For example, an adult woman may come into therapy to better understand why she is afraid to be assertive and use her voice in various relationships. During the assessment, we may identify times in her past when she learned that being assertive and using her voice would elicit a negative response from others, one of which may be when she remembers watching her dad yell at her mom. Using EMDR, we may “target” this specific memory and help the woman reprocess this memory and integrate it into her adult neuro-network, in which she is now able to see that her dad’s behavior was inappropriate and that, regardless of his behavior, it’s ok for her to be assertive in her adult relationships.

In 2004, EMDR was endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Defense as a scientifically valid form of therapy for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. EMDR has also been shown to be effective in the treatment of body dysmorphia, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, phobias, anger management, and attachment disorders.

It is important to note that EMDR is not hypnosis; participants are fully aware and in control throughout the entire process. While processing old memories, participants are reminded that it’s like riding on a train, in which the scenery (memories) is just passing by and to just notice that. Many participants will describe their experience as having one foot in the past and one foot in the present, all the while anchored in the safety of the therapist’s presence.

EMDR is typically conducted in an individual therapy setting. While there are no specific number of sessions identified for each issue, acute experiences may be significantly decreased in as few as 3 sessions. People with more complex trauma and/or more distressing events may need to participate in EMDR for several months while pairing this type of treatment with traditional talk therapy. 

To learn more about EMDR, please click here.