EMDR Phase 6 Explained: The Body Scan and Why the Mind Saying "I'm Fine" Isn't Enough

Jun 16

This blog is adapted from one of our recent podcast episodes. You can take a listen at the button above.

The mind says it's fine. The body says no.

That tension between what we know cognitively and what we carry somatically is exactly why EMDR Phase 6 exists. The Body Scan is the double-check. It's the phase that asks: we've said this target is clear, but is it really?

In this blog post, we walk through what the body scan actually involves, why somatic residue matters even when cognitive distress has resolved, and what it means to reach a true all-clear before moving on.

Key Takeaways

In this blog post, you'll learn:

What EMDR Phase 6 Body Scan is and why it exists
Why cognitive resolution isn't the same as complete trauma processing
How trauma is held in the body — and what that actually means
What a clear body scan looks like and what happens when it isn't clear
Why skipping the body scan leaves somatic symptoms and triggers intact
How Phase 6 fits as the final piece of target-specific work before closing

The Double-Check: What Phase 6 Is Really Doing

Phase 6 is like going back through a vacation rental before you leave to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. You can be confident you've got everything and still leave the s'mores supplies in the kitchen.

Phase 6 is that final walkthrough. By this point in the EMDR process, a client has identified a target, activated it fully, desensitized it through bilateral stimulation, and strengthened a new positive cognition. Cognitively, they may report zero distress. They may fully believe their new positive belief. And yet, the body might still be holding something.

The Body Scan asks: we've said this memory is clear, but is it? Really?

Until the answer is yes (confirmed by the body, not just the mind) the processing isn't complete.

How Trauma Lives in the Body

Before walking through what the body scan looks like in session, it helps to understand why it's necessary, which means understanding how trauma is stored somatically in the first place.

There are two distinct ways trauma shows up in the body. The first is anatomical: chronic trauma creates measurable changes in the cervical spine. The second is the body responses that trauma experiences generate throughout the rest of the body - responses that show up in session as physical sensations connected to specific memories.

During my own EMDR training, I was processing a memory involving something I had wanted to say but didn't. The somatic response that arose wasn't intellectual… it was a felt sense of a lump in my throat. The unspoken words had a physical location in my body.

This kind of somatic response shows up for clients regularly, often without them knowing it's something that commonly occurs. And it's one of the reasons I am careful about how much I describe the EMDR experience in advance - clients who know too much can become overly cognitive about the process, which can actually interfere with it.

The body doesn't need to be explained to. It just needs space to complete what it started.

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Cognitive Resolution Is Not Complete Resolution

Here's the critical clinical distinction at the heart of Phase 6:

A client can report zero distress on the SUD scale. They can endorse a positive cognition at a seven on the VOC scale. And still, their chest is tight. Their stomach hurts. There's a lump in their throat.

When that happens, the memory is not fully processed. Cognitive resolution has occurred. Somatic resolution has not.

If the body scan is skipped, the consequences are predictable:

Somatic symptoms persist
Triggers continue at the body level, even when the cognitive response has quieted
The client knows they're safe but doesn't feel safe

That last point is worth sitting with. Knowing and feeling are not the same thing. EMDR aims for both. Phase 6 is where the feeling catches up.

For example, a client might be able to sit and describe the accident calmly, report no cognitive distress, and genuinely believe they're okay - and then experience full-body sweats the moment they approach a stop sign while driving. The cognitive system has processed. The somatic system hasn't. Phase 6 is specifically designed to address that gap.

What the Body Scan Actually Looks Like in Session

Once the client has reached a SUD of zero and a VOC of seven, the body scan begins. Here's how it unfolds:

The therapist asks the client to bring up the original memory and the positive cognition together, then close their eyes and slowly scan from head to toe - noticing any tension, tightness, discomfort, or unusual sensations. Nothing is too subtle to count.

The scan moves through: head, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, legs. Anything that doesn't feel like neutral, comfortable baseline is worth noting.

If nothing is found: The body scan is clear. The memory is fully processed. Sometimes clients even notice something positive - a warmth in the chest, a sense of lightness, something that feels like sunshine. That can be reinforced with bilateral stimulation, just as a positive resource would be in Phase 2.

