EMDR Therapy

EMDR is a structured therapy that helps process distressing experiences, with its strongest research support in PTSD. What stays from an experience that was not processed can be a feeling, a negative belief about yourself, or a sensation in the body, so the work does not require you to remember clearly what happened. We decide with you when to start, once we understand your history and readiness.

By Hanouf Alahmari, MA, LMFT · Updated 20 September 2026

What EMDR therapy is

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured therapy that helps process distressing experiences that still feel present, whether they return as memories, images, body sensations, or strong reactions without a clear memory. It is used most often for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it is also used with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, and depression. The work runs in eight set phases. Nothing is touched until the preparation phase is done, and every session has a way of closing.1,2

In the processing phases, the experience is brought to mind for a short while, while part of your attention stays here, in the room or on the call, helped by short sets of side-to-side eye movements, taps or tones.2 The work covers three time frames: what happened in the past, what sets off distress today (current triggers), and what is coming and needs preparing for (future template).3

Past

The earlier experiences that sessions work on.

Current triggers

What sets off distress today.

Future template

A situation ahead, rehearsed before it arrives.

The three time frames EMDR works through, one after the other.

Eye movements

Taps

Tones

During processing, one of these helps keep part of your attention in the present.

Our sessions are online, so we use software made for these sets.

In online sessions we use a tool made for EMDR: you follow a dot moving across the screen while the experience stays in mind. Alternating sounds or taps can be used instead, and the pace is set with your therapist.

The idea behind it

EMDR rests on a model called Adaptive Information Processing. The idea is that therapy can help a distressing experience settle in with everything else you have lived and learned.3 In that model, an experience is stored with the thoughts, feelings, images and body sensations that came with it, and it is linked to other experiences that carry something similar.4 It does not always come back as a clear memory. The association that sets the standards for EMDR describes how an experience held like that can return out of its own time and place, sometimes in pieces rather than whole: a feeling, fragmented images, a sensation in the body, or a reaction that seems bigger than the moment.5

In the model, an experience is not stored alone, but with the thoughts, feelings and body sensations that came with it, and it links to other experiences like it. That is why EMDR often teaches the idea as a hand: the experience being worked on is the palm, and each finger is a channel running out to other experiences that carry something similar.

The idea is often compared to a cut on the hand. It heals on its own, but if a small splinter is left in it, it keeps hurting, and it does not fully heal until the splinter comes out. In the same way, the model holds that the mind tends to process a distressing experience when nothing blocks it, and EMDR focuses on processing what is still stuck, so that healing can complete naturally.4

An everyday example is how the model is usually taught. A child is frightened or hurt. When a safe adult comes and settles them, what tends to stay is that it began and ended: it was hard, then it passed. When no one comes, especially when that happens again and again, the experience may not be stored as something that began and ended. It can be stored in pieces instead: a tight chest, or a sense of having done something wrong. Years later those pieces can show up in situations that resemble what happened, whether or not a particular event comes to mind. How this plays out differs from person to person.4

This is a model of how memory might work, not a settled explanation.1

What happens in a session

Before memory work

  1. 1History and planningYour history, goals, and whether EMDR fits
  2. 2PreparationWays to steady yourself during and between sessions

Memory work

  1. 3AssessmentChoosing a memory to work on
  2. 4DesensitizationShort sets of eye movements, taps or tones
  3. 5InstallationStrengthening a more helpful belief
  4. 6Body scanNoticing any tension that remains

Closing and review

  1. 7ClosureSteps to help you leave the session settled
  2. 8ReevaluationAt the next session, reviewing what has changed
The eight phases of EMDR, grouped into three stages.1

People experience this differently, and some feel more stirred up for a while between sessions,6 so we talk about this before starting and adjust the pace with you.

Who it may suit

EMDR has been studied most for PTSD. Whether it suits anything else is decided after an assessment.

You do not need to remember clearly what happened. When the picture is not clear, we start from what shows up now, in the body and in feelings.

We assess readiness before working on any experience, including watching for signs of dissociation, which means feeling cut off from yourself or from your surroundings. Preparation takes the time it needs; the UK's NICE guidance advises allowing extra time for whatever can get in the way of trauma-focused therapy, dissociation among them.2 We decide with you when to begin.

What kinds of experience is it used with? The American Psychological Association describes EMDR as suited to people who have been through trauma of many kinds. That can be one frightening event, or many that added up. It names physical or emotional abuse, bullying, accidents, combat, natural disasters and the sudden death of someone close. Sexual trauma and betrayal in a close relationship are worked with here too. Long-standing emotional neglect counts, and so does witnessing a traumatic event happen to someone else. The experience does not have to be recent. Not everyone who lives through these develops PTSD, and whether EMDR fits is something you and your therapist weigh together.7

Beyond PTSD. In the model's terms the work focuses on the experience behind today's difficulty more than on the diagnosis itself. That is why EMDR is also used with anxiety, low mood, and difficulty in relationships that traces back to earlier experiences.4 A review of EMDR for chronic pain found that people reported less pain. It rested on only two trials with a comparison group, too few to recommend it.8 A wider review across many mental health problems found good results for phobias and test anxiety. Those studies were few, and built in ways that can push a result in the hoped-for direction. That is why, here, EMDR is one part of a longer course of therapy, decided after an assessment.

