Does EMDR Really Work to Heal Trauma? How to Find an EMDR Therapist
If you're researching EMDR therapy, you're likely at a point where you're ready to explore deeper healing. Perhaps you've tried other approaches, or maybe this is your first step toward addressing trauma that has shaped your life in ways you're only beginning to understand. The question of whether EMDR "really works" matters because your time, energy, money, and emotional vulnerability are precious resources. You deserve to know what you're considering and whether it might offer the relief you're seeking.
The evidence for EMDR is strong. Organizations including the American Psychological Association and the World Health Organization recognize it as an effective treatment for trauma and PTSD. But beyond the research, what often matters most is understanding what this approach involves, how it might feel in your own experience, and whether it resonates with what you need in your healing journey.
What is EMDR and How Does It Work?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. While it was initially created to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, it has since proven effective for a range of trauma-related difficulties, including anxiety, depression, and the lingering effects of painful life experiences.
What distinguishes EMDR from traditional talk therapy is its focus on how traumatic memories are stored and processed in the brain. When we experience trauma—whether a single overwhelming event or repeated experiences over time—our brain's normal way of processing and integrating experience can become disrupted. These memories get stored in a fragmented way, retaining the intense emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs we had at the time. They remain undigested, so to speak, which is why you might find yourself reacting to present situations with an intensity that seems to come from somewhere deeper and older than the moment itself.
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing model, which suggests that your brain has an inherent capacity to heal psychological wounds, much as your body knows how to heal a physical injury. Sometimes, though, traumatic experiences overwhelm this natural processing system, and memories become stuck. EMDR helps create the conditions for your brain to complete the processing it couldn't finish when the trauma occurred.
The method uses bilateral stimulation—typically guided eye movements, though some therapists use tapping or alternating sounds—while you briefly focus on traumatic memories. This bilateral stimulation engages both hemispheres of the brain and appears to facilitate the reprocessing of these stuck memories. The experience is something like what happens during REM sleep, when your brain naturally processes emotional experiences. During EMDR, you remain present with your therapist while your brain does the deeper work of integrating what has been fragmented.
This dual awareness—being with the memory while also grounded in the present safety of the therapeutic relationship—is part of what allows healing to occur. Your brain begins to recognize that the trauma happened in the past, that you survived it, and that the danger is no longer present. The memory doesn't disappear, but it loses its overwhelming charge. What once felt unbearable becomes something you can hold with more perspective and peace.
What Exactly Happens During EMDR?
Understanding what occurs in EMDR therapy can help you approach it with less apprehension. The process is structured yet responsive to your individual needs, and a skilled therapist will move at a pace that feels manageable for your nervous system.
History and Treatment Planning
EMDR begins with your therapist getting to know you—your history, your current struggles, and what you hope to change. This isn't just information gathering; it's the beginning of building a therapeutic relationship where you feel understood. Together, you'll identify which memories or experiences might be targets for processing. This collaborative approach ensures that the work addresses what matters most to you.
Preparation and Resourcing
Before processing trauma, your therapist will help you develop internal resources and coping skills. This phase is essential. EMDR can bring difficult emotions and sensations to the surface, and you need tools to manage that intensity both during sessions and in your daily life. You'll learn grounding techniques, ways to create a sense of safety in your body, and methods to regulate your nervous system. This preparation time varies depending on what you need—for some, it's brief; for others with complex trauma, it may take longer. There's no rush. The foundation must be solid before the deeper work begins.
Assessment and Targeting
When you and your therapist agree you're ready, you'll identify a specific memory to work with. You'll notice what negative belief about yourself is connected to that memory—beliefs like "I'm powerless," "I'm not safe," or "I'm unworthy." These beliefs often feel profoundly true, even when rationally you know they're not. You'll also identify what you'd rather believe—a more adaptive, compassionate perspective about yourself. Your therapist will ask you to rate how disturbing the memory feels and how true the positive belief seems. These ratings help track your progress.
Desensitization and Reprocessing
This is the heart of EMDR. You'll bring the memory to mind while engaging in bilateral stimulation—following your therapist's fingers with your eyes, feeling alternating taps on your hands or knees, or listening to sounds that alternate between ears. You'll do this in short sets, usually 20 to 40 seconds, with pauses in between.
