About EMDR
Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987. Since then, its validity and reliability have been established through extensive and rigorous research. EMDR is now one of the most thoroughly researched treatments for trauma and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an effective intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A growing body of evidence also supports EMDR’s effectiveness in treating a range of mental health difficulties, including other anxiety disorders (such as phobias and panic attacks), chronic pain, complex grief, and eating disorders.
How EMDR works
EMDR utilises the body’s natural capacity to heal. In everyday life, the brain routinely processes new experiences without awareness. However, when someone is exposed to overwhelming events—such as those involving intense fear, helplessness, or life-threatening danger—the brain’s normal coping mechanisms can become overloaded.
This overload can result in traumatic experiences being stored in an unprocessed, raw form. Later, stimuli that are in some way similar to the original event—like specific images, sounds, or words—can trigger these unprocessed memories, causing the person to react as if the trauma is happening all over again. Although the event is in the past, the emotions—such as anxiety, panic, anger, or despair—are re-experienced in the present. This can inhibit a person’s ability to live in the present and to learn from new experiences.
EMDR helps the brain create connections between memory networks. Through this reprocessing, traumatic memories become integrated and lose their emotional charge—allowing them to become part of the past, rather than something that continues to intrude into the present. In this way, EMDR can help people resolve the emotional impact of past trauma and live more fully in the here and now.
What happens in a EMDR session?
During an EMDR session, the individual is asked to recall a traumatic memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation—such as moving their eyes from side to side or feeling alternating taps on each hand. This dual attention appears to help reduce the emotional intensity of the memory while allowing the brain to reprocess the event more adaptively.
Throughout the process, the person remains fully alert, in control, and awake. EMDR does not involve hypnosis or erasing memories; instead, it allows individuals to remember distressing events with significantly less emotional pain.
The number of EMDR sessions required depends on the nature and history of the problem. A single, isolated traumatic incident may require fewer sessions than trauma resulting from prolonged or repeated exposure to threatening experiences.
EMDR can be offered as a standalone, focused treatment or integrated into a longer-term psychotherapy. Sessions typically last around 75 minutes.
While EMDR can be delivered remotely, in-person sessions are generally considered as optimal.
