What to Expect From EMDR Therapy: 5 Things to Know Before You Begin
If you are considering EMDR therapy, you may be curious about what actually happens in a session. You may also be a little nervous.
Will I have to tell my therapist every detail about what happened? Will I have to relive something painful? What if I become overwhelmed? What if I need to stop?
These are understandable questions, especially when you are considering therapy for experiences that may already feel difficult to think or talk about.
EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a form of therapy designed to help people process experiences that continue to feel distressing in the present. Sometimes we know intellectually that something is over, but our emotions, beliefs, or bodies continue to respond as though the experience is still happening. EMDR helps the brain reprocess those experiences so they can begin to feel like part of the past rather than something that is still happening now.
EMDR isn't a new or experimental approach to treating trauma. It has been studied in numerous randomized controlled trials EMDR isn't a new or experimental approach to treating trauma. It has been extensively researched and is recognized as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense include EMDR among the trauma-focused psychotherapies they recommend for treating PTSD.
But if you're considering EMDR for yourself, research probably isn't your only question. You may be wondering something much more practical:
What is actually going to happen when I sit down with an EMDR therapist?
If you are considering EMDR therapy in Birmingham, AL, here are five things you can expect as you begin working with an EMDR therapist.
1. Expect Your Therapist to Spend Time Understanding Your Story
EMDR does not begin with your therapist immediately asking you to focus on your most difficult experience.
Before the reprocessing work begins, your therapist will spend time getting to know you and understanding what brought you to therapy. This is called the history-taking and treatment-planning phase of EMDR.
Your therapist may ask about experiences from your past, what is happening in your life now, patterns you have noticed, situations that tend to trigger strong reactions, and what you hope will be different as a result of therapy.
This history helps your therapist begin to understand how past experiences may be connected to what you are experiencing today.
You don't have to tell your entire life story in one session. Your therapist is gathering the information needed to develop a treatment plan and determine how EMDR may best support you.
The goal isn't simply to identify what happened. It is to begin understanding how what happened may still be affecting you now.
2. Expect to Learn Ways to Regulate and Contain Difficult Emotions
One of the most important parts of EMDR happens before trauma processing begins.
Your therapist will help you develop resources and strategies you can use if difficult emotions, memories, or physical sensations arise during EMDR.
This is often called resourcing.
Depending on the person, this might include grounding techniques, breathing exercises, calming imagery, noticing what is happening in your body, or developing ways to mentally "contain" something that you aren't ready to work through yet.
Think of it as building your toolbox before beginning the deeper work.
EMDR isn't about seeing how much distress you can tolerate. Your therapist wants to help you develop ways to remain connected to the present even while working with something painful from the past.
And these aren't only skills for the therapy room. Many people find that the regulation skills they practice during EMDR preparation can also help when they feel anxious, overwhelmed, or activated in everyday life.
3. Expect That You Won't Have to Tell Every Detail of What Happened
This is often a relief for people considering EMDR.
You do not necessarily have to describe every detail of a traumatic or painful experience for EMDR to work.
Your therapist needs enough information to understand what you are working on and guide the process, but EMDR does not require you to repeatedly tell the entire story of what happened.
During processing, your therapist may simply ask what you are noticing.
Your answer might be:
"I feel tightness in my chest."
"I suddenly feel angry."
"Another memory came up."
"I keep thinking that it was my fault."
"I don't know what this is, but I feel sad."
You don't have to explain or analyze everything that comes into your mind.
Your job is largely to notice what is happening and let your therapist know what you are experiencing. Your therapist helps guide the process while allowing space for new thoughts, feelings, memories, or connections to emerge.
For someone who has avoided therapy because the idea of describing every detail feels overwhelming, this can make EMDR feel much more approachable.
4. Expect to Have a Voice in the Pace of Your EMDR Therapy
EMDR is not something that is done to you.
You remain an active participant throughout the process.
If you need to slow down, you can slow down. If you need a break, you can take one. If something feels like too much, you can tell your therapist. You and your therapist can return to the regulation and resourcing strategies you've already practiced.
Your therapist may even establish a signal with you before processing begins, such as raising your hand, that means stop.
You are not trapped in a memory, and you are not required to push through simply because processing has started.
A good EMDR therapist is paying attention not only to what you are processing but also to how you are experiencing the process.
There may be moments when the work feels uncomfortable. Trauma therapy can bring difficult emotions to the surface. But discomfort and becoming overwhelmed are not the same thing.
You and your therapist work together to find a pace that allows you to engage in the process while staying connected to the safety of the present.
5. Expect Your Brain to Begin Making New Connections
This may be one of the most interesting parts of EMDR.
You don't have to figure everything out.
You don't have to come up with the perfect explanation for why you feel the way you do. And you don't have to force yourself to think differently.
During EMDR processing, your therapist uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating taps, or sounds, while you notice thoughts, feelings, memories, images, or sensations connected to an experience.
As processing continues, new thoughts, memories, emotions, or connections may emerge.
Something you have understood intellectually for years may begin to feel different emotionally.
You may have always known:
"I was a child. It wasn't my responsibility."
But some part of you has continued to carry:
"It was my fault."
Or you may know:
"That relationship is over. I'm safe now."
while your body continues to respond as though the danger is still present.
The goal of EMDR isn't to erase what happened or convince you that it didn't matter. The memory remains part of your story.
What can change is how you experience and respond to that memory.
Over time, something that has continued to feel very present may begin to feel more like something that happened then instead of something you are continuing to live now.
EMDR Therapy Doesn't Start With "Tell Me Your Worst Memory"
People sometimes imagine EMDR as walking into a therapist's office, identifying the worst thing that has ever happened to them, and immediately beginning eye movements.
Good EMDR therapy is much more thoughtful than that.
There is preparation.
There is relationship building.
There is history taking.
There is resourcing.
There is collaboration.
And throughout the process, you still have a voice.
Healing from painful experiences doesn't mean forgetting them. Sometimes healing means your past can finally begin to feel like your past.
If you are looking for an EMDR therapist in Birmingham, AL, the clinicians at Sparrow Counseling can help you understand the process, answer your questions, and determine whether EMDR may be a good fit.
Ready to Learn More About EMDR Therapy?
At Sparrow Counseling, we offer EMDR therapy in Birmingham, AL, for adults who want help processing experiences that continue to affect them in the present.
Ready to take the next step?
Learn more about our EMDR therapy services.
Meet our EMDR therapists and find someone who feels like a good fit.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ask questions and learn more about getting started.
Other Services Offered at Sparrow Counseling
At Sparrow Counseling, we offer in-person and online therapy in the state of Alabama. In addition to EMDR therapy, our team specializes in teen & pre-teen counseling, family therapy, co-parenting counseling, couples counseling, couples retreats, premarital counseling and pre-engagement counseling, discernment counseling, and more in Birmingham, Alabama. Learn more by checking out our FAQs and Blog!
Sparrow Counseling is a Birmingham-area counseling practice offering EMDR therapy to help individuals process experiences that continue to affect how they feel, think, and respond in the present. Our EMDR-trained clinicians provide compassionate, evidence-based care for clients navigating trauma, anxiety, grief, difficult life experiences, and patterns that can leave them feeling stuck. Through EMDR therapy, we help clients process what happened so the past can begin to feel like the past.
