EMDR Therapy: What It Is and How It Helps

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is one of those therapies you may have heard about on TikTok, podcasts, or from a friend who swears it “changed their life in two sessions.” And while EMDR can be powerful and effective, the reality is a little more nuanced (like pretty much everything in therapy).

As a level-2 EMDR-trained therapist, I'll break down what EMDR is, how it works in the brain, and what you can realistically expect, without the the overwhelming jargon and (too many) acronyms.

Below you'll learn a bit about...

• What happens in our brains when we're triggered

• What Bilateral Stimulation is and how it's used in EMDR therapy

• The difference between EMDR and talk therapy

• The EMDR Jenga metaphor

• What the heck Future Templates are (spoiler alert: they're one of my favorite therapeutic tools, and I sometimes use them with clients who aren't even doing the full EMDR therapy!)

• Whether EMDR might be right for you...

What Happens in the Brain When We’re Triggered

Let’s start with your brain on stress: Imagine you’re going about your day when something suddenly reminds you of a painful experience. Your amygdala (the brain’s fight, flight, freeze response center) goes into full red-alert mode. Our sweet amygdala can’t always tell the difference between a real threat and a memory of one, so your body reacts as if the danger is happening right now.

Here’s the kicker: when the amygdala is on overdrive, your logical left brain often can't communicate with your emotional right brain. That’s why you might “know” something isn’t dangerous but still feel panicked, frozen, or out of control.

EMDR helps calm the amygdala and re-engage the parts of your brain that can say, “Okay, this memory is awful, but it’s over. I’m safe now.”

(Source: EMDRIA)

What Is Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)? It’s Not Just Eye Movements

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is a key part of EMDR that gently engages both sides of the brain to help ‘unstick’ distressing memories and process them in a healthier way.

While "eye movement" is the form of BLS in the title of EMDR, the truth is, eye movements are just one form of bilateral stimulation.

BLS can look like:

• Following a light bar with your eyes

• Holding buzzers that vibrate back and forth in your hands (this is what I personally use with most clients)

• Listening to alternating tones in headphones

• "Butterfly taps"

Think of BLS as nudging your brain into a rhythm that helps it digest memories that previously felt “stuck.”

How EMDR Differs From Traditional Talk Therapy

If you’ve done traditional talk therapy, you might be wondering how EMDR compares. Here are a few key differences:

• Focus of attention: Talk therapy emphasizes discussing and analyzing. EMDR emphasizes processing. Less analyzing, way less talking, a lot more noticing.

• Role of the therapist: In talk therapy, your therapist guides the conversation. In EMDR, I’m more like a facilitator helping your brain do the heavy lifting.

• Where healing happens: Talk therapy often builds insight. EMDR works directly with the nervous system, helping your body and brain finally agree that the past is over.

• Pacing: Talk therapy can be open-ended. EMDR often works on specific memories and can sometimes bring relief more quickly (though not always as quickly as the internet might claim).

Neither is better, they’re just different tools. Many people find value in using both, as EMDR can "turn down the volume" on trauma so that you feel more prepared to talk about it and gain more insight.

The Jenga Metaphor: Memories and Negative Beliefs

Here’s how my EMDR trainer explained EMDR to me: Imagine your traumatic memories are blocks at the bottom of a giant Jenga tower. Threaded through the tower is a cord representing the negative beliefs that tie those memories together: I’m not safe. I’m unworthy. I can’t trust anyone.

Each block is a memory, and the thread is the negative belief connecting them all

**Note: In this version of Jenga, we want the tower to topple (it's not a perfect metaphor, okay?!)

In EMDR, we can work either top-down or bottom-up. A top-down approach means clearing blocks (or memories) one by one from the top, starting with the less threatening ones and moving toward the harder ones. A bottom-up approach means going straight for the block at the base (often the earliest memory, or the one that feels the most charged right now). When that block loosens, the whole tower can collapse, weakening the negative belief and making room for a new, more supportive one.

Future Templates: Practicing for What’s Ahead

One of my favorite EMDR tools is the future template. Once we finish processing your past, we move on to rehearsing how you’d like to respond to your triggers in the future. It's a bit like how Olympic athletes visualize themselves succeeding, but with BLS and planning for discomfort.

A future template might look like:

• Imagining yourself giving a confident presentation at work

• Visualizing yourself going to a doctor’s appointment without panic

• Practicing how you’d like to feel in your body at the beach

While future templates usually happened as the last phase of EMDR work, they can also be used outside of the full EMDR protocol as a way of building resilience and confidence. Think of it as mental dress rehearsal for your triggers and coping tools.

Is EMDR Right for You?

EMDR is backed by research and recognized by organizations like the World Health Organization and the Department of Veterans Affairs as an effective treatment for trauma. But more importantly, it might be a tool that helps you.

If your brain feels like a messy Jenga tower, your amygdala acts like an annoying kitchen smoke alarm that goes off when you toast bread, or you’re tired of trying to talk or logic your way through your trauma, EMDR might be worth exploring.

If you’re curious about EMDR, I offer free 15-minute consultations in which we can talk about whether EMDR is the right next step in your therapy journey.