Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require clients to discuss their trauma in detail. Instead, it focuses on reprocessing traumatic memories so they no longer trigger intense emotional or physical reactions.

Here’s a breakdown of how EMDR works:

• Assessment & Preparation

  The therapist works with the client to identify the specific memory or experience to target. The client also learns grounding techniques to help manage distress during and between sessions.

• Identifying Key Elements

  The therapist helps the client identify:

• The visual image associated with the trauma

• The negative beliefs (e.g., “I am powerless”)

• The emotions and physical sensations tied to the memory

• Bilateral Stimulation

  This is the hallmark of EMDR. While focusing on the traumatic memory, the client is guided through a series of bilateral stimulations, usually side-to-side eye movements, but sometimes tapping or auditory tones.

  This process appears to help the brain "digest" the memory, much like how REM sleep helps process daily events.

• Desensitization & Reprocessing

  Over time, the emotional charge of the memory fades. The memory remains, but it feels more distant or neutral. Negative beliefs are replaced with more adaptive, positive ones (e.g., “I did the best I could,” or “I am safe now”).

• Installation & Body Scan

  The therapist helps reinforce the new, positive belief, and checks for any lingering physical tension or distress in the body.

• Closure & Re-evaluation

  Each session ends with techniques to restore calm, and future sessions revisit progress to ensure lasting healing.

Researchers believe EMDR is effective because it taps into the brain’s natural information processing system. When trauma occurs, the brain’s ability to process and store the event normally is disrupted. EMDR helps "unfreeze" those memories, allowing them to be integrated in a healthier, less distressing way.

Functional MRI studies have shown that EMDR reduces activity in the amygdala (the brain’s fear center) and increases activity in the prefrontal cortex (responsible for rational thinking). This shift supports a more balanced emotional response to past trauma.