EMDR uses bilateral stimulation — most commonly eye movements, tactile buzzers, or tapping — while a client focuses on a specific memory or trigger. The bilateral stimulation activates both sides of the brain simultaneously, helping the brain's natural processing system resume work on memories that have become stuck. Over processing, the memory loses its emotional charge and becomes integrated rather than intrusive.

What Is EMDR Therapy? Everything You've Heard (And What's Actually True)

EMDR Therapy

Jul 7

Written By Cassandra Minnick

podcast

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

You've seen it on TikTok. You've heard someone mention it in a wellness conversation. Maybe you've even Googled it at 11pm wondering if it could help you. But what is EMDR therapy, really?

If you've been curious about EMDR but weren't sure where to start, this blog post is for you. Let’s go back to the basics: what EMDR actually is, how it works, what it isn't, who it's for, and what to expect when you walk into a session for the first time.

No assumed knowledge. No jargon without explanation. Just a clear, honest look at one of the most effective trauma therapies available today.

Key Takeaways

In this blog post, you'll learn:

What EMDR stands for and what it actually does in the brain
Why EMDR is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the VA and what's currently happening with the APA
Five of the most common EMDR myths, busted
Who EMDR is for (it's not just combat veterans)
What to expect in your first EMDR sessions
How long EMDR takes and why that depends on your history

What Is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a mouthful, and the name doesn't do a great job of explaining what the therapy actually does. So here's the clearer version.

EMDR helps your brain finish processing memories that got stuck. When something overwhelming happens, the brain's normal filing system can get overwhelmed. Most memories, even difficult ones, eventually get filed away like a book on a shelf. You can find them when you want them, and they don't get in your way when you don't.

But sometimes the system gets overwhelmed. The books end up all over the floor. They surface when you don't want them to, and they're disorganized and disruptive in a way that affects how you move through daily life.

EMDR helps the brain complete what it started - processing those memories properly so they can be integrated rather than continuing to intrude.

Is EMDR Actually Backed by Research?

Yes. EMDR is endorsed by:

The World Health Organization (WHO)
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
The American Psychological Association (APA) - historically as a primary treatment for PTSD

A quick note: in 2025, the APA's clinical practice guideline for PTSD treatment moved EMDR from a primary to a secondary treatment recommendation. Leading EMDR researchers and clinicians responded with a published rebuttal arguing the reasons for that reclassification were not valid.

Read the rebuttal here →

This is an evolving conversation in the field. What remains true: the WHO and VA continue to endorse EMDR as a primary treatment for PTSD, and the body of evidence supporting EMDR's effectiveness is substantial.

Book a free consultation with Cassandra →

5 Common EMDR Myths - Busted

Myth 1: EMDR is just someone waving their fingers in front of your face.

Eye movements are one form of bilateral stimulation, but they're not the only one. EMDR can also use tactile buzzers, auditory stimulation, or even walking. The bilateral stimulation is the vehicle, not the destination. The real work is what the brain does with it.

And no, this is not hypnosis. You are fully awake, fully aware, and not in any kind of trance. You can stop at any point. The therapist isn't doing anything to you - you are doing the work. The therapist holds the structure.

Myth 2: EMDR is only for combat veterans or people with "serious" trauma.

This is one of the most limiting misconceptions about EMDR, and it keeps a lot of people from getting help they genuinely need.

Chronic childhood criticism, attachment wounds, shame, emotional neglect - these are legitimate traumas. They don't require a single identifiable "big event" to cause real, lasting harm. And they respond to EMDR just as effectively as more acute traumas do.

Most clients aren't coming to me for one specific event. They're coming with layered, complex histories. And even clients who do come for a single event often find that event is complicated by everything that came before it.

If something is still affecting how you move through the world, it deserves attention. The size of the event does not have to determine the impact.

Myth 3: EMDR makes you relive everything in full, painful detail.

This is one of the most common fears, and it's largely not true. In standard EMDR protocol, you don't have to narrate the story verbally. You don't have to describe everything that happened in detail.

One small caveat: there are specific protocols, particularly for recent traumatic events, that do involve walking through the event more explicitly. But these aren't the standard approach, and if you'd prefer not to do that, you can tell your therapist. They can adjust.

Myth 4: EMDR erases memories.

EMDR does not erase memories. The memory stays - it just loses its emotional charge. My analogy: think of it like a dead battery. The battery still exists, it still looks the same, it's just no longer powering anything. The goal of EMDR is to integrate the memory, not remove it.

