EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic approach designed to help people heal from overwhelming or disturbing experiences. It supports the mind in processing memories that have become “stuck” or stored in a distressing way, allowing emotional responses to soften and shift.

EMDR is now well-established globally, with many health bodies recommending it as a first-line therapy for post-traumatic stress. Beyond trauma, it can also help people who are navigating anxiety, chronic stress, and other challenging emotional experiences.

How EMDR Supports Healing

EMDR draws on the brain’s natural capacity to process information. When something distressing happens, the mind sometimes does not fully integrate the memory, leaving it vivid, intrusive, or emotionally charged.

During EMDR sessions, the therapist guides the client through sets of bilateral stimulation — often through eye movements, taps, or alternating sounds. These rhythmic left-right patterns appear to activate the brain’s information-processing systems, allowing the memory to be reorganised in a more adaptive way.

As the memory becomes fully “digested,” people often notice that the event feels more distant, less intense, and easier to recall without emotional overwhelm. Insights and shifts tend to arise naturally, rather than through interpretation or analysis.

The EMDR Process

EMDR follows a structured, stage-based model that provides safety, predictability, and clear therapeutic direction. While the names of the phases are technical, the overall process includes:

• Understanding your history and identifying the experiences or themes that continue to cause distress

• Preparing for reprocessing, including developing grounding skills and building a sense of safety

• Targeting specific memories, sensations, or beliefs that maintain symptoms

• Engaging in reprocessing, where bilateral stimulation is used to help the memory change and reduce in intensity

• Consolidating progress and reviewing how symptoms have shifted over time

Some memories may be resolved relatively quickly, while others — particularly in the context of complex trauma — require a slower and more stabilised approach.

What a Reprocessing Session Looks Like

When you and your therapist agree that you’re ready to work on a particular memory or trigger, the session begins by tuning into the image, emotion, body feeling, and belief connected to the event. Once this starting point is established, bilateral stimulation is introduced.

Clients typically notice that thoughts, sensations, and emotions move or shift on their own as the memory gradually loses intensity. The therapist monitors the process closely, providing support and helping you stay within a manageable level of emotional activation.

EMDR sessions may also address current triggers and help you mentally rehearse future situations so that you feel more confident and resourced moving forward.

How EMDR Differs From Other Therapies

EMDR does not rely on telling your story in detail, reliving traumatic events for long periods, or actively challenging thoughts. Instead, it engages the brain’s innate healing mechanisms, allowing change to happen internally and organically.

This makes EMDR a flexible option: it can be used as a stand-alone treatment, integrated into ongoing psychotherapy, or provided alongside other therapeutic methods.