Common misconceptions about EMDR

Common belief“Work on painful experiences starts in the first session.”

In factUsually not. The first sessions are for understanding your history and building ways to steady yourself, and how long this preparation takes differs from person to person; it can run over many sessions. Processing begins only after your therapist has assessed that you are ready.

Common belief“I can do it at home, with an app or a video.”

In factEye movements alone are not EMDR therapy. EMDR is delivered by a trained therapist through set phases, and bringing up painful experiences on your own can flood you with feelings that are hard to contain without support, and can make symptoms worse rather than better.

Common belief“It’s hypnosis, and I’ll lose control.”

In factYou stay awake and aware throughout, and you can stop at any time.10,11

Common belief“EMDR is just eye movements.”

In factEye movements are one part of an eight-phase therapy, and taps or tones can be used instead.

Common belief“I have to remember everything and tell every detail.”

In factYou don’t. There is no need to retell what happened in detail, or to have a clear memory to start.10

Common belief“It will erase the memory.”

In factMemories are not erased. The distress attached to them may ease, so the experience feels more like something that happened and ended.10

Common belief“One session is enough.”

In factIt varies, and longer-standing trauma usually takes more time.

Common belief“It’s only for big traumas.”

In factIt is also used with experiences that built up over time and with other difficulties, decided after an assessment.

EMDR at True Self Practice

EMDR here is provided by Hanouf Alahmari, an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and EMDRIA Approved Consultant-in-Training™. That certification comes from the EMDR International Association. It asks for EMDR training, consultation and clinical experience beyond the basic training.9 It is also provided by Ahad Alotaibi, who has formal training in EMDR. Sessions are online, in Arabic or English.

EMDR is not always where we begin. When trauma or attachment wounds affect your sense of safety, the first sessions may focus on what gives you steadiness, within yourself and with the people around you. We begin work on painful experiences when it is clinically appropriate, and with your agreement.

Frequently asked questions about EMDR

EMDR is a structured therapy for distressing experiences that still feel present, in memories, images or the body. It has eight set phases. You prepare first. Then we work on the experience while part of your attention stays in the present, through short sets of eye movements, taps or tones. It rests on a model of how memory works, and that model has not been proven.

The EMDR International Association calls it an evidence-based therapy for PTSD. Several guidelines recommend it for adults with PTSD. ISTSS, the US Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, and NICE in the UK for trauma outside combat.

It depends. Many people who come to us carry trauma that went on for years. That takes longer than the short courses quoted online, which usually describe one frightening event. Preparation can take time of its own. Nobody can give you a number in advance. We look at the pace together as the work goes.

Yes. Sessions are held by secure video. The sets run on software made for online EMDR. A dot moves from side to side across your screen. Alternating sounds or taps work too. Early studies suggest online EMDR can be delivered safely.

Some people feel more stirred up for a while between sessions. We talk about that with you before starting. Sessions usually end with steps to help you leave settled, and we adjust the pace with you.

Yes. EMDR is offered in Arabic and English. Hanouf Alahmari is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™, and Ahad Alotaibi has formal training in EMDR.

References

  1. American Psychological Association. (2025). APA clinical practice guideline for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/ptsd.pdf
  2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). Post-traumatic stress disorder (NICE guideline NG116). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116
  3. International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. (2019). Posttraumatic stress disorder prevention and treatment guidelines: Methodology and recommendations. https://istss.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ISTSS_PreventionTreatmentGuidelines_FNL-March-19-2019.pdf
  4. EMDR International Association. (n.d.). Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/aip-model/
  5. EMDR International Association. (2019). EMDR International Association definition of EMDR. https://www.emdria.org/emdr-training/become-a-virtual-basic-trainer/emdr-international-association-definition-of-emdr/
  6. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs & U.S. Department of Defense. (2023). VA/DoD clinical practice guideline for management of posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder (Version 4.0). https://www.healthquality.va.gov/HEALTHQUALITY/guidelines/MH/ptsd/VA-DoD-CPG-PTSD-Full-CPG-Edited-111624-V5-81825.pdf
  7. American Psychological Association. (2025). What is EMDR therapy and why is it used to treat PTSD? https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/emdr-therapy-ptsd
  8. Tesarz, J., Leisner, S., Gerhardt, A., Janke, S., Seidler, G. H., Eich, W., & Hartmann, M. (2014). Effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment in chronic pain patients: a systematic review. Pain Medicine, 15(2), 247–263. https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12303
  9. EMDR International Association. (n.d.). EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ application. https://www.emdria.org/emdr-training/emdr-certification-2/
  10. EMDR International Association. (2022). EMDR therapy for adults [Brochure]. https://www.emdria.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BrochureAdultEnglishPrintableOption1.pdf
  11. Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Employee Wellbeing Service. (2022). Information on EMDR therapy. https://cavuhb.nhs.wales/staff-information/your-health-and-wellbeing/people-health-and-wellbeing-service/employee-wellbeing-service/staff-support-for-trauma/ews-trauma-pathway/emdr-traumapdf/
Get Started

Our work begins with understanding you

The first sessions are for understanding your history and what you want from therapy. The focus and pace are then planned with you.

Request an Appointment