What Is EMDR Therapy?

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, or EMDR, is an 8-phase standardized protocol that is most known for treating trauma but has since been used to cultivate healing in a multitude of areas.

It reduces the charge of the experience, event, beliefs, or emotions that have been holding you captive and helps you unlock the fullness of your capacity to heal. It feels kinda like magic, but it’s extensively researched, evidence-based, and effective for getting at the root of your stuckness.

But how does it work?

Well, our brains have a natural, hard-wired capacity to recover from intense, extraordinary, overwhelming experiences, and it’s your adaptive information processing (AIP) system that enables movement through these stressful circumstances. You can think of the AIP system similar to your immune system or what occurs in the body when you have a physical injury.

Back in my Air Force days, I had a nasty thumb injury. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say, multitasking with sharp objects is a no-go for me now. So, there I was freaking out about what just happened, and what does my ever-so-helpful coworker do? Instead of offering an empathetic ear, he decides to regale me with his own delightful tale of hospital horror.

Naturally, a terrified me decided to play doctor. Definitely not my best idea. Things progressively worsened until the pain escalated to a level where sleep was a distant memory, and I was strutting around like I was giving a thumbs-up to the universe because any other position was pure torture.

My body was doing her best to heal, and try as I might, I was just not helping. I didn’t even make it a full 24-hours before my desire for relief surpassed my fear of the what-if’s.

What does EMDR help with?

In EMDR, we prioritize building a solid foundation of resources and support, to ensure you feel safe and stable throughout the journey. 

If you’re someone who tends to feel disconnected from your body or your inner experience, we first focus on finding a safe way to reconnect. Or sometimes, parts of you may be hesitant to heal or to let go of self-blame for past events, to give yourself permission to stop feeling guilty and to feel better.

Even when the desire to break free from feeling stuck is strong, there may be a part of you that fears what lies ahead. When that’s the case, we take the time to connect with those parts and address these layers before moving forward. 

What is bilateral stimulation?

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is one of the primary ingredients of EMDR. It refers to an external stimulus that activates both sides of the body and brain. Bilateral stimulation happens in many ordinary moments like when you walk or run, or during REM sleep.

In EMDR, bilateral stimulation is administered in a variety of ways, whether through eye movements, tactile cues (e.g., tapping legs/arms, vibrations), or auditory cues (e.g., tones or taps). 

It’s an accelerated approach. 

Depending on what you’re targeting in EMDR, and what your goals are, it will still take some time. This is not a microwaved-option. But instead of years and years of talking in circles about what happened, you’re able to:

You don’t have to talk much.

EMDR isn’t confined to some of the limitations that come with talk therapy. Whereas some styles of talk therapy can actually be re-traumatizing or contribute to stuckness, EMDR is a therapeutic approach that partners with your body and brain’s natural process to do deep, untangling-work. And it’s great for the things that just feel too hard to talk about. 

Less is more when it comes to dialogue in EMDR reprocessing. In EMDR, we’re really trusting that your brain and body know what you need to heal. We’re simply there to facilitate that process, to partner with your brain’s natural capacity to heal.

The therapist’s role is to help get the train moving down the tracks, to make sure your brain doesn’t get stuck, and for support and co-regulation along the way. From there, your brain goes where it needs to, making whatever connections are necessary to move through wherever it previously got stuck during the traumatic or intense experiences.

It’s the best of both worlds. And knowing what to expect makes a big difference when you’re venturing into something as tender as trauma.

Although we can’t forecast where your AIP system will wander, the structure of the EMDR protocol, and the predictability of resourcing, offers a sense of containment as you dive into the intimidating layers of your story.

Can EMDR be done through online therapy?

Absolutely! As long as the therapist has been appropriately trained or certified in EMDR, it can be done through virtual therapy. The research suggests EMDR is just as effective when done online. And from my experience engaging with EMDR both personally and professionally, I’ve noticed no difference between in-person and online. 

How do I find an EMDR therapist near me?

There are a few important considerations you’ll want to be mindful of as you search for an EMDR therapist:

First, not all EMDR trainings are created equal. Standard EMDR training is pretty involved, requiring 50 hours of training, consultation, and supervised application of EMDR. Trainings and programs approved by EMDRIA are typically reputable. However there are other certification processes that are not as rigorous or don’t include all of the necessary components considered gold-standard in the field. It’s important to ask your therapist about the type of EMDR training they received.

Second, someone can be trained or even certified in EMDR, but it doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for you. Although training and certification can speak to a lot, it doesn’t ultimately indicate how capable the therapist will be at holding space for all the nuances of you. Everyone’s style and integration of EMDR is different, so it’s still important to feel into whether you ‘click’. At the end of the day, you want someone who ensures EMDR is aligned with you and your goals, not someone who tries to fit you into an EMDR-box.