EMDR Therapy

What EMDR is

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a therapy for trauma and other distressing experiences. Rather than talking through the event in detail over many sessions, EMDR uses brief, focused attention on the memory paired with bilateral stimulation (typically guided eye movements, taps, or tones). The working theory is that this helps the brain process a memory that got “stuck” in an unprocessed, high-alarm state, so it can be stored like other memories: something that happened, not something that is still happening.

The eight phases

EMDR follows a defined structure: history-taking and planning, preparation and coping skills, identifying the target memory and the beliefs attached to it, desensitization with bilateral stimulation, installing a more adaptive belief, a body scan for residual tension, closure, and re-evaluation at the next session. The preparation phase matters; nobody starts reprocessing until they have tools to stay grounded.

What EMDR helps with

EMDR is recognized by the American Psychological Association, the VA, and the World Health Organization as an effective treatment for PTSD. It’s also used for complex trauma, anxiety and panic, grief, and the trauma that so often sits underneath substance use.

EMDR at Forrest

EMDR is offered in individual sessions by trained clinicians as part of a broader treatment plan. In our PHP and IOP programs, that means you have daily group support and stabilization skills around the EMDR work, which is exactly the environment where trauma therapy tends to go best.

Where you’ll experience it at Forrest

Frequently asked questions