What is EMDR therapy and how does it help trauma?
Updated: Sep 25
If you've experienced something frightening or overwhelming, you might find that reminders of it still affect you long after the experience itself has passed. A memory might come back unexpectedly, certain situations might feel difficult to approach, or you might notice that what happened has changed how you see yourself.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychological therapy that can help people work with distressing memories and the ways those experiences continue to affect them in the present.
The aim isn't to erase what happened, but to reduce the distress associated with it so that the experience no longer has the same impact on everyday life.
How does EMDR help?
EMDR involves working with memories or experiences that continue to cause distress. During the reprocessing phase, you may be asked to bring aspects of a memory to mind while following eye movements or using another form of bilateral stimulation, such as alternating taps or sounds.
You don't have to describe every detail of what happened. Much of the processing takes place internally, with your therapist helping you notice what comes up and guiding you through the process.
As treatment progresses, people may find that a memory becomes less distressing, that reminders feel more manageable or that beliefs about themselves begin to shift.
Researchers have proposed several explanations for how EMDR works, including the possibility that eye movements and other forms of bilateral stimulation place demands on working memory while someone recalls a distressing experience. However, the precise mechanisms are still being studied.
Why can traumatic memories feel so present?
When something frightening or overwhelming happens, our brains and bodies respond to help us survive. We might become highly alert, freeze, feel disconnected or become focused on getting through what is happening.
The amygdala is involved in detecting potential danger and coordinating our threat responses, while the hippocampus plays an important role in memory and context. Both work as part of wider networks rather than independently.
I sometimes think of the amygdala as a security guard and the hippocampus as a librarian.
Imagine trying to organise a library while a fire alarm is going off. The security guard is focused on responding to the possible danger, while the librarian is having a much harder time organising everything into its usual place.
It's not quite how the brain works literally, but it can help us understand why traumatic memories sometimes feel different from ordinary memories.
A reminder of something that happened in the past might bring back intense emotions or physical sensations, even when we know we're no longer in the same circumstances. It can feel as though the alarm is going off all over again.
From a compassionate perspective, these responses aren't signs that someone is weak or failing to move on. They're understandable protective responses that can become difficult to live with when they continue long after the original experience.
Compassion at the heart of the process
In my work, EMDR sits alongside Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). This means we're interested not only in what happened, but also in how those experiences may have shaped the way you relate to yourself.
For someone who has experienced trauma, feelings of shame, self-blame or self-criticism can become closely connected to difficult memories. We can begin to understand these responses compassionately, recognising how they may have developed in the context of what someone has experienced.
Before moving into memory reprocessing, we'll spend time understanding your experiences, considering what support you might need and agreeing how we'll approach the work together.
For some people, this preparation is relatively brief. For others, particularly where there have been repeated or complex traumatic experiences, we may spend longer developing resources and working with difficulties that arise in everyday life.
There isn't one pace or approach that fits everyone.
What happens during EMDR therapy?
EMDR involves several phases, and we won't necessarily be processing memories in every appointment.
We'll begin by exploring what's brought you to therapy, understanding your experiences and identifying what you would like help with. We'll also consider what preparation or support might be useful before beginning memory reprocessing.
When we move into reprocessing, I'll guide you through short sets of bilateral stimulation while you bring aspects of a memory to mind. I use tapping as one of the ways we can do this.
Between sets, I'll ask you to notice what comes up. This might include thoughts, emotions, physical sensations or other memories. You don't need to make anything happen or try to process the experience in a particular way.
We'll work collaboratively throughout, including reviewing how you're finding the therapy and what might be helpful as treatment progresses.
What EMDR Can Help With
EMDR is an established psychological treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It may also be considered when distressing experiences are contributing to other difficulties, although the evidence and suitability of EMDR vary depending on the presentation.
In my practice, this might include working with experiences connected to:
Single-incident trauma, such as accidents, assaults or medical experiences
Repeated or complex traumatic experiences
Difficult childhood experiences
Shame, guilt or negative beliefs about yourself following trauma
Anxiety or fears that are connected to distressing memories
We can think together about whether EMDR is an appropriate approach for what you're experiencing, or whether another form of therapy might be more helpful.
Exploring whether EMDR might be right for you
EMDR isn't about forgetting what happened or expecting yourself to move on before you're ready. It's one way of working with experiences that continue to affect how you feel about yourself, other people or the world around you.
At Compassionate Therapy Practice, I offer EMDR alongside CBT and Compassion Focused Therapy, drawing on these approaches according to your experiences and what we're working towards.
I work with adults and young people in Banstead, Surrey and online across the UK.
If you're considering EMDR and would like to explore whether it might be suitable for you, you're welcome to get in touch.
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