What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a form of trauma therapy developed by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. EMDR is used to help you heal from trauma and other distressing life experiences. The method of EMDR involves stimulating your body on both sides (moving both eyes, tapping both knees, etc.) while processing traumatic memories. By processing these memories, you can “reprogram” them in the light of a new, positive belief; this allows you to desensitize triggers, so the body has less reactivities.
EMDR is comparatively new to other therapy methods. Its first clinical trial started in 1989, and many studies have since shown its effectiveness.
Finding an EMDR Therapist in Spokane, WA
Mental health professionals who practice EMDR therapy are available in Spokane, Washington. To verify an EMDR therapist that fits your needs, you can ask them the following questions:
- What is your training and experience with EMDR?
- How many clients with my issue have you treated?
- Are there alternative therapies if EMDR isn’t the best fit for me?
- What should I expect if I feel overwhelmed?
When you have an initial consultation with us, you can ask the same questions to know that you’re in good hands.
How Does EMDR Work?
EMDR incorporates cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) elements with bilateral stimulation, like eye movements, sounds, and tactile sensations. During EMDR treatment, the client recalls traumatic memories while focusing on bilateral stimuli. This stimulation helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories in a less distressing way.
The Concept Foundation of EMDR
The theory behind EMDR is that traumatic memories are unprocessed or “stuck” in the brain. These stuck memories cause people to relieve them in various intensities when triggered, causing emotional distress. EMDR helps them reprocess memories and reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other conditions.
The Brain During Trauma
Strong emotions interfere with full memory processing during a traumatic event. This interference makes traumatic moments “frozen in time” in the brain. When a person recalls the trauma, it feels like reliving the event.
The Brain When Triggered
When the brain gets triggered, distressing memories affect daily functioning. Because it is “stuck,” the brain cannot process the event and will continue to be triggered. EMDR helps “unfreeze” traumatic memories. Over time, patients process distressing memories until they become less emotionally disturbing.
The Brain During EMDR
When asleep, we reprocess our day through Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Similar to REM, EMDR uses rapid eye movements to relieve trauma-related anxiety, providing detachment from distressing memories. From this detachment, EMDR enables reframing the trauma with positive beliefs. Some other professionals believe EMDR reactivates brain regions shut down by trauma, helping process emotions.
Who Needs EMDR Therapy: Conditions and Problems It Treats
EMDR is used to treat trauma-related conditions affecting other aspects of life. For example, it is sometimes combined with types of therapy for relationship issues to address adverse life events that affect a couple.
EMDR can help children, adolescents, and adults process trauma. Here is a list of common conditions treated with EMDR:
- PTSD and acute stress disorder
- Anxiety and panic disorders
- Depression and mood disorders
- Eating disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD, hoarding, body dysmorphia)
- Personality disorders (borderline, avoidant, antisocial)
- Trauma-related conditions
Who Cannot Have EMDR?
EMDR is used as trauma therapy. As such, it focuses on intensely stressful subjects. This is why people who are pregnant or have heart conditions, eye problems, or other health issues should consult their doctor before beginning EMDR therapy.
Benefits vs. Risks of EMDR
Just as EMDR has benefits, it also has risks. While it is proven effective, faster, and less stressful than other types of therapy, it only works for trauma-related conditions. It is a relatively new method, and not all clients receive benefits from it.
| EMDR Advantages | EMDR Disadvantages |
| Proven effectiveness | Works best for trauma-related conditions |
| Faster results than traditional therapy | Theories on how it works are still evolving |
| Less homework required | Developed only in 1989, making it a newer method |
| Usually less stressful | Not all clients respond to it |
The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy: What to Expect
EMDR therapy consists of eight structured phases. These phases can occur in a single session or be spread throughout several sessions. EMDR therapy can last 3-6 sessions for single events and 8-12 sessions or more for complex trauma. At Spokane Counseling Hub, each EMDR session can last 60-90 minutes.
Phase 1-3: Patient Interview and Assessment
These three phases can be done in 1-2 sessions.
Phase 1: Patient History and Information Gathering
During this phase, the therapist will take your history. They will ask a series of questions involving problems, behaviors, and concerns that brought you to therapy.
Rest assured, your therapist will not ask you to discuss the traumatic event in detail. Instead, they will ask you about the emotions and physical sensations surrounding the event.
