EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy that helps people heal from the emotional distress and symptoms resulting from disturbing life experiences. It is one of the most studied and highly recommended treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related conditions. 

How does it work?

When a person experiences a traumatic event, the brain's natural ability to process information can become overwhelmed. This can cause the memory to be stored dysfunctionally, "frozen in time" with all the emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations of the original event. These unprocessed memories can be easily triggered, leading to symptoms like flashbacks, anxiety, panic, danger, and avoidance behaviors such as numbing (addiction, binge eating, gambling), compulsions (. 

EMDR therapy helps your brain to reprocess these traumatic memories so they are no longer intensely painful. The process is based on the idea that the mind can heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical injury. 

During an EMDR session, the therapist guides you to focus briefly on the distressing memory while simultaneously engaging in "bilateral stimulation." This typically involves side-to-side eye movements, but it can also be alternating sounds or tactile stimulation. This bilateral stimulation is believed to activate the brain's natural healing process, similar to what happens during REM sleep.