What Is EMDR Therapy? One Way People Heal From Trauma

If you’ve experienced trauma, you may feel stuck — like no matter how much time passes, certain memories or reactions just won’t go away. That’s where EMDR therapy can help.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps your brain process and heal from traumatic experiences. It’s different from traditional talk therapy — and for many people, it works when nothing else has.

While I don’t currently offer EMDR in my practice, many of my clients ask about it — and it’s a great opportunity to talk about what makes trauma therapy effective, and how different approaches (including mine) can support your healing.

If you’re curious about EMDR or wondering whether it’s right for you, it’s helpful to understand what it is — and how other forms of trauma therapy, like the work I do with clients in my NYC practice, can also help you process painful experiences and move forward.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980s and has since been used worldwide to treat trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and more.

Instead of asking you to relive traumatic events or talk through every painful detail, EMDR helps your brain “reprocess” painful memories in a safer, less triggering way. It uses bilateral stimulation — often in the form of eye movements, tapping, or sounds — while you think about a specific experience.

Over time, this process can reduce the emotional intensity of a memory and help you move forward with more peace and less distress.

How Does EMDR Work?

When something traumatic happens, your brain may not fully process it the way it would a normal memory. That’s why certain sounds, smells, or feelings can suddenly bring you right back to that moment — it’s stuck in your nervous system.

EMDR helps "unstick" those memories.

Here’s what an EMDR session typically involves:

• Preparation: Your therapist helps you identify a memory or issue to work on.

• Assessment: You’ll talk briefly about the memory and how it affects you today.

• Bilateral stimulation: This is the key step. While focusing on the memory, your therapist guides you through side-to-side eye movements, sounds, or tapping.

• Reprocessing: You’ll notice new thoughts, feelings, or images come up — your brain is starting to make new connections and reduce the memory’s intensity.

• Closure: Each session ends with grounding techniques to help you leave feeling calm and safe.

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

EMDR therapy has helped many people find relief from a wide range of emotional and psychological struggles — especially those rooted in difficult or traumatic experiences. While EMDR is most often associated with treating PTSD, its benefits reach far beyond just that diagnosis.

Here are some of the groups who often find EMDR especially effective:

• People living with PTSD and complex trauma:
  If you’ve experienced a single traumatic event or ongoing trauma, such as abuse, accidents, or disasters, EMDR can help process those memories in a way that reduces their power over your daily life. It’s designed to target trauma that has been stored in the nervous system and often manifests as flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, or emotional numbness.
  

• Survivors of childhood abuse or neglect:
  Early adverse experiences can deeply affect how you relate to yourself and others as an adult. EMDR helps by addressing the emotional wounds and distorted beliefs that develop from those formative years, creating space for healing and self-compassion.
  

• Individuals recovering from sexual assault or domestic violence:
  The trauma from these experiences can be overwhelming and complex. EMDR provides a structured, gentle approach to work through the pain, reduce anxiety and shame, and regain a sense of safety and control.
  

• Those coping with grief and loss:
  Losing someone important can trigger intense emotional pain that sometimes gets stuck in the body and mind. EMDR can help process the raw feelings associated with grief, allowing you to move toward acceptance and renewed hope.
  

• People dealing with panic attacks and anxiety disorders:
  EMDR is increasingly recognized as a helpful tool for managing panic and chronic anxiety, especially when those feelings are connected to past events or deeply ingrained fears. It can reduce the intensity and frequency of panic episodes and improve overall emotional regulation.

No Formal Diagnosis Needed to Benefit

One of the most important things to know about EMDR is that you don’t need a formal PTSD or trauma diagnosis to experience its healing effects.

If there are experiences in your past that still feel “unfinished,” overwhelming, or like they cast a shadow over your present, EMDR might be able to help you release their grip. This could be difficult memories, stressful life events, or persistent feelings of anxiety and distress that don’t seem to respond to other forms of therapy.

EMDR helps your brain make new connections and create a different relationship to those memories — so they no longer control your thoughts, emotions, or reactions.

Common Myths About EMDR

“Isn’t it just hypnosis?”
Nope. You’re fully awake and in control throughout the session.

“What if I don’t remember my trauma clearly?”
That’s okay. EMDR can work with body memories, emotions, or simply the sense that “something happened.”

“Is it painful?”
Processing can feel emotional at times, but EMDR is designed to move at your pace — and many clients feel relief even after a few sessions.

“EMDR is only for extreme trauma.”
Not true. EMDR can help with a wide range of challenges, from everyday stress and anxiety to deeply rooted trauma. It’s useful for many emotional difficulties, big or small.

“I have to talk about everything in detail for EMDR to work.”
Actually, EMDR doesn’t require detailed storytelling. You only share what feels safe, and the therapy works with whatever memories or feelings come up, even if they’re fragmented.

“EMDR is a quick fix.”
While some people feel better quickly, EMDR is a process. Healing takes time, and sessions build on each other to create lasting change. It’s about steady progress, not instant cures.

RELATED: Common Questions about Therapy

What If EMDR Isn’t the Right Fit?

EMDR is one path to healing, but it’s not the only one. In my practice, I help clients work through trauma using relational, somatic, and mindfulness-based approaches that are also grounded in nervous system regulation and self-compassion. If you’re looking for support that helps you feel safe, seen, and empowered, I’d be happy to talk with you about what therapy with me looks like.

You Deserve to Heal

Healing from trauma doesn’t mean forgetting — it means being able to live your life without constantly being pulled back into the pain of the past. It means feeling more grounded in the present, more connected to yourself, and more free to move forward.

Services such as EMDR can be a powerful part of that journey. It doesn’t erase what happened, but it can help your nervous system let go of the intensity, fear, or stuckness that trauma often leaves behind.

If you’ve been carrying heavy experiences — or if you just know that something doesn’t feel quite right — you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

If you’re looking for trauma-informed therapy and want to explore different healing options — along with CBT-E and DBT — I’d love to connect.

To learn more about EMDR, visit emdria.org.