In my earlier blog on EMDR, I introduced what it is, how the brain processes trauma, and why some memories refuse to stay in the past. If you haven’t read that yet, it’s worth starting there.
Here, I want to explore what the research actually shows us, what a session genuinely feels like, and most importantly, and who EMDR may be relevant for..

Why does moving your eyes have anything to do with trauma?

This is the question I get asked most often by clients and it makes sense. It seems such a strange concept that moving your eyes in therapy can have any meaningful impact on symptoms or mental health improvement.

The honest answer is that researchers are still working this out. We have strong hypotheses, supported by good evidence, but we don’t yet have a single clear explanation. That’s not unusual as we often see something working clearly before we fully understand why

Here ‘s how we currently understand it

The working memory theory suggests that holding a distressing memory in mind while simultaneously tracking eye movements use up the brain’s attention. Because working memory can only hold so much at once, the memory becomes less vivid and less emotionally intense as Is EMDR Right for Me? How Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Can Help by the two tasks compete for the same resources. Repeated sets progressively reduce the power of the memory.

The REM sleep theory suggests a link between bilateral eye movements and what happens during rapid eye movement sleep — the stage of sleep when the brain processes emotional experiences from the day. The idea is that traumatic memories that weren’t fully processed may begin to process in a similar way during EMDR, allowing them to move through rather than remain stuck.

The Adaptive Information Processing model, developed by Francine Shapiro, suggests that the brain has a natural ability to process and make sense of experience, and that trauma disrupts this system. EMDR is thought to help reactivate this natural processing, allowing previously “stuck” material to move through in a more adaptive way — for example, a memory that once triggered anxiety, physical tension, or a sense of threat can be remembered without those same reactions showing up in the present. The memory will be seen as something that once happened rather than what feels like is happening now.

What we can say with confidence is that neuroimaging studies have shown noticeable and measurable changes in brain activity following EMDR, particularly in regions involved in fear processing, memory, and emotional regulation.

In other words, something is shifting at a neurological level.

We don’t fully understand every mechanism yet, but we do see consistent change in practice. This is often where meaningful treatment begins. In a session, what this can look like is a memory that has felt fixed or overwhelming starting to shift in how it is experienced, with many clients noticing that their response to it begins to change.

What does the research actually show?

There is now a large amount of research supporting EMDR, including studies that compare it directly to other well-established therapies that many of you may have already tried, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) or ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).

In 2013, a large review of 26 clinical studies found that EMDR significantly reduces PTSD symptoms, and works about as well as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy — long considered one of the most effective treatments for PTSD. EMDR sits alongside the best treatments we have.

A Cochrane review, which looks at a large amount of research, found strong evidence that EMDR reduces PTSD symptoms and helps many people experience meaningful improvement.

What also stands out is speed. EMDR tends to produce significant results in fewer sessions than many other therapies. Multiple studies have found substantial symptom reduction within six to twelve sessions, and some trials with single-incident trauma have reported improvement in even fewer.

For people who have been pulled out of the present and back into a memory time and again, the speed of effectiveness matters. No one wants to suffer longer than they need to. I know I wouldn’t Beyond PTSD and other trauma presentations, there is growing evidence for EMDR in the treatment of depression, anxiety, panic, phobias, and grief. In many cases, these difficulties are connected to earlier experiences or specific memories that continue to influence how a person feels and functions today.

And this is something I often see — depression, anxiety or low mood that, when we look more closely, is connected to earlier experiences that shape how we function today. What’s consistent is that memories can play a significant role in how we feel today — whether that’s trauma or other experiences. They can shape how we interpret what’s happening now, and how we respond to it.

What does a session actually feel like?

You don’t walk into an EMDR session and immediately begin processing traumatic memories.

The early work is about building our therapeutic relationship, understanding your history, identifying memories that we will target in sessions, and developing a set of skills (called resourcing) that you can use to stay regulated during and between sessions.

This part of EMDR is vital to ensuring strong outcomes and helps create the safety you need for the work to unfold.

When we actually start processing, we work on one of your specific memories and I will ask you what image comes to mind when you bring it up, what belief about yourself comes with it — something like I am not safe, I am to blame, or I can’t trust people — and what you notice in your body.

Then the bilateral stimulation begins. This is the bilateral stimulation I described in my previous article — the alternating left-right stimulation used while you hold the memory in mind.

During this, you may notice other memories, thoughts, or emotions come up.

Different associations, images, and body sensations can also emerge that you weren’t expecting. You don’t need to talk about it or analyse any of it. You simply notice it, let me know what is coming up at each pause, and continue.

Over sessions, something shifts. The memory doesn’t disappear. The facts don’t change. But the way it feels does.

It starts to feel more distant, less immediate. The person who once found themselves suddenly pulled back into something they had no intention of revisiting finds that the pull weakens.

What was once something that felt like it was still happening becomes, gradually, something that happened.

For people who have been living that experience for years, that shift can feel like an extraordinary relief.

Who is this for?

EMDR was developed for PTSD, and this is where the strongest evidence sits. It is often relevant when you have experienced something overwhelming — such as an accident, assault, medical trauma, abuse, significant loss, or a prolonged period of fear — particularly where the memory continues to feel present or your body reacts as if the threat is still happening.

You might notice this as moments where something in the present pulls you back into what happened before, even when you don’t want it to.

I also work with people who wouldn’t necessarily describe what they’ve been through as trauma. What I often see is anxiety, low mood, or a sense of not feeling like yourself that, when we look more closely, is linked to earlier experiences that haven’t fully settled.

Sometimes this shows up as a persistent sense of self — I’m not enough, I’m unlovable, I’m not safe — that feels less like a current thought and more like something that was learned over time.

What I want you to take from this is simple: if you’ve been carrying something for a long time and have wondered whether anything could actually shift it, the research suggests it can. That isn’t false hope. It’s what we see in practice.

So where does this leave you?

If something in these two articles has resonated with you, it may be worth raising it with a psychologist. EMDR does require specific training, so it’s reasonable to ask directly whether a therapist is trained in it.

In Australia, the EMDR Association of Australia maintains a register of trained practitioners. Internationally, EMDRIA — the EMDR International Association — provides the same kind of listing. These are helpful places to start, although not all well-trained EMDR therapists are listed there, so it is also worth asking any clinician directly about their training and experience.

And if you’re not sure whether this applies to you, that’s okay. Many people come to therapy without a clear picture of what’s best for their needs or challenges. What matters is finding someone who will take the time to understand your history, move at a pace that feels manageable, and help create enough safety for things to be explored properly.

You don’t have to keep being pulled back into the past. That’s what the research tells us. And in my experience of working with people through EMDR over many years, it’s something we see again and again.

Closing thoughts

EMDR has been in clinical use for nearly four decades and has been studied in a large number of controlled research trials. This gives us confidence in its use to help people work through past experiences and reduce the impact of memories that have felt overwhelming or intrusive. Over time, these memories often begin to lose their intensity, and symptoms that once felt fixed can start to shift.

What the research shows is that the brain has a natural capacity to process and recover from difficult experiences, even when they have felt stuck for a long time. EMDR appears to help reengage that process.

This means the past does not need to keep feeling as present as it once did, or keep shaping how you respond to things today.

I hope this has been useful — whether you’re wondering if EMDR might help you, supporting someone you care about, or simply trying to understand how therapy is evolving to work with experiences that have been hard to shift.

If you’re left with questions, that’s often where therapy can be a useful place to explore them.