The 8 Phases of EMDR: Your Roadmap to Relief

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is not a “dive in the deep end” therapy. It is a highly structured, eight-phase protocol designed to keep you safe while you process the root causes of PTSD and trauma. Here is what you can expect during your journey with us in Hoover:

Stage 1: Safety & Stabilization (Phases 1-2)

We never ask you to process a memory until you are ready.

• History & Planning: We discuss your history and identify specific “targets”—the memories driving your current symptoms.
• Preparation (Resourcing): This is crucial. Your therapist will teach you mindfulness and grounding techniques (like the “Safe Place” exercise) to help you manage distress. You will not move forward until you have a “toolkit” for emotional regulation.

Stage 2: Processing the Trauma (Phases 3-6)

This is the core work of EMDR, using bilateral stimulation (eye movements or tapping).

• Assessment: We activate the target memory along with the negative belief (e.g., “I am powerless”).
• Desensitization: You focus on the memory while following the therapist’s hand. This “taxes” your working memory, allowing the brain to digest the trauma.
• Installation: We strengthen a positive belief (e.g., “I am in control now”) to replace the old narrative.
• Body Scan: Trauma lives in the nervous system. We ask you to scan your body for any lingering tension. This connects deeply with our Somatic Therapy work, ensuring the trauma is released physically, not just mentally.

Stage 3: Integration (Phases 7-8)

We ensure you leave every session feeling grounded.

• Closure: If a memory isn’t fully processed in one session, we use containment exercises to “put it away” safely until next time.
• Reevaluation: At the start of the next session, we check in to see if the positive shifts have stuck and what new insights have emerged.

Is EMDR Evidence-Based? What the Research Says

EMDR is not experimental; it is one of the most rigorously researched psychotherapies in the world. Numerous meta-analyses demonstrate its ability to provide rapid, lasting relief for trauma, often faster than traditional talk therapy.

1. Effectiveness for PTSD & Trauma

The Finding: EMDR is a top-tier treatment for trauma.

A 2023 meta-analysis in the Journal of Traumatic Stress (reviewing 98 studies with 5,500+ participants) found that EMDR had the strongest effects on long-term PTSD outcomes, significantly outperforming wait-list controls and showing comparable results to Cognitive Processing Therapy.

2. Treating Depression & Mood Disorders

The Finding: EMDR treats the root cause of depression, not just the symptoms.

A 2024 review in Psychological Medicine (25 studies) demonstrated that EMDR is significantly effective for treating Major Depressive Disorder. By processing the adverse life experiences that drive depressive schemas, clients experienced large reductions in symptoms.

3. Chronic Pain & Fibromyalgia

The Finding: Physical pain often has a traumatic component.

A 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial in Frontiers in Psychiatry showed that EMDR effectively reduced pain intensity in patients with Fibromyalgia. By addressing the emotional distress linked to the pain, the brain’s pain receptors became less reactive.

4. Addiction & Substance Use

The Finding: Trauma is a gateway to addiction; EMDR closes the gate.

Research from the EMDR Institute (2023) indicates that EMDR enhances engagement in addiction treatment and reduces relapse rates by resolving the underlying trauma and co-occurring depression that drive the urge to use.

5. EMDR vs. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

The Finding: EMDR may work faster for anxiety.

A comparative meta-analysis found that EMDR outperformed CBT in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic anxiety. While CBT focuses on changing thoughts, EMDR changes the physiological state, often leading to quicker relief from hyperarousal.

From EMDR to Brainspotting: The Evolution of Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy is not static; it is an evolving science. At Taproot Therapy Collective, we stay on the cutting edge of this evolution. While we honor the roots of EMDR, we also utilize the advanced modalities that grew out of it.

