What Is EMDR Therapy? A Simple Guide
By Enya Murphy-Webb | EMDR Professional & Senior Psychiatric Nurse
What’s EMDR Therapy, and is it for me?
If you've been Googling ‘what is EMDR therapy,’ but you haven’t the time for clinical jargon, you're in the right place. This guide cuts through all of that and explains EMDR in plain English.
What it is, how it works, what a session actually looks like, and whether it might be right for you.
So, What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It's a type of therapy that helps people process painful or traumatic memories that haven't been fully ‘digested’ by the brain.
The name sounds a bit technical, but the idea behind it is actually quite straightforward. When something traumatic or deeply distressing happens to us, the brain sometimes struggles to process it properly. Instead of filing the memory away like a normal experience, it gets stuck. And when it gets stuck, it can keep affecting us long after the event itself is over, through flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, or that nagging feeling that something is just not right.
EMDR helps the brain do what it wasn't able to do at the time. It gently unlocks the stuck memory and allows it to be processed properly, so it loses its emotional charge.
Where Did EMDR Come From?
EMDR was developed in the late 1980s by American psychologist Dr Francine Shapiro. She noticed, more or less by accident, that moving her eyes from side to side while thinking about a distressing memory seemed to reduce how upsetting it felt. From there, she developed it into a full therapeutic approach, and it has been refined and researched ever since.
It's now one of the most well-evidenced therapies available. The NHS recommends it. The World Health Organisation recommends it. The American Psychological Association recommends it. It's not a new-age therapy or a quick fix, It's a serious, evidence-based treatment with decades of research behind it.
How Does EMDR Actually Work?
This is the question most people have, and it's a fair one.
During EMDR, your therapist will ask you to bring a distressing memory to mind while following a series of bilateral stimulation. This usually means following the therapist's fingers moving from side to side with your eyes, though it can also involve tapping or sounds alternating between each ear.
The idea is that this back-and-forth movement mimics something the brain does naturally during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is the stage of sleep where we process the events of the day. When a memory is too overwhelming, the brain can't process it during sleep the way it normally would. EMDR essentially gives it another chance to do that processing in a safe, supported environment.
It sounds simple, and in some ways it is. But what happens during those processing sets can be quite profound. Memories lose their intensity. Physical sensations that were tied to the trauma begin to ease. People often describe feeling lighter, or like something they've been carrying for years has finally started to shift.
What Can EMDR Help With?
EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it remains one of the most effective treatments for it. But over the years, research has shown that it can help with a much wider range of difficulties, including:
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression rooted in past experiences
Childhood trauma and adverse childhood events
Grief and loss
Phobias
Low self-esteem and negative core beliefs
Trauma from accidents, medical procedures or assault
Complex trauma from long-term abuse or neglect
If your present-day struggles feel connected to something that happened in the past, whether that's something obviously traumatic or something that might seem smaller but has stayed with you, EMDR may well be worth exploring.
What Does an EMDR Session Look Like?
A lot of people worry that EMDR means having to talk through every detail of their trauma. The good news is that it doesn't work that way.
EMDR has eight phases, and the early ones are all about building a foundation. Before any processing begins, your therapist will take time to understand your history, explain the approach, and make sure you feel safe and prepared. You'll learn grounding and self-soothing techniques so that if emotions come up between sessions, you have ways to manage them.
When processing does begin, you won't be asked to describe everything in detail. You might be asked to hold a memory or image in mind, notice what feelings come up in your body, and follow the bilateral stimulation. The processing happens naturally, and your therapist will guide you through it at a pace that feels manageable.
Sessions are typically 60 to 90 minutes, which is slightly longer than a standard talking therapy appointment. This is because the processing phases need enough time to reach a natural stopping point rather than leaving things unresolved mid-session.
Is EMDR Right for Me?
That's something worth exploring with a qualified therapist, because everyone's situation is different. What EMDR tends to work well for is any situation where the past feels like it's still very much present. Where memories intrude. Where certain situations, smells, sounds or places trigger a response that feels out of proportion to what's actually happening.
It can also work well for people who have tried talking therapies before and found them helpful to a point, but felt like there was something deeper that words alone couldn't reach.
EMDR is not suitable for everyone, and a good therapist will always carry out a thorough assessment before recommending it. If it's not the right fit, there will be other options to discuss.
EMDR at Mourne EMDR Therapy
Based in Newcastle, County Down, Mourne EMDR Therapy offers EMDR treatment in the heart of the Mournes.
Whether you've been carrying something for years or are only beginning to recognise the impact of past experiences, you don't have to keep doing it alone.
If you'd like to find out more or have a conversation about whether EMDR might be right for you, get in touch. There's no pressure and no obligation, just a quiet, confidential space to start the conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many EMDR sessions will I need? It varies depending on the person and the nature of what's being worked on. For a single-incident trauma, NICE guidelines suggest 6 to 12 sessions may be appropriate. Complex or long-standing trauma may take longer. For you, it could require less sessions. Your therapist will give you a clearer picture after an initial assessment.
Does EMDR work online? Yes. Research has shown that online EMDR is just as effective as in-person therapy, and many people find the familiarity of their own home actually makes it easier to engage with the process.
Will I have to relive the trauma? Not in the way people often fear. EMDR doesn't require you to narrate your experience in detail. You'll be guided to hold certain images or feelings in mind, but you won't be asked to relive events as if they were happening again.
Is EMDR recognised by the NHS? Yes. EMDR is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation as a first-line treatment for PTSD.
What's the difference between EMDR and CBT? Both are effective, evidence-based therapies. CBT works primarily by challenging unhelpful thinking patterns. EMDR works more directly with the memories themselves. Some people find one more helpful than the other, and your therapist can help you figure out which might suit you best.
Send us a message, below, and we’ll be in touch to arrange a 15 minute call to discuss your current situation, and we’ll go from there.
Sometimes taking the first step can be the hardest, but the fact that you’re considering treatment is a great start!
