What is EMDR therapy?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) refers to an interactive psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological stress.

According to the theory behind the approach, traumatic and painful memories can cause post-traumatic stress when you don’t process them completely. Then, when sights, sounds, words, or smells trigger those unprocessed memories, you re-experience them.

This re-experiencing leads to the emotional distress and other symptoms recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

EMDR aims to reduce symptoms of trauma by changing how your memories are stored in your brain. In a nutshell, an EMDR therapist does this by leading you through a series of bilateral (side-to-side) eye movements as you recall traumatic or triggering experiences in small segments, until those memories no longer cause distress.

While originally developed to treat trauma and PTSD, EMDR may also help relieve symptoms of other mental health concerns, especially those intertwined with past trauma.