Is EMDR Therapy Right for You? What to Expect From a Session
EMDR is usually the common response to the question you may have entered into Google or ChatGPT: “What’s the best way to treat my trauma symptoms?” EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most well-researched approaches to treating trauma and PTSD. For most of our clients coming into their first session, however, the forthcoming experience is a real mystery. What does it feel like? Who is it really for? Do you have to talk about your trauma in detail?
The Trauma Therapy Gold Standard
Who is EMDR Best Suited For?
EMDR was originally developed for single-incident trauma, specifically to treat veterans with PTSD. Examples of incidents that can cause PTSD are car accidents, assaults, a specific terrifying event, and the research behind treating these with EMDR is strong. But in practice, EMDR can be used for a much wider range of experiences, including:
Complex or developmental trauma (trauma that built up over years, often in childhood)
Anxiety and panic that seem to have a “root” in an earlier experience
Grief that feels stuck or unprocessed
Medical trauma, birth trauma, or chronic illness
Relational wounds such as attachment injuries from caregivers, betrayal, or patterns that keep repeating
One of the things that makes EMDR distinct is that it doesn’t require you to narrate your trauma in any kind of detail. In fact, unlike traditional talk therapy, where processing often happens primarily through language, EMDR works with the nervous system directly and discourages the client from talking at length about their trauma. Simply talking about traumatic events without mindfulness and somatic awareness simultaneously can be retraumatizing for the nervous system. This is why we pair EMDR with somatic therapy; trauma isn’t only a story the mind tells. Trauma is an experience that the body holds. If you’ve ever felt like you understand an experience intellectually but still react to it physically, including a racing heart, a tight chest, an urge to flee a situation that isn’t actually dangerous, that gap between insight and felt experience is exactly what EMDR and somatic approaches are built to address in concert.
You Might Benefit from EMDR If You…
Have tried talk therapy and understand your history well, but still feel stuck
Notice strong body reactions (tension, shutdown, panic) tied to specific memories or triggers
Want an approach that doesn’t require repeatedly retelling the traumatic story in detail
Are looking for a structured, research-supported method rather than open-ended processing
It’s not the right starting point for everyone. People in acute crisis, without some baseline capacity for emotional regulation, or without a stable enough life situation to tolerate the processing work, sometimes need stabilization first, which is part of why an assessment phase matters before diving in.
What to Expect from an EMDR Session
The early sessions are about preparation, history taking, and resourcing the nervous system, not processing. Before any reprocessing happens, your therapist spends time understanding your history, current symptoms, and coping skills. This phase also includes learning self-regulation skills, which are ways to calm your nervous system and internalize a sense of support between sessions, because you’ll need these tools as you begin reprocessing trauma.
You’ll identify a target “symptom” or way that you feel limited in your life, along with the negative belief attached to it (something like “I’m not safe” or “I’m powerless”) and the belief you’d rather hold instead (“I’m safe now” or “I have choices”).
Then comes bilateral stimulation, which can be in the form of buzzers you hold in your hands, a dot you follow on a screen or light bar, or a tone in headphones, while you briefly bring the memory to mind. This is the part people are often curious (or nervous) about. You’re not asked to relive the event in detail or narrate it moment by moment. Instead, you notice whatever comes up in your experience, including images, sensations, emotions, and body responses, and report back in short check-ins between sets.
This is where somatic awareness becomes critical. A skilled therapist is paying close attention not just to what you say, but to what your body is doing: where tension shows up, whether your breathing changes, whether you look more grounded or more activated. In a somatically-informed EMDR session, you’re often asked directly: “What do you notice in your body right now?” That question isn’t incidental; it’s usually where the actual shift is happening, even before it becomes conscious or verbal.
Sessions typically end with a return to stability, not mid-processing. Your therapist will help you close out the session, so you’re not left activated or overwhelmed, and check in about how you're doing before you leave.
Over subsequent sessions, the intensity of the memory and its physical charge typically shift, like an event that once brought up a flood of sensation starts to feel more like something in the past, recalled without the same bodily urgency.
Combining EMDR and Somatic Work
At our practice, EMDR is rarely used in isolation. We integrate it with broader somatic therapy principles because trauma lives in the nervous system, not just in memory. This might look like teaching grounding and orienting skills before processing begins, tracking subtle body cues throughout a session, or slowing down to let a physical sensation complete itself rather than rushing toward the next set of eye movements. This integration tends to make the work feel less like a technique performed on you and more like a process you’re actively participating in, with your body as an informant rather than an obstacle.
Is It Time to Try EMDR?
If you’ve read this far because something here resonated, consider EMDR. A good first step is simply talking with a therapist trained in EMDR and somatic approaches about your specific history and whether this could be a fit for you. If you’d like to learn more, please reach out to schedule a complimentary phone consultation.
Find Out More About EMDR Therapy:
