Introduction to EMDR

EMDR focuses on those powerful memories that still feel emotionally charged and are shaping how you see yourself or the world today. These memories often come with physical sensations, too—tightness in your chest, a knot in your stomach, or other body reactions (if you’re curious, the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk talks about this in depth).

When you tell me about a difficult event from your past and it still brings up strong feelings now, I’ll often ask, ‘What do you believe about yourself or the world because of that experience?’ From there, we look at the belief together and explore what you’d like to believe instead. We frame the new belief in empowering “I” statements—like, ‘I can keep myself safe,’ or ‘I did the best I could.’ We also use a simple scale to see how believable that new thought feels for you right now.

At the same time, we pay attention to your feelings and your body. You’ll name the emotion you’re feeling and give it a number on a 0–10 distress scale. As we move through the EMDR process, I’ll keep checking in—not just with the number, but with how your feelings may have shifted. For example, anger might start at an 8 and then turn into sadness at a 7. You’ll also notice where you feel things in your body and hold an image of the event in your mind as we work on reprocessing it.

This combination of noticing thoughts, feelings, and body sensations—along with the EMDR techniques—helps your brain heal and make new, healthier connections.