EMDR For Trauma Recovery:
First Responders & Survivors

EMDR is designed to help individuals heal from the emotional distress and symptoms resulting from disturbing life experiences, particularly trauma. EMDR therapy involves eight phases, including patient history, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation.

The core of the treatment involves the patient recalling distressing memories while simultaneously undergoing bilateral stimulation, typically through guided eye movements, which helps reprocess and integrate these traumatic memories into more adaptive memories. This process allows for the alleviation of emotional distress, reformulation of negative beliefs, and reduction of physiological arousal associated with traumatic memories​.

This 10-minute video from the  International Association explains how Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing help the brain process trauma, what to expect in a treatment session, and how people usually feel after completing a treatment program.