What is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an evidenced-based therapy designed to target traumatic memories that are causing distressing thoughts, emotions or body sensations in the present. EMDR posits that we are affected by both positive and negative experiences, and that these experiences from the past influence how we see the present. EMDR therapy can help us to move forward from old feelings, thoughts, and body sensations. Through extensive research, EMDR therapy has been proven to be an effective psychotherapy method to assist people to recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Continued research has shown positive clinical outcomes in the use of EMDR therapy to treat disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences (Maxfield, 2019).

Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require a detailed recounting of past traumatic experiences, and relies on your brain’s ability to utilize adaptive information to heal itself. EMDR also utilizes dual attention stimuli, such as eye movements, tapping, audio tones or tactile buzzers at certain phases of treatment. Utilizing dual attention stimuli is a helpful addition, as it taxes working memory and allows you to feel grounded in the therapy room while reexamining past distressing experiences.

EMDR is an 8-phased protocol, and can be utilized as a standalone therapy, as an intervention concurrent with talk therapy, or as an adjunctive therapy in collaboration with another clinician providing talk therapy. While each individual’s treatment will be tailored to their unique needs, EMDR therapy typically progresses through the following 8 phases:

Phase 1: History & Treatment Planning - this phase works to identify the event(s) from the past that are causing issues in functioning, the present situations that trigger distress, and the necessary skills and behaviors needed for future well-being.

Phase 2: Preparation - this phase serves to build trust between the therapist and client, and focuses on teaching techniques that can be used to regulate emotions in response to distress.

Phase 3: Assessment - in this phase, the therapist and clinician will access the memory to be processed, identifying associated imagery, negative beliefs, emotions and body sensations. The therapist and clinician will also work to identify a positive cognition that the client would prefer to believe about themselves.

Phase 4: Desensitization - in this phase, the client will revisit the target memory while utilizing dual attention stimuli, and other associated memories or insights may arise. This phase can at times provoke strong emotions, but typically the intensity of these emotions will dissipate within this phase.

Phase 5: Installation - once the distress associated with the traumatic memory has been resolved, the therapist utilize dual attention stimuli in order to increase the strength of the preferred positive belief identified in Phase 3.

Phase 6: Body Scan - this phase assesses for any lingering distress within the body associated with the past traumatic memory, and any identified distress will be targeted.

Phase 7: Closure - this is the end of the session, and is intended to assist the client in feeling better prior to ending the session, and in helping the client to know what to expect between sessions.

Phase 8: Reevaluation - this phase occurs at the beginning of the subsequent session, and is utilized to explore progress made towards processing distressing memories and identifying next steps in treatment.

Sessions are between 60-90 minutes. A memory may be resolved within one or multiple processing sessions. The amount of sessions needed to address all traumatic or distressing experiences will depend on the client’s individual history.

If working with a single incident or certain instances of prolonged trauma, an EMDR Intensive may also be an option.