EMDR Therapy Explained: Clearing New Paths to Healing
What is EMDR Therapy?
If you’ve ever heard the term EMDR and thought, “What is that?” or “That sounds intense,” you’re not alone in thinking this way. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and while the name might sound clinical, the experience is deeply human. It’s a powerful, structured, and research-based therapy approach that helps people process and move through painful memories, limiting beliefs, and emotional blocks.
It’s most often known for treating trauma, but EMDR isn’t just for trauma. It’s also helpful for anxiety, phobias, depression, breakups, self-esteem issues, and the quiet, lingering impacts of our pasts that shape how we see ourselves and relate to the world.
So, how does it work and why do so many people say it changed their lives?
Let’s start with a metaphor.
An EMDR Metaphor: Your Brain is Like a Forest
Imagine your mind is like a forest. When something difficult happens, whether it’s a big, overwhelming event or small, repeated experiences over time, you start walking the same trail over and over again. Maybe it’s a trail of fear, self-doubt, or experiences that send the message, “I’m not good enough”. The more you walk that trail, the more worn it becomes in the forest ground. Eventually, it turns into the path your brain takes automatically, without you even realizing it. These well-worn trails are like the neural networks in your brain - patterns your brain creates to link thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and beliefs through repetition.
EMDR helps you gently step off that worn trail and start walking a new one. One built from self-compassion, safety, and present-day truth. And the more you walk this new path, the stronger it becomes while the old path begins to fade, slowly covered by grass, leaves, and time.
The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy
(Explained through the forest path metaphor. These phases unfold over a flexible number of sessions.)
1. History Taking: Mapping the Trails
This first step is about understanding your landscape. We explore your life history, identify patterns or symptoms, and highlight experiences that may be impacting you in the past, present, and predicted future. We’re not rehashing everything - just mapping the old trails so we know where to begin.
2. Preparation: Packing Your Backpack
Before we head into the woods, we make sure you're equipped. You’ll learn grounding tools and coping strategies - like learning how to pause for water breaks or rest before or when things get overwhelming. This phase helps you feel safe and supported before we start exploring the trails. This phase continues throughout therapy, so you keep feeling confident and supported as you go through your journey.
3. Assessment: Choosing a Trail
Here, we choose a specific memory or experience to work on that’s connected to the old, worn path. We identify the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and body sensations tied to that moment. It’s like standing at the start of a trail and deciding, “This is the one I’m ready to explore.”
4. Desensitization: Walking the Trail
This is the part many people associate with EMDR. Using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, tapping, or sound), we begin to walk through the memory while staying grounded in the present. The brain starts to reprocess the experience, loosening the emotional charge. You’re not walking it alone and you’re not reliving it - you’re reprocessing it to store the memory differently. Step by step, your brain begins to realize: This isn’t happening now. I’m safe now. Things can be different.
5. Installation: Building the New Path
Once the old memory loses its emotional charge, we begin installing a positive belief to replace the old belief. Instead of “I’m not good enough,” it might become “I am good enough just as I am.” This is the new path. The more you walk it, the more natural and automatic it becomes. Meanwhile, the old path begins to fade into the forest floor.
6. Body Scan: Clearing the Trail
We check in with your body to make sure no emotional debris is left behind. Sometimes, even when the mind has moved forward, the body still holds tension. This step helps clear out anything that remains on the path. Healing involves both mind and body, so we make sure your body also feels clear and at ease.
7. Closure: Returning to the Camp
At the end of each session, we always make sure you leave feeling grounded and safe. This is where we circle back to the tools in your backpack, reflect on how far you’ve come, and rest until we walk the trail next time.
8. Reevaluation: Checking the Map Again
In the next session, we revisit what we’ve worked on. Has the old path faded a bit? Is the new one easier to walk? Healing isn’t a straight line, it’s a spiral. We circle back, refine, and keep moving forward. We revisit the map and adjust the course as needed.
EMDR Isn’t Just for “Big” Trauma
Sometimes people think EMDR is only for major life-altering events like accidents, abuse, or war. While it absolutely can help with those, it’s also for anyone who has gotten stuck in emotional loops, harmful beliefs, or anxiety about the past or future that feels relentless. Whether it’s the bullying that made you feel invisible, childhood criticism that left you doubting your worth, the breakup that shook your identity, persistent anxiety that makes everyday decisions feel impossible - EMDR can help.
EMDR helps you break free from old emotional patterns by reprocessing the past so it no longer controls the present. If you find yourself reacting in ways you don’t fully understand, or carrying beliefs formed during painful or distressing moments, EMDR can help you create new, more empowering ways of relating to yourself and the world.
Closing: Healing Happens One Step at a Time
If you’ve been feeling stuck, repeating the same thoughts, reactions, or emotional patterns, there’s a reason. And more importantly, there’s a way forward. EMDR doesn’t erase the past. It helps you carry it differently. It helps your brain file old memories in the right drawer, so they no longer spill into the present. It helps your brain understand, “This happened, but it’s over. I’m safe now.” or “This negative belief no longer serves me. I can view myself differently.” It gently rewires how the memory lives inside you.
With each session, each step, you start to create a new trail. One that feels more like you. One that leads to freedom, clarity, and peace. And the old trail? It gets quieter and loses its power. Eventually, it fades beneath the grass.
Curious if EMDR might be right for you?
I’d love to answer your questions or explore what healing could look like in your life. Schedule a free consultation here or learn more about EMDR on my EMDR services page.
Laura Moon, LPC, NCC, CTP