1. The Origin: Dr. Francine Shapiro (1987)

The story begins with a walk in the park. Dr. Francine Shapiro noticed that moving her eyes back and forth reduced the intensity of her own disturbing thoughts. This led to the development of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

She theorized the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model: the idea that the brain has a natural digestive system for trauma, but it gets blocked by overwhelming events. EMDR unblocks this system using bilateral stimulation, making it the gold standard for treating PTSD.

2. The Evolution: Dr. David Grand & Brainspotting

In the early 2000s, an EMDR expert named Dr. David Grand made a discovery. He realized that “Where you look affects how you feel.” During EMDR sessions, he noticed clients processing deeper trauma when their eyes held a specific fixed position rather than moving back and forth.

This led to the creation of Brainspotting. While EMDR scans the horizon of your experience, Brainspotting dives deep into a specific “capsule” of trauma in the subcortical brain.

3. The Innovation: Dr. Steven Vazquez & ETT

Around the same time, Dr. Steven Vazquez found that adding specific wavelengths of light to the visual field could rapidly alter emotional states. This developed into Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT), which uses color and light to access neural pathways that even standard EMDR might miss.

Why This Matters for Your Recovery

Because we are trained in the entire lineage—from foundational EMDR to modern Brainspotting and ETT—we don’t have to force you into one box. We can tailor the neuro-processing technique to your specific brain and your specific trauma.

List of Notable EMDR Inovators

Francine Shapiro

As the founder of EMDR, Francine Shapiro is a pioneering figure in the field of trauma therapy. She developed the approach and conducted extensive research on its effectiveness in treating trauma and other psychological conditions.

Laurel Parnell

Dr. Laurel Parnell is a well-known EMDR practitioner and author who has specialized in the use of EMDR for the treatment of complex trauma, attachment issues, and dissociative disorders. She has written several influential books on EMDR, including “Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma” and “EMDR in the Treatment of Adults Abused as Children.”

Sandra Paulsen

Dr. Sandra Paulsen is a clinical psychologist who has contributed significantly to the field of EMDR, particularly in the areas of dissociation and complex trauma. She has written books such as “Looking Through the Eyes of Trauma and Dissociation: An Illustrated Guide for EMDR Therapists and Clients” and “When There Are No Words: Repairing Early Trauma and Neglect from the Attachment Period with EMDR Therapy.”

Robbie Adler Tapia

Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia is a licensed psychologist and EMDR trainer who has specialized in the use of EMDR for the treatment of complex trauma and dissociative disorders. She has authored books such as “EMDR and Dissociation: The Progressive Approach” and “The EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment of Complex PTSD and Dissociation.”

Roger Solomon

Dr. Roger Solomon is a clinical psychologist and EMDR practitioner who has made significant contributions to the field of trauma therapy. He has written books such as “Healing Trauma: The Power of Group Treatment for People with Intellectual Disabilities” and “Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Clients Managing Trauma.”

Andrew Leeds

Dr. Andrew Leeds is a clinical psychologist and EMDR practitioner who has been widely recognized for his work in using EMDR for the treatment of complex trauma, dissociation, and attachment issues. He has written books such as “Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self” and “Integration: The Power of Being Co-Active in Work and Life.”

Anabel Gonzalez

Anabel Gonzalez is a licensed marriage and family therapist and EMDR trainer who has specialized in the use of EMDR for the treatment of complex trauma and attachment issues. She has authored books such as “EMDR Therapy and Adjunct Approaches with Children: Complex Trauma, Attachment, and Dissociation.”

Core EMDR Techniques: Finding Your Rhythm

EMDR is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. At Taproot Therapy Collective, we tailor the Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) to your specific sensory needs. Whether you prefer visual, tactile, or auditory cues, the goal is to keep one foot in the present moment while processing the past.

