EMDR Therapy: Lesser-Known Facts About a Powerful Healing Approach

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) has grown significantly in popularity as an evidence-based treatment for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and even chronic pain. While many people have heard of it, there’s still a lot of mystery around what EMDR involves and why it works. Beyond the basics, there are fascinating aspects of EMDR that

don’t often make it into the mainstream conversation.

Here are some lesser-known facts about EMDR therapy:

1. It’s Not Just for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

While EMDR was first developed for PTSD and is now considered first-line treatment for it, decades of research now show that it is beneficial for a wide range of mental health concerns, including:

•  Anxiety and panic disorders

•  Depression

•  Phobias (including fear of flying)

•  Grief and loss

•  Performance anxiety (e.g., athletes, public speakers, performers)

•  Chronic pain

•  Attachment trauma

EMDR Doesn’t Just Use Eye Movements

Although the name highlights “eye movements,” EMDR works with different types of bilateral stimulation (BLS). This can include tapping, auditory tones, or hand buzzers that alternate left to right. Therapists often adapt the method depending on what feels most comfortable and effective for each client and their available equipment.

It’s Not About Forgetting the Past

A common misconception is that EMDR erases traumatic memories. Instead, it helps people reprocess those memories, so the emotional intensity decreases and the brain stores them in a more adaptive, less distressing way. The memory is still there, but it no longer feels overwhelming. By integrating the memory into a wider memory network, clients often report a change in perspective, adding new information (that might not have been there at the time

the event happened, for example, due to developmental age) or reporting that it feels like it’s “in the past now”.

EMDR Is More Structured Than It Looks

While the sets of eye movements may appear simple, EMDR follows an eight-phase protocol. These include history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitisation, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. This structure keeps the process safe, contained, and clinically effective. While it is very structured, the therapist and client work collaboratively, making sure that clients don’t feel overwhelmed and have a sense of control. Focus on re-processing, not re-living

EMDR helps the brain integrate traumatic memories, so they are no longer emotionally overwhelming. Clients do not have to give a detailed account of the traumatic event as in traditional talk therapy. Brief descriptions are sufficient to begin with and during the process, which allows the therapist to “follow” the client and guide them throughout the procedure, and notice any stuck points. The process is not about re-living the trauma but viewing it from a position of safety and control. 

How does it work? Brain-based and scientific 

The Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, the underlying concept of EMDR, proposes that traumatic or disturbing memories become stuck due to a disruption in the brain’s natural processing system, leading to ongoing symptoms in the present moment. Bilateral stimulation (usually in the form of eye movements or tapping) helps the brain in its natural healing process, processing stuck memories and integrating them into a wider, adaptive memory network. This process leads to a decrease in distress about the memories and any triggers that show up in the present moment.

Emerging research indicates that the bilateral stimulation in EMDR may mimic REM sleep, the sleep cycle when memory consolidation, learning and emotional processing take place. This helps to synchronise brain waves and slow down the overstimulated amygdala, which is responsible for fear responses.

Carolin Hayes

Registered Psychologist

B Psych Sci (Hons), M Prof Psych, MAPS

Carolin Hayes is a Registered Psychologist at Clinical Therapy. Carolin is registered with the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA) and is passionate about using EMDR in her work with clients. She describes EMDR as a process where cognitive awareness aligns with the gut feeling.