If a sensation is found: The therapist focuses on that sensation and works to desensitize it, continuing BLS until the sensation clears, shifts, or resolves. Think of it as weeding the garden. The major work has been done; the body scan catches whatever's left.

A clear body scan where everything feels neutral and comfortable, with no residual activation anywhere is the signal that the cognitive and somatic systems are aligned. The mind and body are saying the same thing. That's the all-clear.

Phase 6 as the Final Target-Specific Phase

It helps to understand where Phase 6 sits in the larger arc of EMDR.

Phases 7 and 8 (Closure and Reevaluation) pull back from the specific target. Phase 7 focuses on making sure the client is well enough to walk out the door. Phase 8 loops back to check whether the work has held over time.

Phase 6 is the last phase that addresses this particular memory, in this session, directly. It's the final confirmation that the work on this target is complete before moving toward closing. Once a clear body scan is achieved, the processing of this memory (cognitive, emotional, and somatic) is done.

Considering EMDR at Seen Therapy? Book a free consultation →

Don't Skip the Body Scan

Like several phases before it, the body scan is sometimes abbreviated or bypassed, particularly when sessions run long or when the cognitive resolution feels complete enough.

My position: don't skip it. The body scan is what separates full processing from partial processing. A client who leaves with unresolved somatic activation is a client who will continue to be triggered - not necessarily by the thought of the memory, but by the physical experience of it. The nervous system will keep the alarm running until the body gets its own chance to complete the process.

Phase 6 is not a formality. It's the last line of defense between partial and complete healing.

What This Means If You're Considering EMDR

If you've ever felt like you've intellectually processed something but your body still reacts, this is exactly what Phase 6 is for. Knowing you're safe and feeling safe in your body are different experiences, and EMDR addresses both.

For clients who present with primarily somatic symptoms like physical reactions without a clear cognitive story, Phase 6 (and the body-awareness work throughout EMDR) may be some of the most meaningful work in the entire process.

Questions worth asking your EMDR therapist:

How do you approach the body scan when something comes up?
What happens if somatic symptoms persist after cognitive processing is complete?
How do you know when a memory is truly fully processed?

Ready to start EMDR therapy at Seen Therapy Services? Book a free consultation →

Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Phase 6

What is EMDR Phase 6 Body Scan?

Phase 6 is a systematic scan of the body from head to toe, conducted after cognitive processing and installation are complete. The client holds the original memory and positive cognition together while noticing any residual tension, tightness, or discomfort. If sensations are found, they are processed with bilateral stimulation. A clear body scan with no residual activation anywhere signals that the memory is fully processed.

Why is the body scan necessary if the SUD is already at zero?

A SUD of zero indicates no cognitive distress. It doesn't necessarily mean the body has resolved its response to the memory. Trauma is stored somatically as well as cognitively, and somatic activation can persist even after intellectual processing is complete. The body scan addresses this gap specifically.

What does a clear body scan feel like?

A clear body scan means the client notices nothing uncomfortable, tense, or unusual anywhere in their body when holding the processed memory and positive cognition together. Some clients even notice something positive, such as warmth, lightness, or a sense of ease. Either way, the signal is that the cognitive and somatic systems are now aligned.

What happens if something comes up in the body scan?

If a sensation is found, the therapist focuses on it and uses bilateral stimulation to process it - the same basic mechanism used in Phase 4. This continues until the sensation clears, shifts, or resolves. The body scan essentially functions as a final round of desensitization targeting whatever somatic residue remains.

Can someone have somatic symptoms without cognitive distress?

Yes, and it's more common than many people realize. Some clients present with primarily physical reactions like a racing heart, physical tension, and sweating in response to triggers, with little or no cognitive distress accompanying them. EMDR's body-inclusive approach is particularly well-suited for this presentation, and Phase 6 is a key part of why.

How does Phase 6 connect to Phases 7 and 8?

Phase 6 is the last phase that addresses the specific target directly. Phase 7 (Closure) shifts focus to making sure the client is stable enough to leave the session. Phase 8 (Reevaluation) checks in later to confirm the work has held. Completing a clear body scan in Phase 6 is what allows those final phases to proceed with confidence.

