Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: What is it?
By: Kerry McCarthy, LMHC, LPC, CPC, LAC
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapeutic approach addressing trauma or negative life experiences resulting in core wounds.
Core wounds are deeply held negative beliefs that stem from a past traumatic event or distressing experience. These core wounds often manifest as negative thoughts that shape a person’s self-perception and emotions responses. Some common core wounds might include:
I am not enough – Feels of inadequacy or unworthiness.
I am unloveable – A belief that one is inherently unworthy of love or connection.
I am powerless – Feeling helpless or unable to control one’s circumstances.
I am unsafe – A deep-seated fear that the world or people are dangerous.
I am a failure- A core sense of incompetence or inability to succeed.
I do not matter- Feeling invisible, insignificant, or unimportant.
I am defective- The belief that something is inherently wrong with oneself.
I am trapped – A feeling of being stuck or unable to escape painful situations.
I am alone – A core belief that no one will support or understand them.
EMDR encourages a person to briefly focus on a trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation involves rhythmic, back and forth stimulation of the brain’s hemispheres to help process and rewire traumatic memories. This can be achieved through eye moment, self-administered tapping on one’s arms or legs, or auditory stimulation in which sounds or tones alternate between the left and right ears through headphones. This process helps desensitize distress attached to the traumatic memory, encourage new, adaptive connections in the brain, shifting negative beliefs towards more positive ones, and engaging both brain hemispheres, promoting memory processing.
What to expect in an EMDR session
EMDR therapy follows a structured eight-phase process, but each session can vary depending on where one is in treatment. A standard EMDR session lasts between 60 and 90 minutes in length and includes several key components:
Check in & Preparation - The therapist ensures the client is emotionally ready, explains the process and may teach techniques to manage distress.
Target Memory Identification - The client selects a distressing memory to focus on, including associated images, emotions, and bodily sensations.
Bilateral stimulation - The therapist guides the client through eye movement, tapping, or auditory cues while the client recalls the memory. This helps the brain reprocess the experience.
Desensitization and Processing - The client notices thoughts, emotions, and body sensations that arise and shares them with the therapist.
Installation of Positive Beliefs – The therapist helps the client replace negative beliefs with more adaptive and empowering ones.
Body Scan – The client checks for residual distress or tension in the body, ensuring the memory has been fully processed.
Closure- The session ends with relaxation techniques, ensuring the client feels safe and stable before leaving.
During the session clients may feel emotions related to the traumatic memory or negative life experience, experience vivid images, or have new insights about the past event. After the session, clients may feel relief, emotional exhaustion or continued processing of thoughts and memories in the days following. Dreams and unexpected memories may surface but this is typically a sign that the brain is working through the material. Over time, many clients notice decreased emotional distress related to their trauma and an increased sense of empowerment.
Common misconceptions and concerns About EMDR
"EMDR erases memories." – EMDR does not make people forget traumatic events; it helps them process and integrate those memories in a way that reduces distress.
"EMDR only works for PTSD." – While it was originally developed for PTSD, EMDR is also effective for anxiety, depression, phobias, and other issues.
"It's just hypnosis." – Unlike hypnosis, EMDR does not put clients in a trance. Clients remain fully awake and in control throughout the process.
"You have to talk about the trauma in detail." – Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require extensive verbal discussion of the traumatic event. The focus is on internal processing rather than recounting the experience.
"It works instantly." – While some clients experience significant relief after just a few sessions, EMDR is a structured therapy that typically requires multiple sessions to achieve lasting results.
Who can benefit from EMDR
This type of therapy has been extensively researched and is an evidenced based treatment for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can help children and adults of all ages and research suggests that EMDR therapy is a helpful treatment modality for anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiencing (Maxfield, 2019). While EMDR is highly effective for many, it may not be suitable for everyone. Some situations in which EMDR may not be the best fit include psychosis or severe dissociation, active substance use, unstable emotional regulation, medical concerns that would be exacerbated by physical or emotional responses to reprocessing trauma or engaging in bilateral stimulation, or ongoing trauma.
Do you still have questions, or are you interested in getting started? Email Kerry! kerry@wanderingpinewellness.com