1. Bilateral Stimulation (The “Engine” of Therapy)

This is how we jumpstart the brain’s processing system. You and your therapist will choose the method that feels most grounding for you:

• 👁️ Visual (Eye Movements): The classic method. You follow the therapist’s fingers or a specialized light bar back and forth. This mimics REM sleep and is often the fastest way to process memory.
• 👐 Tactile (Tapping): You hold small buzzers (thera-tappers) in your hands that vibrate gently left and right, or the therapist may tap your knees. This is often preferred by clients who get headaches from eye movements or are highly somatically sensitive.
• 🎧 Auditory (Tones): You wear headphones playing a tone that alternates between your left and right ears. This can be deeply soothing and immersive.

2. Resourcing & Stabilization Techniques

Before processing trauma, we use these techniques to build your emotional resilience:

• The “Safe Place” Exercise: Using guided imagery, we help you construct a mental sanctuary where your nervous system can fully relax.
• The Container: We teach you a visualization technique to “pack away” disturbing thoughts at the end of a session, ensuring you don’t carry the heavy emotions home with you.

3. Somatic & Cognitive Interventions

• Body Scanning: We guide you to scan your physical body for tension or “stuck energy.” This connects the mind to the body, ensuring the trauma is released physiologically.
• Cognitive Interweaving: If you get stuck in a loop (e.g., “It was my fault”), the therapist asks targeted questions to help your brain find the “exit ramp” toward a healthier belief (e.g., “I was just a child, I did the best I could”).

The Neuroscience of EMDR: Rewiring the Traumatized Brain

While the exact mechanism of EMDR is complex, modern brain imaging research gives us a clear picture of how it facilitates healing. EMDR does not just change how you think about a memory; it changes how your brain physically stores it.

1. The Amygdala: Turning Off the “Smoke Detector”

The Amygdala is the brain’s alarm system. In trauma survivors, it gets stuck in the “ON” position, reacting to safe situations as if they were life-threatening. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to soothe the Amygdala, reducing the physiological “fight or flight” response associated with the memory.

2. The Hippocampus: The “Librarian” Returns to Work

The Hippocampus is responsible for time-stamping memories and filing them away as “past events.” During trauma, this system goes offline, which is why flashbacks feel like they are happening right now.

EMDR reactivates the Hippocampus, allowing it to finally take the traumatic event, stamp it with a date and time, and file it into long-term memory where it belongs.

3. Memory Reconsolidation: “Digesting” the Trauma

Just as your body digests food to get nutrients and discard waste, your brain is designed to digest life experiences. Trauma “indigestion” occurs when an experience is too big to process.

Dual Attention Stimulus (Eye Movements) taxes your working memory just enough to keep you grounded in the present while your brain “chews” through the stuck memory. This allows you to keep the lesson but discard the pain.

4. Neuroplasticity: Creating New Pathways

The brain is not static; it is plastic. This means it can physically change and rewire itself. EMDR leverages neuroplasticity to forge new neural pathways. Instead of the automatic path from “Trigger → Panic,” we build a new highway: “Trigger → Notice → Calm.”

For a deeper look at how your specific brain is functioning, explore our QEEG Brain Mapping services.

EMDR for Attachment Repair: Healing Relationship Trauma

Attachment styles are not just personality quirks; they are biological survival strategies learned in childhood. If you struggle with constant relationship anxiety or find yourself pulling away when things get close, you may have an Attachment Wound.

At Taproot Therapy Collective, we use EMDR to target the pre-verbal memories that formed these patterns, allowing you to move toward Earned Secure Attachment.

Identifying Your Pattern

How EMDR Heals “The Mother Wound”

Because attachment wounds often happen before we have language (ages 0-3), talk therapy can struggle to reach them. EMDR accesses these implicit memories stored in the body.

• Reparenting the Inner Child: During EMDR, we can use “Interweaves” to imagine your adult self entering a childhood memory to provide the comfort and protection you didn’t get at the time.
• Installing “Secure” Templates: We use bilateral stimulation to strengthen positive beliefs like “I am lovable” and “I can trust others,” effectively rewiring your nervous system for healthy connection.

Frequently Asked Questions About EMDR