Myth 5: EMDR is a quick fix.

It can work quickly, particularly for single-event, acute trauma. In those cases, EMDR can produce meaningful shifts in just a few sessions, sometimes just hours of processing time. That's where the results feel almost remarkable.

But for most clients, those dealing with chronic or relational trauma, EMDR is not a quick fix. It's effective, often very effective, but it takes time. The depth of the work matches the depth of the history.

How Long Does EMDR Take?

This is one of the most common questions people have before starting EMDR, and the honest answer is: it depends.

For someone addressing a single acute trauma with no significant prior trauma history, EMDR can move quickly. Processing may happen in as few as three to six sessions, sometimes even fewer.

For someone with a chronic trauma history (childhood relational trauma, layered attachment wounds, complex PTSD), EMDR takes longer. Not because it isn't working, but because there's more to process, and the brain needs time between sessions to integrate what's been addressed.

What I tell clients: expect it to take as long as your history took to create. The work is proportional to what's there.

Wondering how long EMDR might take for your specific situation? Book a free consultation →

Who Is EMDR For?

EMDR is for a wider range of people than most realize. You might be a good candidate if:

You've tried talk therapy but feel like you keep talking about the same things without anything changing. Talk therapy is valuable. But if the cognitive understanding is there and nothing is shifting, the issue may be stored below the level of words - in the body and nervous system rather than the thinking brain. That's where EMDR works.

You experience anxiety that seems completely disproportionate to what's actually happening. Disproportionate reactions are often a signal that the nervous system is responding to something from the past, not just what's in front of you now.

You notice patterns in your relationships that you can see clearly but can't seem to change. You know you keep ending up in the same dynamics. You understand why intellectually. And yet the pattern continues. That gap between knowing and changing is often where EMDR is most useful.

You had a traumatic birth experience. If you had a traumatic delivery, particularly an emergency situation, and you weren't sleeping in the aftermath (which, for most new mothers, is almost guaranteed), your nervous system didn't have the chance to process what happened. Sleep is essential for trauma processing, and new mothers don't get it. If your birth felt traumatic and you're still carrying it, EMDR is worth pursuing.

You have a specific event from years ago that you still can't talk about freely. If a memory still has that much charge, still feels raw, still feels like it just happened, it hasn't been processed. EMDR can help.

You're generally high-functioning but certain environments or situations shut you down unexpectedly. Walking into a crowded store, attending certain events, being around specific people or places. When the reaction feels bigger than the situation warrants, something else is usually driving it.

This list isn't exhaustive. If you read any of these and thought "that's me", that's worth paying attention to.

What to Expect in EMDR Sessions

Here's a 30,000-foot view of what EMDR actually looks like in practice - not a single session, but the overall arc of treatment.

Early sessions look a lot like typical therapy. History taking, building a relationship with your therapist, understanding your goals. This might be the first two, three, or more sessions depending on your history and presentation.

Preparation comes next - building internal resources, learning grounding tools, and establishing the foundation that will support the processing work. This is Phase 2 of the EMDR protocol, and it's not something to rush.

Processing sessions are what most people picture when they think of EMDR. You and your therapist identify what to focus on - a specific memory, a current trigger, a feeling in the body. Then bilateral stimulation begins. If you're working with me, that typically means holding tactile buzzers while I provide bilateral hand movements.

Your job as the client is simple: notice what comes up. It might be a thought, an image, a new memory, a body sensation, or an emotion. There are no supposed-to's. You're not cognitively working through anything, you're just letting whatever arises, arise.

Closing happens at the end of every session - containment, grounding, and making sure you leave in a stable state regardless of where processing ended.

Check-ins begin each subsequent session - verifying that previous work held and addressing anything that came up between sessions.

This is a process, not an event. The first session won't involve processing. But it's the beginning of something that can produce real, lasting change.

EMDR in Springfield, MO

I am a licensed therapist and EMDR Consultant offering EMDR therapy, EMDR intensives, and couples counseling at Seen Therapy Services in Springfield, Missouri. I also offer telehealth sessions throughout the state of Missouri.

If anything in this blog post resonated, if you recognized yourself in any of the scenarios described, a free consultation is a low-pressure way to find out whether EMDR might be right for you.

