What Is Emdr Therapy? How It Works and What to Expect

Sometimes it’s a smell. Sometimes it’s a song on the radio, or a tone of voice across a room. And suddenly you’re back there, heart racing, as if years haven’t passed at all.

If a memory like that keeps finding its way into your present, you may have come across EMDR. This guide explains what EMDR therapy is, how it works and what sessions are really like. It may help you decide whether it’s worth exploring.

What does EMDR stand for, and where did it come from?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980s by American psychologist Francine Shapiro, who noticed that certain eye movements seemed to lessen the intensity of distressing thoughts. She developed this into a structured therapy with its own protocol, training and standards, which is still used today.

The story often told is that Shapiro was walking in a park, troubled by a worry. She noticed that as her eyes moved back and forth, the worry lost some of its grip. That small observation became one of the most researched trauma therapies in use today.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR is based on the idea that overwhelming experiences can be stored before the brain has fully processed them. The memory keeps its original images, feelings and beliefs, so it can feel as if it is still happening. EMDR aims to help the brain finish that processing, so the memory feels more like the past.

This is why you can know, logically, that something is over — and still feel your body brace when you’re reminded of it. Beliefs from that moment, such as ‘I’m not safe’ or ‘It was my fault’, can feel true even when part of you knows they aren’t.

What is bilateral stimulation?

Bilateral stimulation is the rhythmic left-right movement at the heart of EMDR. Most often you follow your therapist’s hand or a moving light with your eyes. It can also be gentle alternating taps, sometimes called EMDR tapping, or tones played in each ear. Your therapist will find the method that feels most comfortable for you.

Why it helps is still being studied. Dutch psychologists Marcel van den Hout and Iris Engelhard have explored one explanation: holding a memory in mind while tracking movement takes up the brain’s limited ‘working memory’. That may make the memory feel less vivid. In 2002, Harvard sleep researcher Robert Stickgold suggested another link, with the way the brain processes emotional experiences during dream sleep.

What happens in an EMDR session?

EMDR follows eight phases: history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitisation, installation, body scan, closure and re-evaluation. Early sessions focus on getting to know you and building ways to feel steady. Processing only begins once you feel ready. Every session ends with time to settle, even if a memory is still being worked on.

In practice, it looks something like this:

1. History taking. You and your therapist talk about what’s been happening and what you’d like to change.
2. Preparation. You learn ways to calm yourself — like a ‘calm place’ you can picture at 3am, not just in the therapy room.
3. Assessment. You choose a memory and notice the image, belief, feeling and body sensation that go with it.
4. Desensitisation. You hold the memory briefly while following the bilateral stimulation, in short sets.
5. Installation. A more balanced belief, such as ‘It’s over now’, is strengthened.
6. Body scan. You notice any tension left in your body, which is then worked with too.
7. Closure. You’re helped to feel settled before you leave.
8. Re-evaluation. Next time, you look at what has shifted and what comes next.

If you’d like more detail on the early stages, our guide to preparing for your first EMDR session walks through them step by step.

Do you have to talk about the trauma in EMDR?

No. You will need to bring the memory to mind, and your therapist will need a general sense of what happened. But you do not have to describe every detail or relive it out loud. Much of the processing happens internally, and you only share a word or two between sets.

Between sets, you might say something as small as ‘It’s fading’ or ‘I can smell the car again’. That’s enough. For many people who have dreaded retelling their story, this is what makes EMDR feel possible.

What can EMDR help with?

EMDR has the strongest evidence for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is also used for single frightening events, longer-term or childhood trauma, anxiety and panic linked to past experiences, phobias and difficult grief. The research is more limited for some of these uses, so a good therapist will be honest about what fits you.

Sometimes the link is clear — a fear of driving that began on one particular wet evening. Sometimes it’s harder to trace. If anxiety is part of what brings you here, you might find our article on whether EMDR can help with anxiety useful.

Can you have EMDR therapy online?

Yes. EMDR can be delivered by secure video. You follow a point on the screen with your eyes, or use taps you do yourself, guided by your therapist. Many people find working from home helps them feel more settled. Your therapist will first check that online work is suitable and safe for you.

That might mean following a moving dot on your laptop from your own sofa, with a cup of tea close by. You’ll also plan together what you’ll do to unwind once the call ends.

How do you find a qualified EMDR therapist?

Look for a qualified, registered counsellor or psychotherapist who has completed recognised EMDR training and has regular EMDR-specific supervision. Accreditation with the EMDR Association UK is a helpful sign of experience. It is reasonable to ask about their training, their supervision and how they would prepare you before any memory processing begins.

A good therapist won’t mind these questions at all. You might also ask what they’ll do if a session feels like too much. Their answer will tell you a lot.

EMDR is available through the NHS as well as privately. Our guide to EMDR on the NHS vs Private Therapy explains the differences, including what you can do while you wait.

Further Reading

You can read more on our EMDR therapy page, or about our wider trauma and PTSD counselling.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ian Stockbridge

• MBACP (Senior Accredited)

Founder & Clinical Director — Hope Therapy & Counselling Services

Founder of Hope Therapy, published author, clinical supervisor, and co-presenter of The Talk Room Podcast. Practising therapist with 25+ years of senior leadership experience.

Before Ian Stockbridge was a therapist, he was a leader. For more than 25 years he worked in senior management and directorial roles across commercial organisations — at times managing teams of more than 200 people. He was effective at it. But the longer he did it, the harder something became to ignore. The people around him were struggling. Capable, committed, often high-achieving people carrying invisible weight that had nowhere to go. Stress accumulated quietly across months and years. Anxiety managed behind professionalism. Relationships and mental health dealt with in the margins of a working life that left little room for either.

• SCoPEd Band C
• SNCPS (Acc)
• BSc (Hons) CBT
• PGCert Clinical Supervision
• Diploma — Person-Centred Counselling
• Diploma — Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
• Certificate — Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
• Certificate — Trauma
• Certificate — CBT for Insomnia
• 25+ Years Leadership
• Clinical Supervisor
• Published Author
• Podcast Co-Host
• LGBTQIA+ Affirming

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