EMDR is a psychotherapy approach based on the reprocessing of traumatic memories, whose effectiveness is recognised in clinical guidelines. It follows a structured, eight-phase protocol.

EMDR therapy
The aim in EMDR is not to erase the memory but to reduce the emotional load it carries.

The underlying idea

The model behind EMDR holds that traumatic experiences are stored in memory in an insufficiently processed form. Such a memory retains the emotional intensity, the images and the bodily sensations of the original day, however many years have passed; meeting a trigger brings it back intact.

What the aim is not: EMDR does not erase the memory or make you forget. The goal is for the emotional load the memory carries on recall to diminish, and for a more workable perspective on it to develop.

The eight-phase protocol

The phases

  • History taking and treatment planning
  • Preparation — safe place and emotion-regulation skills
  • Assessment — target memory, negative belief, bodily sensation
  • Desensitisation — processing alongside bilateral stimulation
  • Installation — strengthening the positive belief
  • Body scan — checking for residual physical tension
  • Closure — ending the session safely
  • Re-evaluation — checking the gains at the following session

Where it is used

EMDR carries its strongest evidence in post-traumatic stress disorder, and it appears among the recommended approaches for PTSD in international guidelines. In clinical practice it is also used in:

  • Single-incident trauma: accident, natural disaster, assault
  • Adverse childhood experiences
  • Loss and grief
  • Phobias and performance anxiety
  • Traumatic experience accompanying chronic pain

When is it not appropriate?

EMDR is not appropriate for every person at every time. Where there is severe dissociation, unstabilised substance use, an acute psychotic presentation or seriously unsafe living circumstances, stabilisation is worked on first. That assessment takes place before any processing begins.

What happens in the first session

  1. History and targetingWhich memories will be worked on, and in what order, is decided together.
  2. PreparationEmotion-regulation skills are established before processing begins. This phase is never skipped.
  3. Setting expectationsHow many sessions it may take, and what can come up between sessions, is discussed openly.
  4. ConsentThe process begins only when you are ready and have given explicit consent.

EMDR for Adolescents and Adults

A structured protocol with stabilisation prioritised. In person in İstanbul or online.

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References

  1. Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
  2. Bisson, J. I., Cosgrove, S., Lewis, C., & Roberts, N. P. (2015). Post-traumatic stress disorder. BMJ, 351, h6161.