EMDR Glossary: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

You’ve probably heard of EMDR therapy, but you may not be totally sure what it stands for—or why eye movements are even part of the process. If you’re looking for a clear, simple explanation, you’re in the right place.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a trauma-focused therapy that uses specific forms of stimulation to help your brain process memories that feel “stuck.” When EMDR works the way it’s designed to, you can remember what happened without feeling triggered, overwhelmed, or activated by it. Let’s walk through what that actually means.

What “Eye Movements” Really Are in EMDR

Eye movements are used while recalling the original trauma to create a form of distraction (and allowing you to stay in the present moment - we call this dual attention).  Sometimes therapists use tactile and auditory stimulation in addition to eye movements - and sometimes eye movements aren’t used at all. 

So here’s the history behind this.  The original research for EMDR was completed using eye movements.  It turns out that not everyone does well with eye movements (and eye movements are contraindicated for anyone with a seizure history).  So there are other types of stimulation used, such as tactile (tapping your knees or having buzzers in your hands that buzz back and forth) or auditory (headphones with a sound that alternates in each ear).  I’ve also explained this in the video below.

**Disclaimer** DO NOT do this without a trained professional, there are a lot of nuances involved and doing this on yourself could go sideways very, very quickly.

Despite the fact that eye movements are not the only stimulation that can be used, EMDR was so well known that it didn’t make sense to change the name (also, it had already been changed once before from “EMD” in 1990).  Francine Shapiro, the original developer of EMDR has said that if she could do it all over again, she’d just call it “Reprocessing Therapy.”

So the long and short of it is this, some form of stimulation is used during the therapy.  It can be eye movements, tactile or auditory.  So if you do EMDR and you find that eye movements aren’t your favorite, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t getting the benefit of the therapy - any stimulation works.  In fact, currently, there’s more research emerging that suggests that the goal is to “tax” the working memory - and so it matters less HOW you tax the working memory, just that it is taxed.

Understanding Desensitization in EMDR Therapy

If we’re getting technical, desensitization is Phase 4 of EMDR’s 8 phase protocol.  During this phase, we’ve re-activated the disturbing memory and are pairing some form of stimulation with the memory.  Once desensitization is complete, the memory has much less disturbance than it did originally.  Most memories can have either little or even zero energy when we complete this phase.  

There are a couple exceptions - for example, if we are processing a memory that still has present triggers (i.e. the affair of a spouse, with the concern that your spouse will relapse in the future) then there will likely be some remaining disturbance, albeit much less than before.  Another exception is if there are other past memories that underlie the one we’re working on - these past memories are called “feeder memories,” that also need to be tackled because they are driving or sustaining the current distress. 

What Reprocessing Means in EMDR

During the desensitization process, your brain is making new connections about the trauma and helping your brain “file away” the memory so that it is no longer stored as though it just happened to you.  If we’re using the junk drawer analogy, basically your brain is putting the memory where it belongs (in the past!).  This way, when you come across things that would normally trigger the memory (sights, sounds, smells, physical sensations), they are no longer upsetting to you because the memory is now stored correctly.  In fact, the memory is now in the past, and not your present.  Click here to learn a little more about the Adaptive Information Processing Model.

Quick EMDR Recap

In EMDR we use some sort of stimulation (often eye movements), to take the energy out of a traumatic memory (desensitization) and allow your brain to reformulate the memory (reprocessing) without this upsetting energy.  The memory no longer has the power it once had because your brain has made sense of the trauma and the memory is no longer stored as though the incident has just happened to you.

When I tell my clients that they won’t feel triggered as much (and many times not even at all), they give me the side-eye. They often cannot fathom not having nightmares or flashbacks. And then we finish reprocessing the memory and they can’t even recall how intense it used to be to them. I’ll say, “So, remember when we started this memory? The disturbance level was a 9 out of 10.” The typical response is, “Was it really that bad?” Yes, my clients forget how upsetting the memory was. That can be you too.

To find out if EMDR is the right fit for you, click here to book a free 15 minute video consultation for online EMDR Therapy and PTSD treatment in California.