Related Resources

Hello. Hello. Hello, friends, welcome to the podcast where we simplify everything about mental health. Just kidding. But here's what we are gonna do. We're gonna sit down together a licensed mental health professional, that's me and a regular old Joe as my husband Garth would describe himself. We're gonna talk about the nitty gritty of EMDR, some nervous system mapping, how couples can help each other heal. What's healthy parenting actually look like? Maybe a little bit of good old banter mixed in. All with the goal of making mental health a little bit simpler for you. Quick note, because my lawyer says that I have to, I'm a therapist, but not your therapist. Unless I am. Even if I am. This is still just a podcast. Okay, now have a good listen. Hello, friends. Thank you for joining us today. I am here with Garth. Surprise, surprise, everyone. We are continuing to work on our What Are the Eight Phases of EMDR series. We are on phase six. Can you believe it? Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. We have six, seven, and eight left. Phase six, body scan. The mind says it's fine, the body says no. That's why we do the body scan. This is fresh on my mind because we just stayed in an Airbnb this weekend, but any time that we are doing any sort of double check, right, body scan. So, so you loaded up the car this weekend from the Airbnb. I sure did. And then I, I went back through into the rooms that we had stayed in and made sure that we got everything. Didn't go back through the kitchen. Argh. Left some s'more stuff, but did go back through the rooms that we were staying in to do a double check. I think of the body scan as a double check. Okay. We have said in earlier phases that this target is clear, but is it really? So we're gonna talk about that today. Before we do, Garth- Oh, boy ... are you ready? A little bit of pressure. By Antas. Little bit of pressure for the Vant question of the day. Okay, the Vant question of the day is describe your perfect vacation. Ooh. Okay. So you know this is important to me, differentiating between a vacation and an experience. Hmm. Okay. I think especially as parents because I don't think this is true for everyone. Language is different for different people. As a therapist, I think it's important to know that. But for me, vacation means relaxing, and not necessarily that we don't do anything, but that in having these different excursions and things, like if we're going to an all exclusive, or an all- all exclusive, all inclusive that though, that it's like low pressure. I'm not running from one thing- Mm-hmm ... to another. An experience is we're going to a place to learn, to ha- to have an experience. When we're going somewhere new with our kids, it is- Mm-hmm ... an experience. Yeah. Period. I'm gonna have a great time. Mm-hmm. The kids are gonna have a great time. You're gonna have a great time. It is not a vacation. Okay. So you- That was so long-winded. Yeah, and you haven't even begun to answer the question. I haven't. I haven't. Oh my goodness. That was all just context before you get the answer. That was all just context before the answer. Okay, so it was context to say I am very good at being imaginative with some things. I'm not with vacations for some reason. That's interesting. So I'm gonna go with my favorite vacation, and that was the Dominican Republic with you. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That felt the most legitimately relaxing. Now, that's not my favorite experience. Yeah. The experience portion of that vacation that happened getting there was not at all relaxing. Read the details if you ever Groupon a vacation. If you're in your early 20s- Just read, read the details ... and you decide, you know what? Let's- Mm ... Groupon a vacation. Yep. That sounds great. It was too cheap to believe. And- For a reason. Yeah, for a reason. It was a good time, though. Once we got there it was great. Mm-hmm. Okay. So yeah. So your perfect vacation is, I mean, we essentially beach bummed it up for a week. Okay, you know what? I can actually do this, but it doesn't even need to be on the beach. Like, in hot springs- Mm-hmm ... looking at the mountains. Mm. Just staring at them. Okay. That also sounds wonderful. So I don't know that I can give my f- like, ideal vacation, but I can give components. It needs to be wa- I need to be warm. Yep. Relaxing environment. Warm. I need to have a nice view. