EMDR THERAPY
EMDR THERAPY
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy that helps people recover from emotional pain, stressful experiences, and trauma. While it’s well known for helping trauma survivors, EMDR is not only for people who’ve experienced war, abuse, or disasters.
In the world of psychology and trauma research today, trauma is better understood as anything that overwhelms your ability to cope at the time. This could include things like bullying, being shamed, a medical procedure, the loss of a loved one, emotional neglect, a breakup or difficult childhood experiences. These events can leave lasting emotional imprints, especially when the brain doesn't have the opportunity to fully process them.
If you’ve ever said, “I don’t know why this still affects me,” or felt stuck in patterns you can’t explain, EMDR may help.
How EMDR Works
When something overwhelming happens, your brain can’t always process it in the usual way. Instead of storing the experience like a typical memory, it gets “stuck” — often with vivid images, strong emotions, body sensations, and negative beliefs. Later, certain triggers can bring back those same intense feelings, like it’s happening all over again.
Sometimes, these “stuck” memories are clear. Other times, they’re buried or only felt in the body — showing up as anxiety, tension, low self-worth, or emotional outbursts. Either way, they can impact your wellbeing and relationships in ways that feel hard to explain.
EMDR helps your brain “unstick” those memories. By briefly recalling a distressing memory while engaging in guided eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation), your brain is supported to reprocess the experience in a healthier way.
After reprocessing, the memory becomes more like any other — less vivid, more distant, and without the emotional charge or physical discomfort. You’ll still remember what happened, but it no longer feels like you're reliving it.
What Can EMDR Help With
EMDR can help both children and adults. It's well-known for treating trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but it’s also been effective for many other concerns, including anxiety, panic attacks, depression, phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), dissociative disorders, personality disorders, addictions, chronic pain, sleep problems, grief and loss, low self-esteem, trust issues, relationship difficulties, unresolved emotional wounds from earlier in life and more.
How EMDR is Different
Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn’t require you to talk in detail about the experience. Instead of focusing on changing thoughts or behaviours, EMDR works with the brain’s natural ability to heal by resolving unprocessed memories at their source.
Many people find meaningful relief in fewer sessions compared to other therapies.