Understanding the 8 Steps of EMDR Therapy
Ruminating on past experiences can often lead to feelings that hold us back from living our best lives and make it feel harder to control our present circumstances. The steps of EMDR therapy can help you break these potentially harmful cycles and process past trauma.
Keep reading to learn about what EMDR is, the eight steps of EMDR therapy, and what to expect from each phase.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a structured approach to processing trauma through guided eye movements and other bilateral stimulation like tapping and auditory cues. This stimulation has been associated with a reduced vividness and less intense emotions linked with traumatic memories.
Although not all steps of EMDR therapy require this stimulation, it is at the heart of this approach to dealing with past trauma.
What happens in EMDR therapy is that this approach focuses on reprocessing negative experiences so that these no longer have power over you or your life.
EMDR is considered highly effective for dealing with past trauma, anxiety, depression, and other obstacles to achieving your goals. According to the EMDR International Association, this approach has been used in 130 countries to treat millions of people.
Eight Phases or Steps of EMDR Therapy
When undergoing this approach to therapy, ensure you do your EMDR therapy with a trained counselor.
Miami Hypnosis and Therapy’s principal practitioner Anna Marchenko holds an undergraduate degree from NYU and dual master’s degrees from Columbia University. She’s also a Licensed Medical Health Counselor certification (LMHC) granted by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. This makes her well-qualified to help you with EMDR therapy.
Below, learn about these eight phases or steps of EMDR and what to expect for each.
Step 1: History-Taking and Treatment Planning
The first step in EMDR therapy is a comprehensive history-taking session. Your therapist will ask about your past experiences, current symptoms, and any goals you’ve set. You’ll identify specific memories and triggers to target during your treatment. With this info, we’ll then work on developing a custom course of treatment we’d suggest based on your needs and goals.
Step 2: Preparation
Before you start your treatment, prepare yourself for the journey ahead. Your therapist will educate you on relevant topics like:
- How EMDR works
- The next steps of EMDR and what to expect in each
- Coping strategies to manage challenging emotions if they arise during your sessions
- Grounding techniques like deep breathing and mindfulness to help you feel at ease
During this phase, you and your therapist should work to build trust and rapport, which will make the next steps of EMDR therapy easier.
Step 3: Assessment
Your therapist will walk you through your memories by recalling them in short amounts. This may include childhood trauma. You’ll be asked to identify important events associated with your negative memories and identify an image that represents them. What happens in this EMDR phase is you and your therapist will assess:
- The negative beliefs or thoughts associated with the memory
- The emotion and body sensations linked to it
- A positive belief you want to develop instead in response to this
Step 4: Desensitization
Now you’ll start the first step of EMDR therapy unique to this approach. Your therapist will apply bilateral stimulation of the senses, usually a mix of light, sound, and/or movement. This may involve hand gestures, tapping sounds, or an electronic device that bounces light back and forth across your eyes.
This stimulation helps your brain reprocess the traumatic memory, reducing its emotional intensity by breaking down the memories associated with traumatic events. As the sessions progress, you’ll notice these memories become less overwhelming, which will help you move forward to gain a new perspective on them.
Step 5: Installation
As the distress you associate with specific memories decreases, you’ll next need to work on reinforcing positive beliefs instead. While continuing the bilateral stimulation, your therapist will guide you so you can focus on a new, empowering belief.
During this step of EMDR therapy, you’ll form healthier thought patterns to help you stay more resilient against negative emotions and beliefs moving forward.
Step 6: Body Scan
Your unprocessed trauma may cause you physical discomfort for days, months, or even years after the event has passed. For EMDR, what to expect is your therapist will ask you to scan your body while thinking about the targeted memory and positive belief. Additional EMDR helps you release any lingering tension, distress, or pain, aligning your body and mind for healing.
Step 7: Closure
Because the previous steps of EMDR therapy in particular can bring up intense emotions, it’s important to end each session in a calm mindset where you feel empowered and in control. To help with this phase, your therapist will guide you through emotional grounding, relaxation techniques, and ways to help process buried emotions that may have surfaced.
Step 8: Reevaluation
This final step of EMDR therapy usually occurs at the start of each new session. Your therapist will do a progress check, so you’ll be asked to:
- Reflect on any changes in your emotions and beliefs, possibly with the help of journaling
- Identify the remaining memories you need to process
- Make adjustments to your treatment plan as needed.
Remember that no matter what you expect from EMDR therapy going in, the process continues to evolve as you move forward with your treatment and work toward a peaceful mind.
Get Started with EMDR Therapy in Florida
At Miami Hypnosis and Therapy, principal practitioner Anna Marchenko, LMHC, M.A., Ed.M., combines EMDR with other evidence-based therapy techniques to create well-rounded treatment plans for all her clients. Some of these techniques she might combine with the steps of EMDR therapy include:
Miami Hypnosis and Therapy is also an LGBTQI+-friendly practice. Plus, we offer therapy options for individuals, couples and families, kids, and teens.
Schedule your consultation today or call us at (305)-790-3949 to learn more about EMDR therapy and what to expect.
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