Phase 2: Preparation and Education
Your therapist will discuss with you the following:
- What to expect during an EMDR session
- Ask what accommodations they can do to help you feel more stable and safe during sessions
- Provide you with self-care techniques to help you manage your emotions during or after a session
Phase 3: Assessment
Your therapist will help you create a baseline of how your trauma is affecting you. They will ask you the following:
- The specific imagery that best represents the traumatic event you’re targeting with this treatment
- The negative belief about yourself related to the traumatic event
- The positive belief you would rather believe about yourself. For example, you may replace a negative belief, “It was my fault,” with “I did everything to keep me safe at that time.”
They will also take the following measurements:
- Your Belief in Your Positive Belief: How much you believe the positive belief to be true is measured using the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale of 1-7. One equates to being “completely false,” while seven rates as “completely true.”
- Intensity of Disturbing Emotions Experienced: You’ll rate the intensity of disturbing emotions when you focus on the target image on the 11-point Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. 0 means the emotion isn’t distressing, and 10 is the worst feeling you’ve ever had.
- Bodily Sensations: Identify the locations in the body where you feel unpleasant physical sensations when triggered.
Phase 4-6: Processing Trauma with EMDR
These phases can take the majority of the sessions.
Phase 4: Desensitization and Reprocessing
- Goal:
- Desensitize from a traumatic memory until your SUD distress level is reduced to 0 or 1.
- How It’s Done:
- While you recall your target image, your therapist provides bilateral stimulation (alternating sounds, tactile stimulation, eye movements, etc.)
- With your attention split between the internal image and the external stimuli, you can experience the distressing memory in a grounded awareness, enabling you to reframe the trauma.
- What Your Therapist Will Ask You to Pay Attention To:
- Negative beliefs going through your mind during the desensitization process.
- Bodily sensations you experience during the process.
- Identify emotions and their intensity that come up during the process.
Phase 5: Installation
- Goal:
- Strengthen your positive belief until you fully believe it to be true.
- How It’s Done:
- You will focus on the positive belief that you wish to replace your old negative belief regarding the particular traumatic memory.
- With the positive belief in mind, you will then concentrate on this mental image while simultaneously tracking your therapist’s finger with your eyes.
- What Your Therapist Will Ask You to Pay Attention To:
- Rate the positive belief on the VOC Scale to measure your progress.
- The installation phase is complete once you reach seven or have fully accepted the belief as “completely true.”
Phase 6: Body Scan
- Goal:
- To be able to think or talk about the target image without feeling any body tension or unpleasant physical sensations.
- How It’s Done:
- Your therapist will ask you to think about your target image while looking for residual tension in your body.
- Any tension or uncomfortable bodily sensations are addressed until resolved.
Phase 7-8: Closing Sessions
Maintenance care after each session and after each image is reprocessed.
Phase 7: Closure and Stabilization
After each session, you may feel tired, numb, or upset. You may also have vivid dreams or nightmares after an EMDR session. Your therapist prepares you by having the following measures:
- Relaxation and visualization techniques
- Have a journal to distance yourself from unpleasant thoughts and provide you with new targets for EMDR therapy.
Phase 8: Re-evaluation and Continuing Care
Re-evaluation compares your progress to the baseline measurements taken from your initial assessment. It helps your therapist decide whether you should move on to new target images or visit old ones for additional reprocessing and integration.
EMDR Research in the Nutshell
Here are a few research studies investigating the effectiveness of EMDR:
- Twenty-four randomized controlled trials support the positive effects of EMDR in treating emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences, with 12 randomized studies noting that eye movement decreases negative emotions and/or vividness of disturbing images.
- In another study in 2017, professionals found that EMDR is just as effective as cognitive behavioral writing therapy in reducing PTSD symptoms, with EMDR reducing children’s symptoms earlier.
- In a study treating PTSD in patients with Multiple Sclerosis, scientists found that EMDR and relaxation significantly improved mood and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Start Your EMDR Therapy: Schedule an Appointment with Us
EMDR therapy helps people address trauma and upsetting memories in less distressful methods with quicker results. At Spokane Counseling Hub, our licensed EMDR therapists provide compassionate, research-driven care to help you heal faster and reduce emotional distress.
Ready to break free from the past and reclaim your peace of mind? Schedule an appointment today and start your journey toward lasting healing.