Book a free consultation at Seen Therapy Services →Learn more about EMDR therapy at seentherapy.org →📞 417-708-7909

Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR Therapy

What does EMDR stand for?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a structured therapy approach that helps the brain process and integrate memories that have become stuck, particularly traumatic or overwhelming experiences that continue to affect daily functioning.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, most commonly eye movements, tactile buzzers, or tapping, while a client focuses on a specific memory or trigger. The bilateral stimulation activates both sides of the brain simultaneously, which appears to help the brain's natural processing system resume work on memories that have become stuck. Over the course of processing, the memory loses its emotional charge and becomes integrated rather than intrusive.

How long does EMDR take?

It depends significantly on the client's history. For single-event acute trauma in someone without a complex prior history, EMDR can produce meaningful results in just a few sessions. For clients with chronic or complex trauma histories, treatment typically takes longer, often months of regular sessions. A consultation with an EMDR therapist can give you a better sense of what to expect for your specific situation.

Is EMDR only for PTSD?

No. While EMDR was originally developed for PTSD and has the strongest research base there, it's used effectively for anxiety, depression, attachment wounds, relationship patterns, phobias, grief, and more. You don't need a formal PTSD diagnosis to benefit from EMDR.

Do I have to talk about what happened in detail during EMDR?

Not necessarily. Standard EMDR protocol doesn't require you to narrate your trauma verbally in detail. Some specific protocols for recent events do involve more explicit walkthrough, but these are not the default, and if you'd prefer not to go into detail verbally, you can tell your therapist and they can adjust.

Does EMDR erase memories?

No. EMDR does not remove or erase memories. The memory remains - it simply loses its emotional charge. The goal is integration: the memory becomes something you can access without being overwhelmed by it, rather than something that intrudes and disrupts.

Is EMDR evidence-based?

Yes. EMDR is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a primary treatment for PTSD. The American Psychological Association has historically endorsed it as well, though their 2025 clinical practice guidelines moved it to a secondary recommendation - a decision that leading EMDR researchers have formally rebutted.Read the rebuttal here.

Who is EMDR for?

EMDR is for anyone whose past experiences continue to affect how they move through the world, whether that's anxiety, relationship patterns, specific memories that still feel raw, disproportionate reactions to everyday situations, or a sense that talk therapy hasn't been able to move things forward. You don't need a single identifiable "big event" to benefit from EMDR.