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Low expectations- Yep ... with people very close to me. Yeah. Which is an extension, I think, of the low expectations. Mm-hmm. Experience, though, I'll go do all kinds of things. Right. Put me on a zip line, take me to a new country that I've never been to. Mm-hmm. I think really ideal vacation, too, I've been there before. Oh, yeah. It feels familiar. Yeah. Allows me to relax a little bit more. It's not that I'm not willing to go to new places- Mm-hmm ... but that feels more like an experience than a vacation to me. Hmm. I have talked way too long. Please tell me about your favorite vacation. Well, the question was to describe your ideal vac- vacation. Right. Describe ideal vacation. Okay. So- See- ... I want you to describe your ideal Vacation Yeah. So I think I'm kind of growing into being the opposite. I used to like to just relax. Now I like to do stuff. So- So like- So you would call it an experience? I don't know. I- I, well, but by my definition, I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. You- I think a vacation, I like to have a plan now for, like, things we're doing while we're there. I wanna know where we're going to eat. I wanna know what activities we're doing. I wanna- I've noticed this about you. Mm-hmm. You wanna pack in as much. So maybe we even call them both a vacation, but it's a leisure vacation and an experience vacation. Mm-hmm. Yeah, 'cause I can enjoy a leisure vacation, too. Yeah. But I also, I don't know, this stage of life we're, with, with the kiddos, it's like we go on a vacation, and I want to see my kids do as many things- You want them to have as many- Yes ... experiences as they can. Yeah. You don't wanna just go chill. And I- I mean, chilling, a, a nice mix is, is the best, right? Well, also, we notice- Whenever you can do a little bit of both ... kids don't chill. Like, it doesn't matter if- No ... you, you have to, you don't have to have a plan, but you have to just accept, like, we're doing something- Mm-hmm, yeah ... whether you're at home- Yep ... or on experience vacation. You can't just, yeah, take the day to sit at the beach. Right. Well, but you can if you bring toys to the beach, and you have a plan for the beach- Sure, sure ... and you pack lunch for the beach, and yeah. Okay, so what's your ideal? We, we've now been going for seven minutes. I mean, I guess my ideal would be some, some combination of a place where we can do lots of experiences, and for me, that could just be, like, fishing or being out on a lake, you know, in a boat or something like that. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Doesn't have to be elaborate, but just something to do, and then a mix of, like, time just with you. If we can have friends or family that the kids can go hang out for a little bit, and we'll do the same for their kids, you know, and kinda get some, some quiet time with the grownups is nice, too. I would agree. That would be my ideal- Yeah ... experience vacation. Yeah, yep. I gave my ideal leisure vacation- Mm-hmm ... but I share the ideal experience vacation- Yeah ... with you. Okay, moving on. I should say really quick, we do have one year old with us. Oh, boy. One year old ... we'll see how it goes. She's done great so far. Mm-hmm. She's munching on a snack, and we'll see if she makes it through the whole podcast. Yeah. All right? But if you hear her- You hear her It's 'cause she's there. Yep. Okay. So body scan is exactly what it sounds like. We are doing a body scan. We are prompting the client I am prompting the client as the clinician to scan their body from head to toe for any really residual tension. We are finding where trauma is still held. We are processing that remaining activation. The goal is to completely clear out the trauma response. And you say where trauma is held. Yeah. I've, I recently heard of this experience where I guess it's called, like, getting your jaw released. Mm. And there are people who, like, carry around tension in their jaws, and they don't even really ri- realize it anymore. And it's almost like a chiroprac- chiropractic technique where they, like, pop their jaw and release all this tension, and it's supposedly, like, earth-shattering for people who are like, "Holy cow, I had no idea I was that, like, tensed up all the time." Is that what you mean by, like, finding where trauma is still held? Yeah. So thank you for asking. We could really get into a rabbit hole on this, and we're not going to completely go down that rabbit hole- Okay ... or that rabbit trail. But the most basic way I can explain it is that there are two different ways. Whenever people are saying you're holding trauma- Mm-hmm first, there is something anatomical that is happening- Mm-hmm ... in your upper spine- Mm-hmm ... in the cervical area of your spine when you experience chronic trauma. Okay. We've actually gone into that in our chiropractic episode, so if you wanted to listen to that episode you could get more into the nitty-gritty on that. Yeah. And then there are also ways in which trauma experiences create body responses in the rest of our body. So I actually, I'll just share a personal experience I've had with EMDR- Mm-hmm ... rather than giving an example of how it can often show up in clients. I've seen this show up for clients as well, but I had an experience where I was desensitizing and reprocessing a memory where I had wanted to say something that I