What Is EMDR and How Does It Work? All Your EMDR Questions Answered
Are you struggling with symptoms that negatively impact your life?
EMDR is a powerful therapeutic treatment that reduces the intense and lingering symptoms of traumatic or upsetting events.
Whether you’re too anxious do something, have trouble sleeping, or keep making painful or harmful decisions you don’t understand, it’s possible your brain hasn’t been able to properly process something from your past.
Here are answers to the top EMDR questions so you can decide if it’s the right treatment for you. (I also just published Part 2 answering even more questions, click here to check it out!)
Table of Contents
How does EMDR help trauma?
When an upsetting or traumatic event occurs, it can get locked in the brain with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feeling and body sensations.
If your brain isn’t able to properly process this information, it gets stuck in your memory networks.
This is why it can feel like you’re reliving a traumatic (or shameful, embarrassing, upsetting) experience whether you want to think of it or not. Your brain is hanging on to the pieces of that memory and filtering your current experience through them in an unhelpful way.
EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic approach that helps release and reprocess those pieces of information from your brain’s memory networks. It’s one of the most well-researched and empirically validated trauma treatments.
Not only is it the gold standard for PTSD, it’s been shown to effectively treat a wide range of symptoms, including anxiety, chronic pain, low self-esteem, and depression.
What does EMDR stand for?
EM – Eye-Movement (moving your eyes back and forth)
D – Desensitization (decreasing the intensity of a memory and desensitizing you to the experience)
R – Reprocessing (bringing a new, present-day perspective to your memory so you can have healthier, more positive self-beliefs)
How does EMDR work?
When you think of trauma, you may imagine some huge, life-shattering event that completely destroys your worldview.
This is what’s called a Big “T” trauma: things like a car crash, home invasion, or death of a loved one.
But trauma can also happen in smaller, more consistent ways that you may not initially recognize as traumatic. This is called Little “t” trauma and examples would be: consistently being shamed or made fun of, emotional invalidation by parents, or the loss of an important relationship.
Whether it’s big or little, your brain could struggle to effectively process this experience.
The regular, working process: Something happens during the day, your brain creates a narrative to make sense of it, then files it away. We believe this process happens during the REM sleep cycle when your eyes naturally move back and forth to engage the left and right sides of your brain.
The trauma process: A traumatic or “stuck” memory is kind of like a ripped piece of paper. Your brain can’t make sense of or file away scraps or paper, so it gets stuck.
EMDR is like taking those scraps, taping the pieces together, and helping your brain sort through the information to make sense of it so it can be filed away.
Is EMDR effective?
Yes! A vast amount of research over the last few decades has shown its effectiveness for a variety of concerns, including PTSD symptoms, anxiety, phobias, depression, anger, and chronic pain.
What is the eMDR process like?
There are 8 Phases of EMDR:
Phase 1 is gathering history and figuring out what you want to work on. For instance, if you currently have trouble asking for what you need, you may have a memory of a parent or teacher shaming you for asking for help. As we explore your history, we’ll collaboratively decide what specific memory to target first.
Phase 2 is education and resourcing: I’ll teach you important information about the brain, trauma and the nervous system, and you’ll learn relaxation and containment exercises.
Phase 3-7 is processing: once you’re ready to begin, we’ll pick your target memory and use eye-movements to reprocess it. I’ll ask you for brief feedback on what you’re experiencing in the present moment, have you move your eyes back and forth, ask for more feedback, and repeat. Unlike hypnosis, you’ll be awake and fully in control the entire time.
Phase 8 is checking our work: are you experiencing this memory in a different way? Are you finding your symptoms have decreased or disappeared? We then look at other related memories to see how these may have changed. If applicable, we would then begin looking at another memory.
What does EMDR therapy look like?
During the beginning phases of EMDR, it resembles traditional talk therapy. We’ll talk about what symptoms you’re experiencing today, your background and history, and then we’ll collaboratively decide on a memory to start processing.
Once processing a memory begins, it starts to look very different.
Instead of talking through a traumatic memory, I’ll direct you to move your eyes back and forth and then simply observe what shows up. Once you’ve described what you’re noticing, I will again direct you to move your eyes to keep the information moving along.
EMDR doesn’t require you to have a vivid recollection or to talk at length about what happened. Talking about an experience doesn’t help your brain understand and reprocess it – in fact, it can actually be retraumatizing.
Instead, your goal is to observe what you’re noticing so that your brain’s natural healing process can start piecing together important information to give you a new, healthy perspective.
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Can EMDR Therapy be done Virtually?
Yes! Online EMDR can be just as effective as in-person sessions. It’s almost exactly the same, with some minor modifications.
When EMDR is conducted in person, you follow your therapist’s hand (or lightbar) as it moves back and forth.
When you meet online, you’ll put post-it notes or clips on both sides of your screen and move your eyes back and forth between them.
This still allows for enough range of motion to stimulate both sides of your brain and process the information. Some clients have found online EMDR therapy even more effective than in-person because they can control the speed of the eye movements.
Some clients also prefer virtual because instead of spending time commuting to and from an office, you can use that time to privately decompress and process after a session.
Do you need PTSD to Do EMDR?
No, you don’t need to have PTSD to benefit from EMDR.
There is a growing body of research that shows how much it helps a wide range of concerns. You also don’t need to meet the criteria for a specific diagnosis to do EMDR. EMDR is designed to target the level of disturbance or discomfort, so a diagnostic label is not required.
Phase 1 consists of gathering background and history. If you meet the criteria, your therapist can diagnose you (although this isn’t required).
