What Is EMDR Therapy? Understanding How It Helps Heal from Trauma

8 Nov

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychological therapy designed to help people heal from distressing or traumatic experiences. It was first developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, after she noticed that specific types of eye movements seemed to reduce the intensity of her own upsetting thoughts.

Since then, EMDR has become a popular and evidence-based trauma treatment, recommended by organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Australian Psychological Society (APS).

EMDR works by helping your brain reprocess painful memories so they’re no longer overwhelming or “stuck” in the nervous system. The interesting part is that it is your own brain that does all of the work.

How EMDR Therapy Works

When something traumatic or deeply distressing happens, the brain can sometimes struggle to fully process the experience. Making it “stuck” or “frozen” in time. So instead of storing it as a past event, your body might continue to react as if the threat is still happening.

EMDR helps your brain finish processing these memories safely. EMDR usually involves:

Identifying a memory or an image that still feels distressing, and figuring out how it may have impacted your understanding of yourself.
Engaging in bilateral stimulation, this can include side-to-side eye movements, sounds, or gentle tapping.
Reprocessing the memory, allowing it to lose its emotional intensity while integrating new, adaptive beliefs (like “I’m safe now” or “It wasn’t my fault”).

Note: It’s NOT hypnosis, and you don’t have to retell every detail of what happened. You are aware and in control. Instead, EMDR focuses on how your body and brain store the memory, helping you release it in a contained and supported way.

So What Can EMDR Help With

While EMDR was originally developed for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it’s now used to treat a wide range of concerns, including:

Childhood trauma and complex trauma (attachment traumas or little t trauma)
Anxiety, panic, and phobias
Grief and loss
Self-esteem and shame
Body image distress
Eating disorders (Can be helpful when food behaviours are linked to trauma or emotional memories)

Research shows that EMDR can be effective when integrated into eating disorder treatments such as CBT-E, helping people process experiences like medical trauma, bullying, or attachment wounds that may underlie restrictive or bingeing patterns or body image distress (Rossi et al., 2024).

What an EMDR Session Can Feel Like

EMDR sessions typically move through eight phases, but the process can vary as it is individualised and done in a collaborative and gentle manner to suit the needs of each individual and their circumstances.
Early sessions focus on building trust, understanding your goals, and strengthening emotional safety through grounding techniques.

During reprocessing, the therapist guides you to briefly notice an image, body sensation, or thought (that may be distressing) while introducing bilateral stimulation (often of the eyes). Your mind naturally begins to make new connections, releasing the pain or distress. It is important to note that your brain and body naturally do this on their own, much like what happens in our sleep when the brain restores the memories of the day. Many clients describe EMDR as “finally being able to move on” or “feeling lighter” after carrying emotional weight for years.

Why EMDR Works: The Science of Adaptive Processing

According to the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, trauma memories can become “stuck” in the brain in their original emotional form. EMDR can activate the brain’s natural healing mechanisms, similar to how the body heals a wound when given the right conditions.

Through repeated bilateral stimulation and safe therapeutic support, EMDR helps:

Reconnect the emotional and logical parts of the brain
Reduce physical reactivity (like heart rate and muscle tension)
Install new, balanced perspectives about yourself and the event

EMDR and Eating Disorders 🌼 : Reconnecting Safety and Self-Trust

For clients with eating disorders, EMDR can help address the root causes, not just symptoms. Many people use food restriction, bingeing, or control as ways to manage emotional pain or trauma. By reprocessing the original distress, EMDR helps the nervous system experience a sense of safety, reducing the need for maladaptive coping strategies.

This trauma-informed integration can make recovery feel more possible, compassionate, and sustainable.

The Takeaway: Healing Is Possible

EMDR offers more than symptom relief; it offers a pathway to reclaim your sense of safety, trust, and connection after trauma.
Whether you’ve experienced a single traumatic event or years of emotional overwhelm, your brain is wired to heal, it may just need the right support to get there.

If you’d like to explore EMDR with a warm, trauma-informed psychologist, our clinicians at recoverED Clinic can help.
We provide evidence-based EMDR therapy for trauma, PTSD, and eating disorders, supporting you to heal, grow, and reconnect with your body.

Note: The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is NOT intended as medical /psychological advice. Please consult a healthcare professional for personalised guidance.