EMDR Therapy
From Stuck to Free: How Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy Works
If you've ever felt like the past has a hold on you, like certain memories, fears, or feelings just won't let go, you're not alone.
Many people carry the emotional weight of difficult experiences long after they've happened. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a well-researched, internationally recognised treatment that helps your brain do what it naturally wants to do: heal
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy developed to help people recover from the lasting emotional impact of distressing or traumatic experiences. Unlike traditional talk therapy, it doesn't require you to speak at length about what happened. Instead, it works by helping your brain reprocess memories that have become "stuck"; memories that still feel as raw and overwhelming today as the moment they occurred.
EMDR is now recognised as a gold-standard treatment for trauma by some of the world's most respected health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), and here in Aotearoa New Zealand, by EMDRNZ, the body for EMDR therapy.
It is also funded by ACC for eligible claims in New Zealand
How Does It Work? The Science, Simply Explained
To understand EMDR, it helps to understand what trauma does to the brain.
When we go through something overwhelming, our brain's natural ability to process and store memories can be disrupted. Instead of being "filed away" as a past event, the memory gets frozen; still carrying the same emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs from the moment it happened. This is why a smell, a sound, or a passing thought can bring a traumatic memory flooding back as though it's happening right now.
EMDR is based on a theory called Adaptive Information Processing, which proposes that the brain has an innate ability to heal from psychological distress much like the body heals from a physical wound when given the right conditions. Trauma disrupts this natural process. EMDR helps restart it.
The Role of Eye Movements
The technique in EMDR is bilateral stimulation, typically guided eye movements (following your therapist's fingers or a light), but sometimes gentle taps or auditory tones alternating between left and right.
While you hold a distressing memory in mind, your therapist guides you through sets of this back-and-forth stimulation.
Researchers believe this works in a way that's like what happens during REM (dream) sleep, the stage of sleep where the brain naturally consolidates and processes emotional experiences. By recreating this state in a safe, supported environment, EMDR allows distressing memories to be reprocessed and stored in a new, less threatening way.
The result? The memory doesn't disappear, but it loses its grip. What once felt overwhelming becomes something you can recall with distance, clarity, and calm.
What Can EMDR Help With?
EMDR has its strongest evidence base for PTSD, but research consistently supports its use across a broader range of experiences where distressing memories play a role.
Well-supported by research:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) — including single-event and complex/ongoing trauma
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression linked to difficult life experiences
Phobias
Also used effectively for:
Grief and loss
Childhood trauma and adverse early experiences
Low self-esteem and negative self-beliefs (e.g., "I'm not good enough", "I'm to blame"
Distressing life experiences that don't fully meet the threshold for PTSD but still cause real suffering
Research has also found that EMDR produces meaningful reductions in depression and anxiety even when these occur alongside trauma and in some studies, EMDR showed an advantage over other trauma therapies in improving depressive symptoms.
-
The evidence is present. Studies show that 84–90% of people with single-event trauma no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD after as few as three to six EMDR sessions. In a large study conducted by Kaiser Permanente, 100% of single-trauma participants and 77% of those with multiple traumas no longer had PTSD after an average of six sessions.
Across more than 30 randomised controlled trials, EMDR has demonstrated significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and depression. In comparative studies, EMDR has been found to be as effective as trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - and in several studies, EMDR achieved similar results in fewer sessions.
NICE guidelines recommend EMDR be delivered over 8 to 12 sessions, with more sessions available for those with more complex histories.
-
EMDR follows a structured eight-phase process, designed to ensure you feel safe, prepared, and supported at every step.
Before any processing begins, your therapist will spend time getting to know your history and goals, explaining exactly how EMDR works, and teaching you calming techniques you can use both in sessions and at home. Nothing is rushed. You remain in control of what you share and when.
During the processing phases, you'll hold a specific memory in mind while your therapist guides bilateral stimulation. Sets of eye movements (or tapping) are followed by brief check-ins where you share whatever comes up, an image, a feeling, a thought, sometimes nothing at all. Over the course of the session, the emotional intensity of the memory typically begins to reduce. Your therapist then works with you to strengthen a new, more positive belief about yourself and checks in with your body to make sure any remaining tension is released.
Each session ends with your therapist ensuring you feel calm and grounded before you leave. You won't be sent home in distress.
Between sessions, some people notice continued processing, vivid dreams, new insights, or shifting emotions. This is completely normal and is a sign that healing is underway.
-
One of EMDR's most important qualities and one many clients find deeply reassuring is that you don't need to describe your experience in extensive detail for EMDR to work. The bilateral stimulation does much of the work internally. Your therapist will only ever invite you to share what feels safe and manageable.
-
Many people describe EMDR as unlike anything they expected therapy to be. Rather than long conversations about the past, sessions involve an active, internal process, often described as watching memories from a distance, or noticing that images which once felt overwhelming begin to soften and fade.
People often leave sessions feeling lighter, more present, and more able to move forward. Memories that once triggered powerful emotional reactions can become quieter, still there, but no longer carrying the same weight. Healing doesn't mean forgetting. It means being able to remember without being pulled back in.
At The Psychology Group, our trained clinicians will take time to understand your experience and assess whether EMDR is the right fit for you. There's no pressure to begin before you feel ready. Healing happens at your pace, in a space where you feel safe and supported every step of the way.
To learn more or book a consultation, we'd love to hear from you.
References
1. World Health Organization. (2013). Guidelines for the Management of Conditions Specifically Related to Stress. WHO Press.
2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). Post-traumatic stress disorder (NICE Guideline NG116). NICE.
3. Shapiro, F. (2001/2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
4. EMDRNZ. (2024). EMDR Therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand. emdrnz.org.nz.
5. Bisson, J.I., et al. (2013). Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
6. Chen, L., et al. (2014). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing versus cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202(9), 648–657.
7. Maxfield, L. (2019). A Clinician's Guide to the Efficacy of EMDR Therapy. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 13(4).
8. Stickgold, R. (2002). EMDR: A putative neurobiological mechanism of action. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(1), 61–75.
9. Van den Berg, D.P.G., et al. (2015). Prolonged exposure versus EMDR for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 76(2).
10. Seidler, G.H., & Wagner, F.E. (2006). Comparing the efficacy of EMDR and trauma-focused CBT in the treatment of PTSD: A meta-analytic study. Psychological Medicine, 36(11), 1515–1522.
11. Kaptan, S.K., et al. (2021). Group Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research.
12. Lenferink, L.I.M., et al. (2023). Efficacy of EMDR therapy for PTSD: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology.