What is EMDR and what does it do?

Written By Christine Peng

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years. Even Prince Harry tried it!

If you’ve ever been through a distressing event, you know that the mind has a frustrating way of holding onto the past. Sometimes, a memory doesn't just feel like a story from your history—it feels like a living, breathing replay happening in your body. Traditional talk therapy is incredible for understanding why we feel the way we do, but sometimes talking isn't enough to shake the physical grip of trauma. That is where EMDR comes in. It sounds a bit like science fiction—healing your deepest psychological wounds simply by moving your eyes back and forth—but it is actually one of the most scientifically validated, heavily researched mental health treatments available today. Here is a breakdown of what EMDR is, the different phases of EMDR, and what it can do for you.

What is EMDR:

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro, it is a structured, specialized form of psychotherapy designed to help the brain resume its natural healing process.

To understand EMDR, we need to understand how trauma impacts us. Think of your brain as a highly efficient filing cabinet. When something normal happens, your brain processes the experience and files it away neatly under "Past Events." But when you experience a highly stressful or traumatic event (like an accident, abuse, or a sudden loss), your brain's filing system—which includes both the amygdala (the danger detector) and hippocampus (the memory system)—gets overwhelmed. As a result, instead of being filed away, the traumatic memory gets "stuck" in its raw, emotional form, much like a sharp foreign object stuck in the skin. A wound like this will never properly heal unless the foreign object is fully removed. Otherwise, every time the wound is touched (i.e., triggered), you feel the same pain. EMDR acts as a tool to unstick those memories, removing the foreign object and allowing the healing process to begin.

The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy:

EMDR is not a one-time trick. It is a comprehensive, eight-phase treatment protocol.

Phase ‍ ‍Name‍ ‍What Happens

Phase 1 & 2 History taking, Preparation The therapist learns about ‘headlines” of your history, prepare you to handle emotional distress and help you build resilience. You do not

& Resourcing need to talk details of the traumatic memories, as we therapists do not want to re-traumatise you.

‍ ‍

Phase 3 & 4 Identify targets & Desensitization You identify a specific target that you want to work on, and your therapist will utilise different forms of bilateral

stimulation and relevant tools to help you reduce the emotional sting that is attached to that target.

At this stage, you need to ‘feel it in order to heal it’.

But rest assured! You therapist will monitor your mental state and make sure you are safe and sound during the process.

Phase 5 & 6 Installation & Body Scan You strengthen the results from previous phases, linking a more positive belief with the target and ensure no residual tension remains in your body.

Phase 7 & 8 Closure & Re-evaluation The session is safely closed, and the next session begins by checking your progress. Sometimes you may continue to experience emotions, thoughts,

and sensations that are related to the targets, so this check-in and evaluation are crucial.

What Does EMDR Actually Do?

EMDR doesn't erase your memories. You will still remember that the things that happened, but the relationship you have with those memories will fundamentally change.

Here is what the evidence shows EMDR can achieve:

  • Removes the emotional "sting": EMDR is effective of reducing the vividness and intensity of traumatic memories and any related targets. Many people described that after EMDR interventions, they felt the memories no longer felt in their face, or they shift from colorful photos/videos to black-and-white ones.

  • Replaces your destructive self-beliefs with healthy, adaptive ones: Trauma often leaves people feeling guilty, broken, or unsafe. EMDR helps shift your internal narrative from "I feel the world if dangerous!" to "I am OK now".

  • Calms the Nervous System: Because the brain no longer views the memory as an active threat, the physical symptoms of trauma—like a racing heart, hypervigilance, and flashbacks—begin to fade.

Who is EMDR For?

While EMDR was originally created to treat Combat Veterans with PTSD, its applications have expanded dramatically. Today, it is used to treat a wide array of psychological challenges, including:

  • Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias

  • Depression

  • Chronic pain and illness

  • Grief and loss

  • Performance anxiety (used by athletes and executives)

  • "Complex trauma" (long-term childhood neglect or relational distress)

Everybody’s EMDR journey looks different. Please do not feel that you have to compare your own journey with other people. Just trust that your brain, your body and your therapist know what to do. The only thing you need to do during this process is to notice any sensations, thoughts, emotions or other things that happened.

The Takeaway

You do not need to suffer! EMDR is a powerful reminder of how resilient the human brain truly is. It proves that you don't have to spend years talking through every painful detail of your past to find relief. By giving the brain the right bilateral cues, EMDR assist your mind to do what it always wanted to do: heal.

Christine Peng