What Is EMDR Therapy

One of the therapies that Felicity provides is Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, so what is it?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that helps people heal from the emotional distress and symptoms associated with disturbing or overwhelming life experiences.

EMDR is widely used by Medicare-registered mental health practitioners and is often experienced as an alternative to traditional talk-only therapy. While it still involves talking with your therapist, EMDR does not require detailed or repeated retelling of distressing events. Many people find that it allows them to process difficult experiences in a more contained way and may lead to meaningful change in fewer sessions.

You do not need to have a diagnosed mental illness or a history of “big” trauma to benefit from EMDR. It can be helpful for both single distressing events and ongoing patterns shaped by earlier life experiences.

EMDR was initially developed to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veteran populations. It is now recognised as an effective, evidence-based treatment for a wide range of psychological concerns.

What Can EMDR Therapy Help With?

EMDR Therapy has been shown to be effective in treating:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Trauma and adverse life experiences

• Low self-esteem, shame and self-criticism

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Phobias

• Grief and complex grief

  • While grief is a normal human process, EMDR can support movement through grief when it feels stuck or overwhelming

• Stress

• Nightmares and intrusive thoughts

How Does EMDR Therapy Work?

Our brains are naturally designed to move toward healing. In much the same way that a physical wound will heal if conditions allow, the brain is usually able to process and integrate difficult experiences over time. Much of this natural processing occurs during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep.

Sometimes, however, this process becomes blocked. This may happen if an experience was particularly distressing, occurred at a vulnerable time in life, or required coping strategies that were helpful at the time but are no longer serving us. When this happens, memories can remain “stuck” and continue to trigger emotional distress, physical sensations, or unhelpful beliefs in the present.

EMDR Therapy helps to restart and support the brain’s natural processing system. By using bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, sounds, or tapping), EMDR supports the brain to reprocess and store memories in a healthier, more adaptive way. Over time, the emotional charge associated with these memories typically reduces, allowing people to feel more present, grounded, and free in their day-to-day lives.

What Does An EMDR Processing Session Look Like?

Before any EMDR processing begins, your therapist will spend time getting to know you, understanding your experiences, and ensuring you have the skills and supports needed to feel safe and resourced. EMDR is always done at a pace that feels manageable for you.

Once you and your therapist agree that you are ready to begin processing, a typical EMDR session may look like this:

After a brief check-in, your therapist will invite you to bring to mind a specific memory or experience that you have chosen together to work on. You will then follow the therapist’s fingers as they move back and forth, which helps keep you oriented to the present moment and simulates what occurs in the brain during REM sleep. Once your therapist has a good understanding of what is going on for you and you are feeling ready to do some EMDR processing, your session may look like this:

The eye movements last for short periods and then pause. Your therapist will ask what you are noticing before beginning another set. For some people, eye movements are not suitable. In this case, bilateral stimulation can also be provided through alternating sounds using headphones or gentle tapping using handheld devices.

With repeated sets, the memory usually becomes less painful and less emotionally distressing. Some people notice the image becoming “fuzzy”, further away, or more neutral. Others describe it as feeling like “just something that happened” rather than something that is still happening to them. As memories are reprocessed, related patterns and beliefs can also shift, often leading to broader improvements in how you feel and function in the present.

Throughout the entire process, you remain fully aware, in control, and able to stop at any time.

Still have questions? Check out our EMDR FAQs