Maybe you've heard of EMDR but aren't quite sure what it is or how it works. Or maybe someone recommended it and you're wondering whether it makes sense for what you're going through.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic approach developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro. Since then, it has become one of the most evidence-backed methods for working with traumatic and emotionally difficult experiences.
How does EMDR work?
When we live through an overwhelming experience, our brain sometimes fails to process it completely. The experience gets stored with all its emotional and sensory charge, as if frozen in time. That's why, years later, a smell, a sound or a similar situation can trigger the same emotional reaction you felt back then.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping or auditory stimuli) while the person connects with the difficult memory. This stimulation helps the brain resume the natural processing that was interrupted, allowing the experience to integrate in a more adaptive way.
It's not about forgetting what happened, but about the memory no longer carrying the same emotional charge. You can remember the event without your body reacting as if it were happening now.
What is it used for?
EMDR was initially developed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but its use has expanded to many other areas:
- Single traumatic experiences (accidents, assaults, losses).
- Complex trauma accumulated over time.
- Anxiety and panic attacks.
- Specific phobias.
- Complicated grief.
- Childhood experiences that still condition your present.
What happens in an EMDR session?
A typical session begins by identifying the memory or experience to work on, along with the associated negative beliefs (for example, "I'm not enough" or "I'm not safe") and the bodily sensations present.
Then, while the person keeps their attention on that material, the therapist facilitates the bilateral stimulation. The process advances through free association: the brain connects memories, sensations and images naturally, without you needing to "do" anything other than observe what comes up.
EMDR sessions are usually longer than conventional ones (60 to 90 minutes) and require a preparatory phase where emotional stabilisation resources are established.
EMDR doesn't ask you to talk about everything that happened. It asks you to be present while your brain does what it needs to do.
EMDR within an integrative approach
In my work, EMDR isn't the only resource but one among several within an integrative approach. I combine it with IFS, Gestalt and somatic work depending on what each person and each moment of the process needs.
Not everything requires EMDR, and not everything is solved by EMDR alone. But when there's traumatic material conditioning your present, it can be an extraordinarily effective tool.
Is it for you?
If you feel there are past experiences that still weigh more than they should, if you react in ways you don't understand to situations that "objectively" aren't that serious, or if your nervous system seems to be on permanent alert — EMDR can be a very powerful way to work on that.
Want to explore EMDR in your own process? I explain how I integrate it and how to start in EMDR therapy in Madrid & online.