What is EMDR therapy? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based psychotherapy developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s to help people recover from trauma, PTSD, and other distressing life experiences.
Rather than requiring clients to talk in detail about a difficult memory or complete extensive homework between sessions, EMDR uses guided bilateral stimulation — most commonly side-to-side eye movements — to help the brain reprocess “stuck” memories so they no longer trigger the original emotional and physical distress.
EMDR is recognized as an effective trauma treatment by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychological Association (APA), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
What Is the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model?
EMDR is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory describing how the brain stores, links, and when working properly, resolves memories on its own. Typically, the brain digests a difficult experience much the way the body heals a physical wound: the disturbing material is processed, integrated with other knowledge, and stored in a way that no longer produces distress when recalled.
Adverse experiences can interrupt this process. When an experience overwhelms the nervous system, the memory can become “stuck,” still linked to the original images, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations from the moment it happened. The AIP model holds that many present-day symptoms (i.e.: anxiety, low self-worth, hypervigilance, depression) are often the ongoing effect of these unprocessed memories rather than a separate or permanent condition.
EMDR therapy is designed to reactivate the brain’s natural information-processing system so these memories can move to an adaptive resolution, allowing a person to remember the event without reliving its original intensity.
These memories are organized into memory networks, linked through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Memory networks are the foundation of both learning and emotional health: when a network processes adaptively, it supports healthy functioning, and when it remains unprocessed, it becomes the basis for present-day symptoms (Shapiro, 2018).
What Are the 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy?
EMDR follows a standardized, eight-phase protocol:
- History Taking & Treatment Planning — The therapist gathers a thorough client history, assesses readiness for reprocessing work, and develops a target sequence plan identifying the memories, present triggers, and future situations to address.
- Preparation — The therapist explains EMDR, establishes trust, and teaches self-regulation tools such as a Calm/Safe Place and a Container exercise so the client has resources to manage distress both in and between sessions.
- Assessment — The client identifies a specific target memory along with its associated image, negative belief, desired positive belief, emotions, and body sensations, and rates the memory’s current disturbance level.
- Desensitization — Using sets of bilateral stimulation, the client focuses on the target memory while the brain processes the associated material until the disturbance decreases.
- Installation — The therapist helps strengthen the connection between the memory and the identified positive belief, reinforcing an adaptive self-perception.
- Body Scan — The client checks for any remaining physical tension or sensation linked to the memory and processes it until it clears.
- Closure — The therapist ensures the client returns to emotional equilibrium at the end of each session, using grounding techniques as needed, and prepares the client for possible continued processing between sessions.
- Reevaluation — At the start of subsequent sessions, the therapist and client review progress on previously processed material and determine next targets.
Across the reprocessing phases, EMDR follows what’s known as a three-pronged approach: addressing past memories that created the disturbance, present-day triggers that continue to activate it, and future templates that reinforce adaptive responses going forward (Shapiro, 2018).
What Conditions Can EMDR Therapy Treat?
While EMDR was originally developed for PTSD, therapists use it to address a wide range of conditions and concerns, including:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma- and stress-related issues
- Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
- Depression and bipolar disorders
- Grief and loss
- Chronic pain and medical trauma
- Sleep disturbance
- Substance use and addiction
- Sexual assault, violence, and abuse
- Performance anxiety
- Dissociative disorders
- Eating disorders
EMDR therapy is intended for children and adults of all ages and should only be provided by a properly trained, licensed mental health clinician.
Is EMDR Therapy Backed by Research?
EMDR is one of the most extensively studied trauma therapies available. A randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found EMDR produced significant, lasting reductions in PTSD symptoms, comparing favorably to both fluoxetine and pill placebo (van der Kolk et al., 2007).
A 2019 editorial review in the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research summarized decades of clinical trial evidence supporting EMDR’s efficacy for trauma-related symptoms (Maxfield, 2019). Shapiro’s foundational text, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed., 2018), remains the standard clinical reference describing the AIP model and treatment procedures.
Based on this body of research, EMDR is included in official PTSD treatment guidelines issued by the American Psychiatric Association, the WHO, and the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense.
Researchers have also proposed neurobiological explanations for how bilateral stimulation aids reprocessing. One leading hypothesis, working memory theory, holds that recalling a disturbing memory while simultaneously performing a demanding secondary task — such as following guided eye movements — taxes the brain’s limited working memory capacity. This “dual task effect” reduces the vividness and emotional intensity of the traumatic image, which is thought to aid desensitization (Baddeley, 1986; Andrade et al., 1997).
How Can I Get Trained in EMDR Therapy?
If you’re a therapist interested in learning to provide EMDR, Scaling Up EMDR’s EMDR Basic Training is EMDRIA-Approved and covers all eight phases of the standard protocol, along with supervised practicum and consultation hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does EMDR therapy take? A single EMDR session typically lasts 60–90 minutes. The number of sessions needed varies by person and by the complexity of what’s being treated — some clients see meaningful relief from a single traumatic memory in just a few sessions, while more complex trauma histories may take longer. Many clients report that EMDR resolves distressing memories in fewer overall sessions than talk therapy alone.
Does EMDR therapy hurt or cause distress? Some temporary distress during a session is possible and expected as the brain processes difficult material, but it is not the goal of treatment and is not lasting. Therapists prepare clients in advance with self-regulation tools, such as a Calm/Safe Place and a Container exercise, and always close a session by returning the client to emotional equilibrium before ending.
Is EMDR therapy the same as hypnosis? No. EMDR does not involve trance, suggestion, or altered consciousness. Clients remain fully alert and aware throughout treatment, actively participating in identifying memories, beliefs, and sensations while the therapist guides bilateral stimulation.
Can I do EMDR therapy on my own, without a therapist? No. EMDR is a mental health intervention that should only be provided by a properly trained, licensed mental health clinician. EMDRIA does not support unsupervised or “do-it-yourself” use of EMDR techniques, since working through traumatic material without professional guidance and support can be destabilizing.
How is EMDR different from talk therapy? Traditional talk therapy typically works by discussing a problem in detail and developing coping strategies or new ways of thinking about it. EMDR does not require detailed verbal description of the distressing event or homework between sessions. Instead, it uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess the memory directly, often resolving the emotional charge without requiring the client to extensively talk through what happened.
References
- Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
- van der Kolk, B. A., Spinazzola, J., Blaustein, M. E., Hopper, J. W., Hopper, E. K., Korn, D. L., & Simpson, W. B. (2007). A randomized clinical trial of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), fluoxetine, and pill placebo in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Treatment effects and long-term maintenance. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(1), 37–46.
- Maxfield, L. (2019). A clinician’s guide to the efficacy of EMDR therapy [Editorial]. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 13(4), 239–246.
- Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Andrade, J., Kavanagh, D., & Baddeley, A. (1997). Eye-movements and visual imagery: A working memory approach to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36(2), 209–223.
- EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). (n.d.). About EMDR Therapy.
- EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). (n.d.). Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model.