When Memory Gets Stuck: Understanding EMDR in Trauma Therapy

EMDR is one pillar of my therapeutic work because I have witnessed its capacity to reach places that talk therapy alone sometimes cannot. I have worked with clients who spent years speaking about their trauma and found meaningful relief when we shifted to working at the level where trauma often lives, in the body, the nervous system, and the fragmented way overwhelming experiences are stored. When someone has been carrying the weight of unprocessed memories, EMDR can support a movement toward integration that aligns with how the brain naturally processes experience.

I approach this work with care and intention. EMDR involves working directly with memory, sensation, and the nervous system, which means the system needs sufficient stability and resourcing to engage safely.

While EMDR can be a powerful modality for processing trauma and distressing experiences, it is not something I rush into. In my experience, readiness matters.

What EMDR Actually Is

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a structured therapy developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. It is now one of the most researched treatments for trauma and PTSD.

Rather than relying solely on verbal processing, EMDR works with how memories are held in the body and nervous system. When experiences are overwhelming, memories may become fragmented and stored without the usual sense of time, safety, or narrative coherence. These unprocessed memories can remain emotionally charged and continue to shape present-day reactions, even when the original threat has long passed.

Through bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating taps, or sounds that move from left to right, EMDR supports the brain’s natural processing mechanisms. This appears to help fragmented memories integrate, reducing their intensity and allowing them to be experienced as events from the past rather than ongoing dangers.

Why Memories Become Stuck

During overwhelming experiences, the brain’s alarm system becomes highly activated while integrative processing can become compromised. As a result, experiences may be encoded as images, sensations, emotions, or sounds without a cohesive narrative or sense of time.

This helps explain why someone may logically know they are safe, yet feel flooded by fear in response to a present-day trigger. The body retains what the nervous system learned in moments of threat. This is not a failure of insight or willpower. It reflects how unprocessed experience lives in the system.

EMDR offers a way to access and work with these memories so they can be integrated rather than

continually reactivated.

Building the Foundation

Before beginning EMDR, we often focus on building foundational skills. This may include mindfulness, somatic awareness, grounding, and nervous system regulation. These supports help clients develop the ability to notice internal experience, remain present with discomfort, and return to a sense of safety when intensity arises.

This preparation is part of the work. For individuals whose nervous systems have been chronically dysregulated, moving too quickly into trauma processing can feel overwhelming. Establishing a workable window of tolerance allows processing to occur without shutting down or flooding.

We also identify internal and external resources. These may include bodily sensations that feel neutral or supportive, memories associated with steadiness, or sensory anchors that promote grounding. These resources support pacing and containment throughout EMDR work.

For some clients, this phase is brief. For others, particularly those with complex trauma or dissociative patterns, it takes longer. There is no benefit to rushing this process.

What an EMDR Session May Look Like

EMDR sessions vary depending on the person and the material we are working with. A session may involve identifying a specific memory, a recurring trigger, a negative belief that feels charged, or a body-based experience.

Together, we identify key elements such as the image associated with the memory, the belief connected to it, the emotions present, and where those emotions are felt in the body. We also identify a belief that feels more adaptive or supportive.

Bilateral stimulation is then introduced. After each set, we pause and notice what has shifted. Processing unfolds in its own way. Sometimes images change. Sometimes new memories or associations arise. At other times, changes are felt primarily in the body.

Some sessions focus on past events. Others work with present-day responses or somatic patterns. There may be moments of intensity, subtle shifts, or periods of quiet integration. Throughout, we move at a pace that respects the nervous system. If things feel too activating, we pause, ground, and decide together how to proceed.

Integration Between Sessions

Processing continues beyond the session itself. Clients may notice changes in how triggers register, shifts in emotional responses, or a different relationship to memories that once felt intrusive. These changes often emerge gradually.

This reflects adaptive processing, the brain doing what it is designed to do when conditions support it.

What the Research Indicates

EMDR is one of the most extensively studied trauma treatments. Research supports its effectiveness for PTSD, with outcomes comparable to other evidence-based approaches. Studies also suggest benefit for complex trauma, anxiety, depression related to traumatic experience, and certain presentations of chronic pain.

Neurobiological research indicates that EMDR may support communication between brain regions involved in emotion regulation, memory, and threat detection. While the precise mechanisms continue to be studied, clinical effectiveness is well established.

EMDR often requires fewer sessions than some traditional approaches and does not require detailed verbal recounting of traumatic events, which many clients find more tolerable.

When EMDR May Not Be the Right Fit

EMDR is not appropriate for everyone at every stage. Acute crises, active substance use, significant instability, or severe dissociation may require other work first. Stabilization and resourcing are essential before trauma processing can occur safely.

Assessment and preparation guide these decisions. The question is not only whether EMDR is appropriate, but when and how it should be introduced.

EMDR Within the Therapeutic Relationship

EMDR is not about forcing change or reliving the past. It is about creating the conditions for the system to process what it has been holding. The structure of EMDR provides a framework, while the therapeutic relationship provides safety.

My role is to support pacing, choice, and regulation throughout the process. Mindfulness and somatic awareness are integrated to help clients remain oriented and resourced. We adjust based on what the system communicates. If slowing down is needed, we slow down.

Sessions unfold differently for each person. Some process efficiently. Others move more gradually. Both are valid. EMDR is one tool within a broader therapeutic relationship, used thoughtfully to support deeper work while honoring individual capacity and history.

Moving Forward

EMDR reflects a shift in how trauma is understood and treated. Symptoms are approached as signs of unprocessed experience rather than problems to eliminate. Healing occurs at the level where experience is held.

When approached with preparation, care, and attention to relationship, EMDR can support meaningful change. Memories may lose their immediacy. Triggers may soften. The nervous system can begin to register safety in the present.

If you are carrying unresolved trauma or noticing patterns rooted in past experience, EMDR may be one part of your therapeutic process. I work collaboratively with clients to assess readiness, build resources, and engage in trauma processing at a pace that feels manageable.

If you would like to explore whether EMDR may be appropriate for you, you are welcome to reach out to schedule a consultation.