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. This is Cassandra, and we are throwing it back to a basic episode today. You have heard about EMDR. Here is what it actually is If you've been on TikTok or Instagram in the last year, you have heard someone talking about eye movements, maybe someone sharing their experience with trauma healing, and maybe you've wondered, "Is this actually real? Does it actually work? Is this just another wellness trend?" Today, we are going to answer all of that because we are not taking for granted that maybe you haven't listened to any of our episodes before this moment. So we just had a huge series where we went over the different parts of EMDR, but we're heading back to the basics today. And I am joined by Garth. None other. None other. So before we get rolling, we do a quick bant. Garth, can you bant us away today? So, I am Cassandra's husband, if anyone out there listening cares or doesn't know that or wants to. And we have some children that run amok around our premises. We are currently reading the Harry Potter series to one of our children for the very first time, and my question to you, Cassandra, relates a bit to those books. Mm-hmm. So far we are on book six, so we are getting close to the end, but books one through five that we have finished, who's your favorite character rereading it from the perspective of a parent? Oh, easy, Molly Weasley. Yeah. I, I was gonna say, I think I know the answer to this, but- Done ... pretty sure I know it. Got it. Yeah. And though my favorites often change, like my favorite things in general- Mm. Mm-hmm ... Molly Weasley is set in stone for me now, I do believe. Yeah. And I don't mean, I don't mean favorite parent from the series, but she's your favorite character- Favorite character ... from the series, reading it now that we're parents and... Yep. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I mean, nothing wrong with Molly Weasley. Molly W- How about you? I am really feeling a kinship with McGonagall. Mm. Ol' Minerva McGonagall. So if I weren't to go with Molly, it would be McGonagall. Mm. Mm-hmm. You have said several times, like you can see McGonagall in Flitwick and... I think we should write some fan fiction, and it should be Hogwarts staff meetings. Stay tuned. We may have- Yeah, that may be coming up next ... we may have another ep- or another episode, a whole nother podcast. An offshoot podcast. Hogwarts... Staff meetings ... staff meetings. And it's just Dumbledore running the meetings- Ah ... before the school year starts or during the school year. Yeah, I think that would be hilarious because you got some real stinkers of teachers that work there- Mm-hmm and you got some real gems. Yeah. What's the water cooler talk among the gems? Oh my gosh. Yeah. Among the- Let's see. Among the shining stars, I would guess that frequently it is talked about that Dumbledore never does any work- Mm-hmm ... seemingly for the school. Mm-hmm. Right? He's just doing his own thing- Mm-hmm up in his office, playing around with his little trinkets and stuff. Mm-hmm. Never really does... And they're probably pretty concerned about just, like, student safety. Mm-hmm. You know, there's ghosts that try to drop statues on people's heads. There's, you know, wild beasts running around the forest. You know, probably just some basic, like, student wellbeing, curriculum planning- Yeah you know. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense the way the classes are set up. But anyway. There's some stuff to complain about, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Okay. So I want to know as we head into the episode for today because we're going back to the basics here, do you remember when I first started practicing EMDR and what your initial thoughts on it were? Let's see. You first started practicing EMDR when we lived in South Dakota. Yep. I don't think you had an undergrad. Did you study it at all, or was it mention- probably mentioned, but you didn't, like, learn. You weren't trained- I had a general idea of what it was ... or anything like that. Yeah, in undergrad. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So South Dakota, you started learning about it, and at first, I, I mean, you did a great job explaining it, so I didn't have the connotations that some people maybe get it. But you came home and you were telling me, you were, like, moving your hand back and forth like this is what you do, and I did think for a second like, "Huh, that's interesting." And, and then you moved on. Yeah. I mean, there's lots of things that I come across in life where I just give it a, "Huh, that's interesting," and move on. But- Yeah ... but now I've, I've learned more about it, and I understand that, like, you're not ... Y- you know how, oh, those snake charmers, right? They kinda move something around. Yeah, that, that's not what's happening. At first, my first impression, initial impression, was like, okay, some sort of, like, relaxation thing with your hand. I guess that makes sense. But my background in education, you start talking about, like, activating both sides of the brain, and I was like, "Oh, totally get that." Sure. That's kinesthetic learning at its finest, right? Just getting both sides of the brain moving to help you remember things, but also can help you reprocess things, I've learned. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I love how initially you associate it with snake charmer, and you're just like, "I trust her." Yeah, I do. I trust you. This, th- Yeah ... this is probably one of the most significant differences between us, is I question everything. Mm-hmm. And you are curious, but when people are in your kind of inner circle- Yeah ... like, your loyalty is such that you're like, "Cassandra's doing EMDR, EMDR is good." Like, those- Yeah ... those are your- She wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't, so those are your associations. I'm in. I don't know what it is, but I'm in. I love it. Yeah. Yep. Okay. So headed back to the basics, what do the letters stand for? Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Oof. The name is a mouthful- Yeah ... and doesn't necessarily tell you a whole lot. Core idea, EMDR helps your brain process memories that should have been processed that have got- become stuck in that process. When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes can fully file it away. Sometimes it stays raw, unfinished, and then it is triggered easily. Mm-hmm. I have used this imagery so many times before, but even very difficult memories can sometimes be filed away appropriately like a book on a bookshelf. Mm-hmm. But sometimes that system, that filing system, is overwhelmed, and the books end up all over the floor. They get in your way whenever you don't want them in the way, and they're difficult to find when you do want to find them. Now, we just did a whole series on the eight phases of EMDR. Eight episodes. Eight. Actually, nine- It was nine. Yeah ... because we did an introduction. I was gonna say. Yep, we did. So it was a, it was a whole thing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like two months of episodes. Mm-hmm. A wh- the whole shebang. Yep. So if you want to go back and learn more about the eight phases, you can do that. And we would encourage you to, to get kind of a deeper dive. I'll be honest, I have gone back and listened to the episodes. I, I listen to every episode when it comes out. Mm-hmm, yeah. A- really just to make sure that our kids don't end up on there m- without us editing it or- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... some other crazy something. Right. Right? I would say it definitely leans more clinical than I originally intended- Mm and so I don't know that potential clients are gonna get as much out of it. Yeah. But I think potentially clinicians that are new to EMDR could. Yeah. And if you're wanting to have a, a deeper understanding as a client you could- Mm-hmm ... go through those, those episodes. So EMDR is endorsed by the World Health Organization. American Psychological Association- The WHO ... and the VA, World Health Organization. The WHO, yes, that's correct. Yeah. There it is. Thank you for that. Yeah, yeah. Goodness gracious. The WHO. I do wanna note really quick, and we will include this link. There's a little bit of a tiff right now. Ooh. Um- Spill the tea the American Psycho- Psychological Association clinical practice guideline for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in adults. Mm-hmm. It comes out yearly. Okay. So in 2025 they did not put EMDR as a primary treatment- Oh, no ... to treat PTSD. They put it as a secondary. And so, some of the kind of top folks- Mm-hmm um, in EMDR actually just published a rebuttal as we record this. Ooh. It will have been two days ago. And so by the time folks are listening to this- Mm-hmm ... it will have been a few weeks ago. But they did publish a rebuttal to the American Psychological Association essentially saying that the reasons they had listed for not including EMDR as a primary response were not valid. So we will link that- Hmm ... if you're a clinician l- listening and you would like to go back and read through that. But historically APA has endorsed EMDR as a primary line of treatment. The World Health Organization still does, and the VA still does. Wow. So, I'm gonna look into a little bit more about what's possibly behind that. I'm curious if there's some sort of political something floating around- Hmm ... that resulted in that. Yeah, and what implications could come of that. All right, is that- Yeah. I, I, I know I'm not- ... what you were really asking ... expecting you to know that. Sure. But yeah, I'm sure... I mean, my, my brain automatically goes to, like, does that mean some insurances are gonna have some, you know- So that's- Yeah so that's what I was gonna say. For me, you know, I have so much anecdotal evidence- Mm-hmm, yeah ... in how EMDR functions that it's not going to affect- Right ... at this point how I do care. Mm-hmm. Not that no research does. It certainly does. Sure. But it could potentially down the line impact insurance. Okay, but we are not going to go down that rabbit hole because we cannot live in that rabbit hole. We do not have time for that rabbit hole. So we are going to go on to busting some myths. Are you ready? Let's bust some myths. We're gonna kinda rapid fire here. Myth number one, EMDR is just someone waving their fingers in front of your face. No, no, no. Eye movements are one form of bilateral stimulation. They are not the only form. Mm. We can use, I call them buzzies. We can use tactile stimulation. We can use auditory stimulation. Okay. What about walking? Yep, I've used walking before- Hmm ... as well. The bilateral stimulation is the vehicle. It is not the destination. The real work is what the brain does with- Okay ... the bilateral stimulation. Yeah. You had said earlier that for a moment when I initially introduced EMDR to you, you were like, like that snake charmer effect. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. I do wanna clarify here, this is not hypnosis. You are 100% fully awake, fully aware, not in a trance. You can stop at any point. The therapist isn't doing an- anything to you. You are doing the work. Mm-hmm ... we are just holding a structure for that work. What if snake charmers are doing EMDR for snakes? Okay, sir. And next, myth number two. EMDR is only for combat veterans or people who have, in quotes here, "serious trauma." Hmm. Here's the deal. Chronic criticism in your childhood- Mm-hmm ... attachment wounds- Mm-hmm ... childhood shame- Yep ... those are legitimate traumas- Mm-hmm ... in the same way that an assault, an accident- Yeah ... a natural disaster is. Yeah. You don't have to have a single identifiable, again, begin quote- Mm-hmm ... big event, end quote, to benefit from EMDR. That is not necessary. Okay. In fact, most people are not coming to me for one big event. Mm-hmm. Sometimes they are. Yeah. But even people who come for one big event, that one big event is often complicated by a lot of other- Right ... previous events. Mm-hmm. If something is still impacting how you move through the world, it deserves attention. The size of it does not have to determine the impact. Yeah. Okay? So I really wanna encourage people not to fixate on that and let it prevent them from seeking out care. That happens all too- Mm-hmm ... often where, "I don't have anything big enough to go to therapy for." Yeah. Well, how is it impacting your- Right day to day? How is it impacting how you move through the world? Mm-hmm. Let's let that determine whether or not you go to therapy. And that's a myth with EMDR, but also just a myth with therapy- Yes ... in a larger perspective in our culture, is just, "Oh, yeah, it's not, I've not had anything that bad happen to me." Well, that bad is based on your perspective, right? Yes. It's based on what you've experienced and yeah. Yeah. Okay, myth number three, EMDR makes you relive everything in detail. This is one of the biggest fears and one of the biggest mis- misconceptions. You don't have to narrate the story in full detail. You don't have to relive it verbally- Mm-hmm ... if you don't want to. I do want to add a little bit of a caveat here. There are certain protocols- Mm-hmm ... especially if you have experienced a recent traumatic event- Mm-hmm ... that will have you walk through the event in a detailed manner. Mm-hmm. If you would prefer not to do that, all you have to do is tell your therapist that- Yeah and they can adjust. So there are certain protocols, not the original basic protocol, but there are certain protocols that will have you go- Mm-hmm ... step-by-step, detailed verbally. Mm-hmm. Don't have to do that if you don't want to, just make that clear. Yeah. Myth number four. How, how many myths are we doing? Five. Whoa. Myth number four, EMDR erases memories. EMDR does not erase memories. Oh, that one's settled. Memories stay. It just loses its emotional charge. Okay. It, I, you know what? I've never compared it to this before, but it's a dead battery. Mm. Yeah. The battery still exists. Yeah. It still looks the same. Yep. It's just a battery without a charge anymore. Huh. EMDR can produ- produce really meaningful shifts but it does not erase memories. Okay. The goal is to integrate the memory. It is not to erase the memory. Mm-hmm. Okie dokie? Okie dokie. Myth number five. You ready? I'm ready. EMDR is a quick fix. Mm. Just a little slap a Band-Aid on the old brain. Slap a Band-Aid on there. Good to go. Here's the thing EMDR can work really quickly. If you've listened to any- Mm-hmm ... of our previous episodes, you've probably heard me say- Ooh, ooh, can I- ... some version of, take it away ... some version of if you've experienced a single event trauma recently, EMDR can be the way to go. Mm-hmm. In just mere hours. Mm-hmm That event can be, it can be, it can lose its charge You, you took my breath away. I took your breath away. That's where we see the magic, right? Mm-hmm, yeah. In that situation. The reality for most of us as therapists is that we're dealing with situations where folks are coming in and they are walking through chronic trauma. Mm-hmm. And it's not that EMDR is not going to work very, very well, but it's not the magic- Mm-hmm ... that people are imagining in their minds. Right, right. Does that make sense? Makes sense to me. Okay. So who is EMDR for? Everybody. Everybody. Everybody needs EMDR. All right. Here's the thing, EMDR you should try it if you've tried talk therapy before- Okay but you feel like you keep talking about the same things and nothing changes. Mm-hmm. You have experienced anxiety, especially anxiety that seems completely disproportionate to what's actually going on around you. Okay, okay. You notice patterns in your relationship that you're conscious of. Mm-hmm. "I keep ending up in these same relationships where I get hurt," but you're not able to break those patterns. Okay. Make sense? Yeah, I'm, I'm following. You're a mom who had a traumatic birth. I'm gonna say something- And then I, I wanna m- provide some information around it. Okay. If you had an emergency C-section- Mm-hmm ... and your baby was a pretty normal baby- Mm-hmm ... in that they did not sleep through the night- Mm-hmm for the next two to three months- Mm-hmm ... meaning they didn't sleep more than nine to 10 hours at a time- Yeah ... you probably really need to go do some EMDR. Oh, okay. Reason that I say that, and I'm more confident with that than I am almost anything that happens to people. Okay. Because whenever somebody calls and they say they've experienced a trauma, what do I tell them? S- go to sleep. Right now. Right now. Right now. Sleep. Yeah, yeah. And if you need to go to your primary care and- Mm-hmm ... ask for something to help you do that- Yeah. Do it ... do. Yeah. But sleep. Mm-hmm. What are new moms not doing? Sleeping. Not sleeping. Yeah. So if all births are difficult, not all births are traumatic. If you are questioning if your birth was traumatic- Mm-hmm ... and it's hard to identify what symptoms are trauma symptoms and what symptoms are postpartum symptoms- Mm-hmm ... 