When a person is very upset, the brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. One moment becomes “frozen in time,” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time because the images, sounds, smells, and feelings haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way you see the world and relate to other people.

EMDR therapy accesses and processes past traumatic memories and distressing life experiences, bringing these stressors to an adaptive and ‘healthy’ resolution—desensitizing disturbing triggers, freeing space for useful insights, and allowing the past to be truly past.

The goal of EMDR therapy is to process the experiences that are causing problems, and to include new, positive experiences that are needed for full health. “Processing” does not mean talking about an experience; “processing” means setting up a learning state that will allow experiences that are causing problems to be “digested” and stored appropriately in your brain. This means that any related inappropriate emotions, beliefs, and body sensations will be discarded. It also means that what is useful to you from an experience will be learned and be able to guide you in positive ways in the future.

EMDR therapy makes it possible for normal information processing to be resumed. Following a successful EMDR session, you no longer relive the images, sounds, and feelings when the traumatic event is brought to mind. You will still remember what happened, but the memory will be less upsetting. Many types of therapy have similar goals; however, EMDR appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps you see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way. With EMDR, you experience relief of negative symptoms and a newfound freedom in your daily life.

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