EMDR FAQs

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a powerful, evidence-based approach to healing from trauma and distressing life experiences. If you’ve heard about EMDR and are curious whether it might help you, you probably have questions. This FAQ page is designed to answer the most common questions about EMDR therapy and help you understand what to expect.

As an EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist in The Woodlands, TX, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative this approach can be. Whether you’re dealing with a single traumatic event or complex, long-standing trauma, EMDR offers a path toward healing that’s different from traditional talk therapy—and often remarkably effective.

What is EMDR therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s a form of psychotherapy that helps people heal from trauma and other distressing life experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy where you discuss problems in detail, EMDR focuses on helping your brain reprocess traumatic memories so they no longer cause the same level of distress.

EMDR is recognized by major health organizations—including the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association—as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma. What makes EMDR unique is that it works with your brain’s natural healing processes, helping you access and reprocess disturbing memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge and transforms their meaning.

The therapy was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987 and has since been used successfully with millions of people worldwide. It’s not about erasing memories or forgetting what happened—it’s about changing how those memories affect you today.

How does EMDR work?

When something traumatic happens, your brain can get overwhelmed and may not process the experience the way it normally would. As a result, the memory gets “stuck” in your nervous system with all the original images, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations intact. This is why you might feel like the trauma is happening all over again when something triggers the memory, even years later.

EMDR helps your brain complete the processing it couldn’t finish at the time of the trauma. During EMDR sessions, you’ll briefly focus on the traumatic memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation—typically by following my hand movements with your eyes, though we can also use tapping or sounds. This dual attention seems to unlock the frozen memory and allows your brain to reprocess it naturally.

Think of it like this: the information you need to heal from the trauma already exists in your brain, but it’s in a separate network that hasn’t been able to connect with the disturbing memory. EMDR creates a bridge between these networks, allowing new, adaptive information to integrate with the old, painful material. As this happens, the memory loses its emotional intensity and you begin to develop new, healthier perspectives about yourself and what happened.

What happens during an EMDR session?

During an EMDR processing session, we’ll work together through a structured approach. First, we’ll identify a specific memory or “target” to work on—one that we’ve agreed upon during earlier preparation sessions. I’ll ask you to bring up an image of the worst part of that memory, notice what negative belief you have about yourself in connection to it, identify the emotions present, and notice where you feel it in your body.

Then, while you hold these elements in mind, I’ll guide you through bilateral stimulation—you might follow my fingers with your eyes as I move them back and forth, or you might hold small tappers that buzz alternately in each hand, or we might use sounds that move between your ears. These sessions typically last 20–50 seconds, and then we pause. I’ll ask you, “What are you noticing?” and you’ll briefly share whatever comes to mind—whether that’s a new thought, a different emotion, a shift in body sensation, or a related memory.

We repeat this process multiple times throughout the session. You might notice the memory changing, emotions shifting, physical sensations lessening, or new insights emerging. There’s no “right” way to experience it—your brain will guide the process in the direction it needs to go. My role is to support you, help keep you grounded, and monitor your progress. The goal of each session is for you to feel noticeably less distressed about the memory by the time you leave.

Is EMDR evidence-based? Does it really work?

Yes, EMDR is strongly supported by research. Numerous randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that EMDR is effective for treating trauma and PTSD. In fact, research shows that EMDR can help people heal from trauma faster than many traditional therapy approaches, often producing significant results in fewer sessions.

Major organizations recognize EMDR’s effectiveness:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) designates EMDR as a first-line treatment for PTSD
• The American Psychological Association recognizes it as an effective treatment for trauma
• The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies strongly recommends EMDR for treating PTSD in children, adolescents, and adults
• The Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense includes it in their clinical practice guidelines

Studies have found that EMDR not only reduces symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, but that these improvements tend to last over time. While researchers continue to study exactly how and why EMDR works, the evidence for its effectiveness is robust. With over 30 years of research and more than 750 published articles, EMDR has proven itself as a legitimate, powerful therapeutic approach.

What issues can EMDR treat beyond PTSD?

While EMDR is best known for treating PTSD and trauma, it’s also effective for many other conditions that have roots in distressing experiences. At Stone Counseling, I use EMDR to help with:

• Anxiety disorders: Generalized anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, specific phobias
• Depression: Particularly when linked to past experiences or losses
• Complex trauma: Repeated or prolonged traumatic experiences, often from childhood
• Dissociative disorders: Including Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
• Grief and loss: Complicated grief, traumatic loss
• Performance anxiety: Public speaking, test anxiety, creative blocks
• Childhood trauma: Abuse, neglect, attachment wounds
• Recent traumatic events: Accidents, medical trauma, assault, natural disasters
• Disturbing life events: Divorce, job loss, humiliating experiences, betrayal

EMDR can address both “Big T” traumas (major traumatic events like assault, serious accidents, or natural disasters) and “little t” traumas (smaller but still impactful experiences like humiliation, rejection, or ongoing difficult circumstances). Even if you don’t think of yourself as having experienced “trauma,” EMDR can help if you have distressing memories or experiences that are affecting your life today.

Ready to Explore EMDR Therapy?

If you’re living with the weight of trauma or distressing memories, EMDR might offer the path to healing you’ve been looking for. As an EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist with specialized training in trauma and dissociative disorders, I’m here to support you through this journey.

You don’t have to carry this alone. When you’re ready, I’m here.

Schedule Your Consultation

Call or Text: (832) 381-8532

Location: 25511 Budde Road, Suite 2802, The Woodlands, TX 77380

Serving residents of The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Tomball, and surrounding Montgomery and Harris County communities.

References

1. World Health Organization. (2013). Guidelines for the management of conditions specifically related to stress. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO.
2. Shapiro, F. (2014). The role of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in medicine. The Permanente Journal, 18(1), 71–77.
3. Bisson, J. I., Roberts, N. P., Andrew, M., Cooper, R., & Lewis, C. (2013). Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (12), CD003388.
4. van der Kolk, B. A., Spinazzola, J., Blaustein, M. E., Hopper, J. W., Hopper, E. K., Korn, D. L., & Simpson, W. B. (2007). A randomized clinical trial of EMDR. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(1), 37–46.
5. Rodenburg, R., Benjamin, A., de Roos, C., Meijer, A. M., & Stams, G. J. (2009). Efficacy of EMDR in children: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(7), 599–606.