EMDR: What It Is, How It Works, and What Research Suggests

If your brain sometimes feels like it has a “highlight reel” of your most stressful, embarrassing, or painful memories that it insists on replaying at the worst possible moments, EMDR might be a suitable treatment approach. The method sounds a bit unusual at first, after all, it involves following a therapist’s fingers with your eyes while thinking about difficult experiences, which can feel slightly like your brain is being asked to multitask in a very strange way. But behind this seemingly simple process is a well-researched therapy that helps the mind finally file away memories that have been sitting in the wrong folder for far too long.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy approach developed by Francine Shapiro in the1980s. It was originally designed to help individuals process traumatic memories, but over time it has been applied to a wider range of psychological difficulties. EMDR is based on the idea that distressing experiences can become “stuck” in the brain in an unprocessed form, continuing to trigger emotional, cognitive, and physiological distress long after the original event has passed.

During EMDR therapy, clients are guided to recall distressing memories while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, most commonly through guided eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones that alternate from one side of the body to the other. This process is thought to help the brain reprocess traumatic or disturbing memories, allowing them to be integrated into adaptive memory networks. As a result, the emotional intensity and negative beliefs associated with the memory often decrease, while more balanced and adaptive perspectives emerge.

Research over the past three decades has provided substantial support for EMDR, particularly in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multiple randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have found EMDR to be as effective as, and in some cases faster than, trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Nowadays, World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) recognise EMDR as an evidence-based treatment for trauma and PTSD.

Beyond PTSD, emerging research suggests that EMDR may be effective for other conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, phobias, complicated grief, performance-related

anxiety, and adverse life experiences that may not meet criteria for trauma but still contribute to emotional distress or maladaptive beliefs.

While EMDR is widely regarded as safe and effective, it needs to be delivered by well-trained clinicians. Researchers continue to explore exactly how and why it works with current theories suggesting that bilateral stimulation may facilitate memory reconsolidation, enhance emotional processing, and reduce the vividness and emotional intensity of distressing memories.