Will EMDR work if I don’t remember everything?
If you’re interested in EMDR therapy, you might wonder whether it will work if you don’t have a clear recollection of events or remember a lot of details from your past.
The good news is that you don’t need to fully remember something vividly to process it. There’s no need for accuracy because even a vague sense of what happened will provide plenty of information.
This is because your nervous system doesn’t have a delete button.
Your memories are already in your brain, and EMDR taps into your brain’s natural healing process in a controlled manner to reprocess your experiences using your present-day perspective.
Since EMDR targets how upsetting a memory is experienced in the present, there’s no need for accuracy or concern about whether something happened a certain way. You’re simply observing what shows up now and letting your brain process this information, without needing it to be accurate or even make logical sense.
Is EMDR Therapy hypnosis?
No, EMDR is different from hypnosis. During hypnosis, a clinician will deliberately induce you into an altered state of mental relaxation.
During EMDR you are fully awake and in control at all times. As part of Phase 2, you’ll learn relaxation and containment strategies to manage any disturbances that may come up, but you are always present and grounded during processing.
Is EMDR dangerous?
EMDR is not dangerous when administered by a licensed mental health professional. EMDR is one of the most heavily researched trauma treatments, which means there is a specific protocol to follow.
It’s important to know that memories can’t be implanted nor erased. What we’re doing is lowering the disturbance associated with your memories.
EMDR is like seeing a really scary horror movie and being completely terrified the first time you see it. Each subsequent time is still a little scary, but not nearly as much as the first time. Eventually, those same scenes no longer scare you in the same way. You may even find some Easter Eggs.
If you’ve tried EMDR in the past and feel like things have gotten worse or it didn’t really help, you may have a memory that didn’t finish processing.
How long does it take for EMDR to work?
This completely depends on the individual and the issues they’d like to work on.
A single event will likely take fewer sessions to process than childhood trauma. However, in all instances we typically see some improvement after one processing session and these gains tend to compound with each subsequent session.
The good news is that you don’t need to work on every single traumatic memory. Memories tend to cluster based on symptoms, themes, or negative thoughts, so working on one memory can positively affect similar memories.
EMDR offers a lot of flexibility since you can choose to work on one memory or as many as you’d like.
What if something new comes up? Can you work on two memories at once?
Yes, EMDR is flexible enough that you could work on two memories.
Ideally you don’t want to process more than one memory at a time, however it’s possible to switch to a different memory if it keeps showing up.
Let’s say you’re working on a memory from your childhood and a different memory shows up intensely or you experience something very upsetting in the present (like a car accident).
Whether it not it has anything to do with the current memory you’re working on, you can switch gears and manage the new issue right away.
Once that memory is resolved, you can then go back to working on the previous memory. You may also find that original memory is isn’t as bothersome anymore, especially if it was closely related. This is because EMDR targets a specific memory and any associated memories.
Will I get worse before I get better?
Not necessarily! One of the reasons the EMDR protocol includes education and resources is to make sure you don’t feel worse once you start reprocessing a memory. You may have some difficult memories or feelings, but you’ll be well prepared to handle them effectively.
And every single reprocessing session is closed out with a relaxation or containment exercise. This will ensure you never leave a session dysregulated or feeling worse than when you came in.
Because your brain will continue to process your memory between sessions, you may experience more intense dreams than normal or remember things you haven’t thought about it in a long time. Most clients report lots of dreams, and rarely report intense or unmanageable symptoms.
What are the benefits of EMDR Therapy?
Benefit 1: Relief from severe symptoms
Whether you struggle with nightmares, panic, or chronic pain, having “stuck” memories in your brain can be a significant cause of these symptoms. Living with these symptoms every day can be so exhausting.
EMDR helps reduce the intensity and severity of your symptoms by releasing this information from your nervous system. They may still be present, but will seem much more insignificant, much quieter, and not as draining.
It’s like turning down the volume on your symptoms, completely changing your experience so they no longer have the same negative impact as before. Think of it like watching a scary movie: imagine watching one alone, in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm versus midday with a group of people. That same movie would have an entirely different impact.
Benefit 2: New perspectives on old events
When a disturbing or traumatic event gets locked in your brain, you may hold childlike notions of responsibility, control, or safety. If you felt unsafe at the time, this uneasiness can carry into the present, creating an unhelpful roadmap that your brain will subconsciously keep following.
As you’re processing and releasing these stuck memories, you get the wonderful benefit of examining them with a new lens.
You’ll start gaining new and interesting insight into past events or remembering details you may have forgotten. This creates space for new experiences and adaptive learning. For instance, no longer blaming yourself for something that happened.
Benefit 3: Positive self-talk
Negative experiences have an enormous impact on your internal dialogue. Most negative self-talk can derive from your relationships, boundaries, conflict, or traumatic events.
EMDR therapy can not only resolve a traumatic memory, but can also change the perspective a person has about themselves.
Through this process, you’ll install new, more positive self-beliefs that are applicable to a wide range of experiences. Positive self-talk and self-beliefs can improve confidence, mood, and relationships. And these positive self-believes are never fake or forced: they’re simply the way you’d prefer to view yourself.
When you think kindly of yourself, you’re better able to create and hold boundaries, manage conflict, and connect with others. If your internal dialogue changes, you begin to experience the world differently.
I hope that has cleared up some of your concerns or confusion about the EMDR process. Check out Part 2 for even more questions and guidance!
If you’re interested in starting EMDR, check out my EMDR page for more info on how I work and to set up a free 15-minute consultation.