'cause they are all mixed in together. Mm-hmm. But if you think it was traumatic, if, especially if you had professionals telling you that it was- Yeah Or you had, you know, a friend who'd been in four other deliveries- Sure ... or y- if you've got people saying- Ooh. Yeah. Yeah. And you're not sleeping, think about pursuing EMDR. Yeah. That's about as strongly worded as I, I make things on a podcast. But call me for a consultation- Mm-hmm ... and I'll be even more direct. Yeah. Because I really, I, I think that new moms hold off too, too long oftentimes. Sure, 'cause they're just wondering what, yeah, what is postpartum? They, they don't know what way is up. What is, what is life? Yes. Yeah, you're sleeping three hours at a time for weeks on end. Yeah, it's awful. You have a specific event that happened years ago that you still can't talk to people freely about. Okay. You are generally high-functioning, but any time you have to walk into a busy store- Mm-hmm ... you suddenly feel yourself becoming anxious. Okay. These are not, these reasons that I just listed are certainly not all inclusive. Yeah. But it does give you some examples of- Right ... some reasons and, and situations where you should be seeking EMDR out. Okay? Okay. All right What to expect in session. We're gonna really quickly go through this. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna try to demystify the actual experience a little bit. Okay. Demystify it. So you come in, you get settled. Okay. You go through a typical, it looks pretty typical as far as like a general history that you would do with most other therapists, right? Okay. And you prepare and you resource- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm ... to lead up to the bulk of what we think of as EMDR, which is actually just the l- the later phases of EMDR. Mm-hmm. Okay? And let's say you're coming in for a specific session and we're identifying what are we gonna focus on that day. Is it a specific memory? Is it a current trigger? Is it a feeling in the body? We're gonna identify that, and then we are going to utilize bilateral stimulation. Now, if you're seeing me- Mm-hmm ... most of the time that means you're gonna be using my buzzies, which is bilateral tactile stimulation. Yep. And then you're gonna have ... You know what? We should do a video of you using them, at me, like- Oh, the buzzies providing bilateral- Okay. Mm-hmm ... with my hand. So I'm gonna be pr- providing bilateral with my hand. Mm-hmm. You're gonna be holding buzzies. And really, your only job as the client is to notice what comes up. It could be a thought, it could be an image, it could be a new memory, it could be a specific sensation or emotion. There are no supposed to's- Mm-hmm ... on the client's end. Okay. There are supposed to's on the therapist's end, but not on the client's end. Well, yeah, it's your job. It's your job. Yeah. Okay. So you're really just letting whatever comes up come up. Mm-hmm. So people sometimes feel some additional pressure in EMDR. Mm-hmm. But really for the client it can be more emotionally draining- Mm-hmm ... than typical talk therapy sometimes. But genuinely, if you will just let some barriers down- Mm-hmm ... you don't have to cognitively work through anything- Right ... during EMDR. Right. So that's a win. Yeah. If you wanna come and not have to really think for an hour. Hey. Sounds great. Right? Exactly. And then we're carefully closing things down at the end of the session. We're containing things. And we'll start the next session- Mm-hmm ... checking in on the specific target that we worked on. What questions are there there? I know that was very general. I didn't get into the nitty-gritty at all. It's tough for me to come up with questions. I've done a podcast with you where we've gone through this a couple of times. Yeah. Yeah, I guess you said this would all happen in a session, but I believe, if I'm remembering right, it won't happen in your first session. All of this won't occur day one. No. Thank you for clarifying that. Yeah. Because what I had said earlier is you're gonna, you know, come in, get settled- Yep ... it's gonna look a lot like initial history taking with a- Yeah ... a typical talk therapist would. And that might be first two or three or more sessions, depending on... Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yep. Absolutely. So the rundown that you gave us was more of an overview of the, the process, not an in- individual session, but- Definitely 30,000 foot view. Yeah. Okay. Yep. Okay. That's everything I wanted to address today. We were long-winded as per usual. Yeah. What is new? We are gonna keep working to shorten these episodes, but here we are at the end of the episode. We talked about what EMDR actually is. Mm-hmm. We busted some myths. Busted 'em. Right? Yep. But w- we can't say that in inverse order because of copyright reasons of the show that was on- ... Discovery Channel in the 2000s. Goodness. We talked about who EMDR is for, and what to expect in the first session, and this is why we can't get our episodes under 20 minutes. It's right there. I'm also too long-winded. Just a legal reminder ... it's not all on you. Okay. So if anything in this episode made you think, "You know what? That's me," "what Cassandra said," you know, "I think this is worth paying attention to," or, "Garth brought up a question that really prompted something for me," you can learn more about EMDR at SEEN Therapy seentherapy.org. You can reach out to us directly, admin@seentherapy.org, or you can just shoot us a text, 417-708-7909, 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. 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