What is it?

Many trauma researchers believe that when something very scary or painful happens, the brain sometimes can’t store the memory the normal way. The memory gets “stuck.” Later, a sound, a smell, or a place can bring it all rushing back, with the same fear and body feelings as when it first happened.

EMDR is a therapy meant to help unstick those memories. According to research and to people who have tried it, after EMDR people still remember what happened, but the memory often feels more like the past and less like it is happening again.

EMDR was created by a psychologist named Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s.

How does it work?

EMDR uses something called bilateral stimulation. “Bilateral” means “two sides,” left and right. The therapist gives the brain a gentle back-and-forth signal while the person thinks about a small piece of the memory. This can be:

• Moving the eyes left and right, following the therapist’s fingers or a light
• Tapping on the left and right knees or hands
• Hearing tones that go back and forth between the left and right ear
• Holding small buzzers that vibrate in each hand, one side at a time

No one knows for certain why this helps, and researchers still disagree about how much the eye movements themselves matter. Shapiro’s theory is that the back-and-forth signal helps the brain do the work it couldn’t do at the time: link the memory to the rest of what you know, so it can finally be stored as something that is over.

What happens in a session?

EMDR has eight steps, called phases. In simple words:

1. Getting to know you. The therapist learns your history and what you want help with.
2. Getting ready. You learn calming and grounding skills first, like a “safe place” in your mind, so you have a way to settle if things feel too big.
3. Choosing a memory. You pick one memory to work on, and notice the picture, the feeling, the body sensation, and the bad belief that goes with it (like “I’m not safe”).
4. Processing. You hold a small piece of the memory in mind while the back-and-forth signal happens, in short sets. Between sets, you just say what you notice.
5. Adding a better belief. You strengthen a healthier belief, like “It’s over, and I’m safe now.”
6. Body check. You notice whether any tension is left in your body.
7. Closing. Every session ends with calming down, even if the memory isn’t finished.
8. Checking in. Next time, you and the therapist look at how things went and decide what’s next.

When is it used?

EMDR is used most often for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Research suggests it can reduce PTSD symptoms, and the World Health Organization lists it as one of the recommended treatments for PTSD. It is also used for anxiety, phobias, grief, and painful memories that keep coming back.

Related terms

• Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model, the idea behind EMDR
• Flashbacks
• Grounding
• PTSD and C-PTSD
• Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)