didn't, and I had the body sensation of like having a lump in my throat. Oh, okay. And so there, again, if you've experienced chronic trauma, you're going to have like anatomical changes to your cervical- Mm-hmm ... spine. And again, you can go back to our chiropractic episode and learn more about that. But there are also body responses that show up like that- Mm-hmm ... often in session like the body response that I had- Mm-hmm which was, yeah, there was something that I had wanted to say in this memory that I was working through, and it manifested as like this feeling of there being a lump in my throat. Now, I was going through training at the time and so one could say, "Well, you, you had an idea of what should happen- Mm-hmm so that idea was then in, in your mind." But I have clients all the time who- Yeah ... have- Similar, yeah ... similar body reactions- Mm-hmm ... and, and don't know that, that that's something that- Hmm ... comes up often. Which again, is why I'm sometimes, in the last episode I had said like I'm sometimes hesitant to give- Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you as mu- yeah, mm-hmm. Yeah, because I think that I, I don't, it's not that I'm trying to pull anything over on anybody. Mm-hmm. I just, I know that EMDR as a client for me- Yeah ... has become more and more difficult- Mm-hmm ... because I am more and more cognitive about it. Yeah. But, because my my just knowledge of it- Mm-hmm ... is, is deeper and deeper over the years. Clients don't need to put themselves in that spot. Right. They don't need the deep cognitive knowledge, and so then let's not place that on them. Mm-hmm. Yep. That makes me think, I wonder about an episode in the future maybe a page on the website, some sort of resource that gives the a- almost like a... Maybe I can just find a good meta-analysis of studies that- Mm-hmm ... just give study information. Yeah. I'm, what I'm thinking through is like if I, if I'm imagining myself as a parent knowing nothing about EMDR, and we're gonna send one of our kids to EMDR- Mm-hmm ... what would I want to know about it? Yeah. And creating that resource for people so that they can feel confident that this is an effective- Mm-hmm ... form of therapy. It's a research-backed effective therapy, yeah. Right, without really having to- dive into its mechanisms- Mm-hmm ... on their own, especially if they're- Mm-hmm ... they're the client. Yeah. Right now I'm just sending people to Emdria. Mm-hmm. You know, but if we could create a more... Emdria is great- Mm-hmm ... but there's not necessarily one, like, Not like a one-pager, a quick sheet. Yes, yes. Yeah. I'm looking for a one-pager. Of factual, research-backed information. Maybe a two-pager. But yeah. Can you get on that for me? Oh, yeah, I'm on it. Does that sound good? I'm on it. Okay. So does that answer your, your question? Maybe not- Yeah, mm-hmm ... as sufficiently as you'd hope. But so getting back to phase six what are we looking for? Or, or, I... Let me back up. Not what we are looking for. How could this play out? So let's say that your standard units of distress is a zero. Mm-hmm. So they identify cognitively they are not noticing any distress. Okay. They are able to endorse a positive cognition at a seven- Mm-hmm ... fully evoked. But their chest is still tight. Their stomach still hurts. They've still got a lump in their throat. We would say until there is a clear body scan, the memory is not fully processed. Okay. And this whole phase six is just- Mm-hmm ... body scanning. Yep. Is that right? Okay. Perfect. So the rest of the stuff should come before that, and then you get to body scanning, which is like that double-check you talked about. It's a double-check. A- and, and I think w- what we just went through is probably the most descri- descriptive I can be of a double-check, right? Mm-hmm. It's like, I can tell you cognitively I'm no longer distressed. Mm-hmm. I can tell you cognitively that I'm okay replacing- Mm-hmm ... this positive cognition and attaching it to this memory. Mm-hmm. And we just did this double-check, and, ooh, look at all the stuff showing up in the body. Mm-hmm, right. And so now we need to do something about that because if we skip it, somatic symptoms are going to persist. Mm-hmm. Triggers are going to persist at the body level. The processing is not complete. The client is going to be able to know they're safe but not feel safe. Right. Some people come in already here. Okay. Where they- So they will, like- Right. Mm-hmm ... cognitively tell me, "I am not that dis..." So let's say that they had a car accident, right? Mm-hmm. And they're like, "The idea of driving does not bother me." Mm-hmm. I can sit here and tell you everything about the accident, and I'm good. Mm-hmm. But I'm telling you that whenever I went to get in the car to drive to the grocery store- Mm-hmm ... yesterday, that all of a sudden I came to a stop sign. And my accident happened at a stop sign- Mm-hmm ... and I was having like full body sweats. