How EMDR Works
EMDR helps your brain do what it naturally wants to do: heal. When something overwhelming happens, especially if it’s traumatic, your nervous system can’t always fully process it in the moment. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, tapping, or tones) to help your brain reprocess those stuck memories and reduce their emotional charge.
You don’t need to relive every detail for EMDR to work. We’ll start by building safety, coping strategies, and a clear understanding of how the process works. When you’re ready, your therapist will guide you through short sets of eye movements or taps while you focus on a memory or feeling. Over time, the distress softens, and your brain begins to make new meaning.
It’s not about forgetting what happened. It’s about finally feeling like it’s not happening now.
Did you know? EMDR can be just as effective for subtle, ongoing trauma as it is for a single traumatic event.
What EMDR Can Help With
While EMDR is most well, known for treating PTSD, it’s also highly effective for many other issues that involve emotional overwhelm, stuck beliefs, or unresolved stress. You don’t have to have a diagnosis, or a clear memory of what happened, for EMDR to be helpful.
We use EMDR to support clients working through:
- PTSD and complex trauma
- Distressing memories or flashbacks
- Panic, phobias, or anxiety that doesn’t respond to talk therapy alone
- Chronic shame, self-criticism, or stuck beliefs like “I’m not safe” or “It was my fault”
- Emotional reactivity or shutdown
- Grief, loss, and unfinished emotional pain
- Medical trauma, birth trauma, or early life experiences
Whether you’re dealing with one specific incident or years of built-up pain, EMDR can help loosen what’s stuck-so you can finally move forward.
What to Expect in EMDR Therapy
EMDR sessions don’t look like traditional talk therapy, and that’s often a relief. After an initial assessment and preparation phase, your therapist will guide you through the reprocessing process when you’re ready. You’ll focus briefly on a memory, emotion, or body sensation while following a series of eye movements, taps, or tones. Then you’ll pause, notice what comes up, and continue. The process unfolds in short, structured sets, with your therapist tracking safety and readiness at every step.
Some clients feel emotional, some feel nothing at all, and many feel surprisingly calm. There’s no right way to experience EMDR. What matters is that you feel supported and in control. You don’t have to share every detail aloud. You don’t have to go deeper than feels safe. You get to move through it at your own pace.
What EMDR Feels Like
After trauma, your nervous system can get stuck in survival mode, bracing for danger, shutting down, or looping through fear long after the moment has passed. EMDR helps the body and brain reconnect in a way that tells your system: It’s safe now.
During reprocessing, emotions and sensations that were once frozen or overwhelming begin to shift. That might feel like a wave of heat in your chest, a release of tension in your jaw, or a sudden exhale you didn’t realize you were holding. You might feel lighter. Calmer. Clearer. Like your body finally got to finish something it started a long time ago.
It’s not always dramatic. Sometimes the change is quiet, like realizing a certain memory doesn’t hit as hard anymore. Or noticing that your body didn’t tighten this time. That’s healing, too.
EMDR helps your nervous system loosen its grip, so you can stop reacting like the threat is still happening, and start responding from a place of safety and choice.
Your nervous system doesn’t need words to heal, just safety.
Explore Your Trauma Therapy Options
While EMDR therapy is a highly effective approach for processing trauma, it’s not the only option we offer. Here are some other therapy options at PMPTherapy:
- For clients seeking a more conversational approach, our trauma talk therapy provides supportive, insight-oriented care.
- If you’re looking for faster, intensive trauma processing, our EMDR Intensives deliver focused sessions over a shorter timeframe to accelerate healing.
- We also offer a specialized program for first responders, tailored to address the unique experiences and challenges faced by emergency personnel.
Learn more about our Trauma Talk Therapy, EMDR Intensives, and First Responders Program.
Deep work, safely held. Without the pressure of starting and stopping every 50 minutes.
