is paced appropriately. For safety and stability, the therapist determines how and when to move through the stages of EMDR, based on the client’s needs, readiness, and nervous system response. Preparation and stabilization may be prioritized before any trauma processing begins, and the approach may be adjusted throughout treatment to ensure the work remains supportive, grounded, and clinically appropriate.
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