What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that helps people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. These life experiences could be recent or in the distant past, but due to their traumatic impact they remain “frozen in time;” essentially, the internal system interprets the past as being in the present. People have described this as finding themselves reacting in ways that feel confusing or out of proportion to a situation, feeling “triggered,” or having deeply felt negative beliefs (such as “I’m not good enough,” “I’m abandoned,” or “I’m unsafe”) that their adult minds can recognize as untrue, but nevertheless feel stuck at a somatic level.

Through EMDR therapy, clients access traumatic memories and memory networks and reprocess them, activating the mind’s natural healing system. It’s as if the memory is moved from one mental filing cabinet to another - from “this is happening to me now” to “this is something that happened to me.” Rather than pairing the life experience with a negative belief about themselves, clients are able to fully internalize a positive, or adaptive, belief about themselves in relation to the memory.

Phases of EMDR Treatment

  • History Taking (Phase 1)

    During this phase, I will learn more about your history and current symptoms, identify “stuck” negative beliefs, map out related traumatic memories, and collaboratively develop a treatment plan.

  • Preparation (Phase 2)

    We will work together to strengthen positive resources and coping skills, ensuring that you have strategies to manage emotional distress, reduce stress, and maintain equilibrium between sessions. We will learn and practice several visualization strategies, including containment and “safe place.”

  • Identification and Reprocessing of a Memory Target (Phases 3-6)

    In these phases we bring up a specific memory and work to both desensitize it and reprocess it. After briefly identifying several elements of the memory, we will use a bilateral stimulus - back and forth eye movements, self-tapping, or sound - in short sets, allowing the mind to naturally process the traumatic event. We will continue this process until the memory is no longer disturbing and you are able to pair it with a new, positive belief about yourself.

  • Closure (Phase 7)

    We will close out the session using a calming or containment strategy to ensure that you feel grounded and calm before leaving. I may ask for you to make note of any related material that may arise in the time in between sessions

  • Re-Evaluation (Phase 8/Ongoing)

    Starting the next session, we will either continue working with the previous memory (if it is not fully processed), or move onto the next memory in the treatment plan. We will review progress and make note of any changes in symptoms, new insights, or additional memories that arise.

What Qualifies as a “Trauma”?

Many clients initially deny that they have had “traumatic” experiences - after all, aren’t there others who have “had it worse?” As a society, we tend to minimize some traumatic experiences while validating others. From the perspective of EMDR, a trauma is anything that happened in the past that is still limiting, diminishing or otherwise stunting your growth in the present. There is no litmus test, and there are no “silly” or “insignificant” disturbing life experiences - if it impacts you in a negative way, then it is important and we can address it with EMDR.

“The new dawn blooms as we free it/ for there is always light,/ if only we’re brave enough to see it,/ if only we’re brave enough to be it.”

— Amanda Gorman