Sometimes the past shows up like it’s happening right now.
A memory, sound or smell can pull you back into an old feeling.
Your body can react to danger even when your mind says you’re safe.
Maybe you feel:
- easily startled
- numb or far away
- on edge
- stuck in the past
Your nervous system is trying to protect you from being harmed again.
EMDR can help your brain reprocess past trauma.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an approach that can help you reprocess old memories that get stuck.
It starts from the idea that your brain can heal from trauma the way your body heals a wound.
EMDR works with three time frames:
- Past: memories that still carry a charge
- Present: what sets off distress now
- Future: how you want to respond going forward
It’s helpful for abuse, car accidents and trauma, and doesn’t require you to describe the memory in detail.
EMDR therapists can guide you through reprocessing without asking you to relive it.
What is an EMDR Therapist?
An EMDR therapist is a registered therapist trained in EMDR through an approved program.
EMDR has a standardized training path and a certification path.
Therapists must complete basic EMDR training with learning, practice and consultation time.
Some therapists are EMDR-trained and use it while also drawing from attachment, somatic or trauma-sensitive approaches.
Some therapists pursue certification with the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), with additional practice, consultation and advanced education.
Both can be effective, and certified therapists have more supervised practice behind them.
What matters most is that the therapist is a good fit for you.
The Process of EMDR
EMDR is structured and exploratory, guided by eight phases and your pace.
You begin by identifying a target memory or core belief and building resources to stay grounded.
Your therapist might use eye movements, tapping or sounds to stimulate both sides of your brain.
In reprocessing, your brain makes new connections, and old memories may feel less charged.
You can tell your therapist if something isn’t working.
A single memory can settle in a few sessions, and complex trauma often takes longer.
Trauma-sensitive EMDR builds safety before any memory work begins.
The origin story starts with a walk.
In 1987, psychology student Francine Shapiro was walking in a park when she noticed something odd.
Some upsetting thoughts that had been bothering her seemed to fade. She realized her eyes had been moving quickly back and forth, almost on their own. When she tried it on purpose, the thoughts lost some of their sting.
Shapiro asked colleagues and friends to try it, and many noticed the same thing. She added steps for the thoughts and beliefs tied to a memory. She called it Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD), meaning a way of becoming less reactive to a memory.
In 1989, Shapiro published her first controlled study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress. The 22 people in it carried memories of combat in Vietnam, assault, childhood sexual abuse or emotional abuse. After one session, their distress dropped, and it stayed lower three months later.
Continue reading
In 1990, Shapiro began training licensed therapists in EMD. A year later, she added Reprocessing to the name, for the new thoughts and insights people found during sessions. EMD became EMDR, and her training center became the EMDR Institute.
For five years, only Shapiro’s institute trained therapists in EMDR. In 1995, the network of therapists Shapiro trained became the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). The new group took over setting standards for training and practice.
That same year, about 100 EMDR therapists volunteered after the Oklahoma City bombing. Their work grew into EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs, which still trains therapists after disasters.
In 2013, the World Health Organization recommended EMDR for adults, teens and children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But trauma isn’t always a memory you can point to.
Many people carry years of harm, often from childhood, with no single moment to target. EMDR often begins with the worst memory, which can bring many others up at once.
Reprocessing can bring up feelings faster than your body can hold them. Some people flood with panic, and others dissociate and feel far away from themselves.
EMDR is built to settle memories of what’s over. When harm is still happening, the body’s alarm is accurate, not stuck.
The eight phases can also turn into a checklist, with reprocessing as the goal and the person fitting the steps.
Trauma-sensitive EMDR therapy works inside those gaps. It looks at how your memories connect before choosing where to start. It builds resources until you can stay present, and it watches for signs of dissociation. It doesn’t try to quiet a fear that is still protecting you. And it lets your process shape the phases, not the other way around.
Trauma-sensitive therapy starts where you feel steady.
Trauma-Sensitive EMDR
What if focusing on the memory is the hardest part?
After trauma, your mind often steers away from what hurt, and that’s one way it protects you.
In trauma-sensitive EMDR, you might start with just one image or sensation while you stay anchored in the room.
5 phrases you might hear in Trauma-Sensitive EMDR:
- Can you notice what comes next?
- We can go smaller or we can pause.
- What is your body telling you?
- Let’s return to your secure place.
- Take your time, there’s no rush.
Trauma-sensitive EMDR invites you to stay present.
Principles of Trauma-Sensitive EMDR
Grounded presence
Feeling like you’re floating, drifting or far away is a sign of dissociation. A trauma-sensitive therapist watches for this and can help you return and stay grounded.
Start small
You don’t have to process a whole memory at once. You can start with a small piece, which can be easier for your nervous system and can build trust.
Slow is fast
Stability comes first, always. Reprocessing before you're resourced can harm instead of heal. Sometimes the slower you go, the faster you get there.
No details required
EMDR doesn’t require you to describe what happened if you don't want to. Your brain can reprocess a memory through sensation or image without talking.
Trauma-Sensitive Care
EMDR was built to reprocess memories quickly.
With trauma, quick isn’t always safe, and some old memories are exactly where they need to be.
Sometimes the mind or body holds on to stress because the danger is still too close.
Trauma-sensitive care is a way of practicing EMDR that measures progress by how safe you feel.
It honors the time spent building safety as part of the healing.
A trauma-sensitive EMDR therapist builds a secure relationship and follows your process over a protocol.
Trauma-sensitive care trusts your nervous system.
Questions About EMDR
What are EMDR’s 8 phases?
What is bilateral stimulation?
Do I have to retell the story?
Can EMDR help with grief?
What’s a first session like?
What’s the difference between trained and certified?
Where would you like to go next?
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