What is EMDR?
A short guide to Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
How our experiences shape us
Throughout our lives, our experiences shape how we feel about ourselves, others and the world, both positive (“I am capable”, “I am worthy”) and negative (“I am not good enough”, “I am not safe”). These experiences are stored in our brains/body as a network made of several elements:
Most experiences are processed and stored in a way that allows us move on. Positive experiences may add to a sense of confidence or mastery, or we might overcome difficulties and feel resilient as a result. Sometimes, though, what we experience is so painful, terrifying, or disturbing that it gets stored in a way that keeps us stuck in unhelpful patterns. A part of us continues to carry the original emotions, sensations and beliefs - memory networks that can be triggered in the present and might show up as chronic feelings loneliness, shame, fear, or worthlessness.
What EMDR aims to do
EMDR is designed to reach these unhelpfully stored memory networks so they can be processed. As this happens, the emotional charge of the memory eases, and the meaning we made from the experience can shift, from unhelpful, negative feelings and beliefs to ones that are more balanced and adaptive. The memory is not erased. You will still remember what happened, but it tends to feel less distressing and less connected to how you see yourself today.
Bilateral stimulation
EMDR does this using bilateral stimulation (BLS): gentle, alternating left–right input, such as eye movements, taps or tones. BLS draws on the brain’s own natural way of processing information. Bilateral processing is part of how our threat detection system learns that something is no longer a danger (a process called habituation), and it is also present during REM sleep, when the brain sorts and consolidates the experiences of the day.
What happens in an EMDR session
Taken as a whole, EMDR therapy can look like other therapies, where it's essential to create a trusting relationship between the client and therapist, a safe space for diffuclt thoughts and emotions to be acknolwedged and understood, linking the past to the present, and building up our resources and capacity to cope with emotional pain.
However, the BLS part of EMDR is unique - In these sessions, you will be invited to connect with the different parts of a core experience (the image, the emotions, the sensations in your body and the beliefs that go with it) while the BLS is happening (eye movements, body tapping, etc). Your role is simple: with curiosity, just notice what comes up. There is no right or wrong way to do this, and you do not need to force anything or analyse it.
As the processing unfolds, your therapist will regularly encourage you to keep noticing what is happening in your mind and body: new emotions, sensations, thoughts or meanings that may arise. The BLS continues to support your brain in processing the experience and moving it towards an adaptive resolution, in both the mind and the body.
The key idea: you are not being asked to relive the past or to work anything out. You are simply noticing, with curiosity, while your brain does what it is naturally built to do: process, integrate and heal. You are always in control, and you can pause at any point.
This page is general information about EMDR and is not a substitute for individual clinical advice.