EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

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EMDR is an evidence-based and highly effective therapy intervention that assists with healing from traumatic experiences. It is designed to help individuals process distressing memories that remain unintegrated and continue to impact emotional well-being, behavior, and physical responses.

Rather than focusing solely on talk-based exploration, EMDR works directly with how traumatic experiences are stored in the brain and body.

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How EMDR Supports Healing

EMDR focuses on three key areas: past experiences that continue to cause distress, present situations that trigger emotional responses, and the skills needed for resilience and health moving forward.

Treatment follows an eight-phase process that begins with a collaborative treatment plan developed between the client and the EMDR therapist. This structured approach allows therapy to move at a pace that supports safety, trust, and effective processing.

One of the core phases of EMDR is desensitization. During this phase, the client is guided to focus on a specific disturbing memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, most commonly therapist-directed lateral eye movements. Other forms of bilateral stimulation, such as hand-tapping or auditory cues, may also be used.

A woman sitting on a gray couch during a therapy session, talking with a therapist who is taking notes. The therapist has a notebook and a pen, with two glasses of water on a small white table in front of them. The room has a bookshelf in the background.

What to Expect From EMDR Therapy

In EMDR therapy, it is not typically necessary to talk in detail about the distressing event. The focus is on allowing the brain and nervous system to process the memory more adaptively. Because of this, EMDR may be completed in fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy for certain concerns.

The goal of EMDR is to fully process traumatic experiences that are contributing to current difficulties and to strengthen internal resources needed for sustained emotional health, stability, and recovery.

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