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So like sometimes people come in and it's ver- it's a very somatic experience- Yeah ... for them- That makes sense ... with very little cognitive reactions- Mm-hmm ... accompanying the somatic experience. Mm-hmm. Does that make sense? Yeah. So, that can happen and then it can look like it's just like quick smooth sailing and you get to the body scan and it's like, whoa- Mm-hmm there's still a lot going up here, going on here. Yep. Okay. So what does it actually look like? You're bringing up the original memory and the positive cognition together. You're closing your eyes and scanning your body from head to toe, noticing any tension, tightness, discomfort, unusual sensations. Mm-hmm. Anything that's not just like neutral status quo. Client scans slowly. We are looking at head, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, legs, anything that they notice, even subtle sensations count. If a sensation is found, we're gonna focus on that sensation and we're gonna work to desensitize that sensation. Mm-hmm. We're gonna continue BLS until that sensation clears, shifts or resolves. Now, obviously we can't continue BLS, which is bilateral stimulation. Yep. We can't continue BLS until just like the foreseeable future. And so there are some things that we can do that we won't dive into today if things start to get stuck. But I, I've said this before, I use this analogy for lots of different reasons, so it can get confusing- Mm-hmm ... but it's another way that we're weeding the garden. Yeah. We've gone in and we've taken out the majority of the stuff. Now we're going back through and we're like- Mm-hmm ... getting the, the, the little guys- Yeah and making sure that everything's clear. So whenever we get what we call a clear body scan, everything feels neutral and comfortable. There's no like residual activation anywhere. Mm-hmm. We then have a we've gotten to a place where like the body, the cognitive stuff is aligned- Mm ... or I'm sorry the mind, the cognitive stuff is aligned with the body. Okay, so to wrap up, and I'm gonna be wrapping up solo because as I said, our, our one-year-old was joining us and she needed daddy. So as we're wrapping up, I want to summarize what this phase is. And really this phase is the wrap-up phase. In phase seven and eight, in phase seven we are closing. So it really pulls away from the specific target and looks at making sure that we are, as a client, walking out the door well, and as a clinician, making sure the client's walking out the door well. And then phase eight is looping back and making sure that the work that we have done on this particular car- target has sustained. So this is really the last piece of addressing this target specifically in this session, if that makes sense. It is, as we described earlier, the second check or the last go-around to make sure, are we really an all clear here? And it, it provides a safety net for us to ensure, okay, we've done what we intended to with this memory, and now we are able to move forward effectively. So phase phase six, like all of the phases, is important. It has an important role. Sometimes you will get to phase six and the client will be able to confidently declare that they do not notice anything in their body that is uncomfortable to them. In fact, they're experiencing some, like, warmth in their chest that feels good, like the sun hitting them when they're outside or you know, some sort of positive attribution. And we can reinforce that just like we, we would with BLS in earlier phases. And then obviously if we're noticing something that is distressing, just like we talked about earlier, we would work to desensitize that somatic distress. Okay. So I think this gets us to a point where we can wrap up well. We will be back next week with phases seven Or I'm sorry, not phases plural, with phase seven, and then we're on to closing with phase eight. So thank you guys so much for listening and walking through this series with us. We have never done a series this long, and it's been good. The EMDR individual phases are something worth giving this much time to. So appreciate you. Also, if you wanna wait for all of these to come out, I think this would be a good binge time. So, you know, if you haven't heard the first phases one through five, go back and listen to those because this is really something that should be kind of digested all together. Thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed your listen, and we'll chat with you again soon. Bye-bye. Well, that's all folks. Please see our show notes for ways to connect with us or go give us a follow on Instagram. You can find us at Simply Mental. If this episode resonated with you, send it over to a friend. Give us a five star rating. Subscribe. Download all the things the cool kids are doing these days. Thanks for having to listen.