During these sets, you simply notice what emerges—images, thoughts, emotions, body sensations, or sometimes nothing at all. Your therapist will guide you to observe without judgment, then continue with more bilateral stimulation. What often happens is that the memory begins to shift. New insights arise. The emotional intensity lessens. Connections you hadn't seen before become clear. Your brain is doing what it does naturally when given the right conditions—processing and integrating.
This phase can feel intense. Emotions may surface strongly, though they typically pass relatively quickly. Some people find the experience powerful and cathartic; others find it more subtle. There's no right way to experience EMDR. Your therapist will help you navigate whatever arises with compassion and skill.
Installation and Strengthening
Once the memory has lost its distressing charge, your therapist will help strengthen the positive belief you identified earlier. Using bilateral stimulation again, you'll hold both the memory and this new, more adaptive belief together. This helps integrate a healthier perspective about yourself in relation to what happened. You're not erasing history; you're changing your relationship to it.
Body Scan and Integration
Trauma lives in the body, not just in thoughts and emotions. Your therapist will guide you to notice any remaining physical tension or discomfort when you think about the memory. If anything surfaces, you'll process it with more bilateral stimulation until your body feels settled. This somatic component is crucial—true healing includes the body's release of what it has been holding.
Closure and Containment
Each session ends with your therapist helping you return to a state of equilibrium. Even if processing isn't complete, you won't leave feeling overwhelmed. You'll use the grounding techniques you learned to re-establish a sense of safety and presence. Your therapist will also prepare you for what might happen between sessions—sometimes processing continues, and you may notice dreams, insights, or shifts in how you feel.
Reevaluation
At the start of each new session, you'll check in about how you've been and whether the memory you worked on still carries distress. This ongoing assessment ensures the work is moving in the right direction and helps your therapist adjust the approach as needed.
Why is EMDR So Powerful?
There's something profound about EMDR that many people struggle to articulate until they experience it. Part of its power lies in how it works with, rather than against, your natural healing processes.
It Accesses Non-Verbal Memory
Trauma often exists in parts of the brain that don't have language—the limbic system and brainstem, which govern emotion and survival responses. You may have found that talking about your trauma, while valuable, doesn't fully resolve it. The feelings remain, even when you intellectually understand what happened and why. EMDR accesses these deeper, non-verbal memory networks directly, which is why it can create shifts that talk therapy alone sometimes cannot.
It Honors Your Pace and Wisdom
EMDR doesn't force anything. Your brain processes what it's ready to process. If something feels too overwhelming, processing may slow or shift direction. This isn't failure; it's your system's wisdom about what it can handle. A skilled therapist will respect this and work with your nervous system's capacity, not against it.
It Addresses Root Causes
Rather than only teaching you to cope with symptoms, EMDR targets the memories that generate those symptoms. When the underlying trauma is processed and integrated, the symptoms often naturally diminish or resolve. This is why EMDR can lead to lasting change—the source of the difficulty has been addressed.
It Validates Your Experience
EMDR doesn't require you to prove your trauma was "bad enough" or to justify your pain. The work begins with your experience as it is. This validation itself can be healing, especially for those whose trauma has been minimized or dismissed.
The Research Supports It
Beyond clinical observation and client reports, decades of research support EMDR's effectiveness. Multiple studies have demonstrated that it produces significant improvement in PTSD symptoms, often more rapidly than other evidence-based treatments. This doesn't mean it works for everyone or that it's the only valid approach, but it does mean that seeking EMDR is grounded in solid empirical foundation.
How Long Does It Take for EMDR to Work?
This is a natural question, and one that deserves an honest answer: it depends on many factors, and there's no single timeline that applies to everyone.
Single-Event Trauma
If you're addressing a discrete traumatic event—an accident, an assault, a sudden loss—you may experience significant relief within several sessions, sometimes as few as three to six. Research has shown that single-incident PTSD can respond relatively quickly to EMDR.
Complex and Developmental Trauma
If your trauma occurred over time, especially in childhood, or if you're working with multiple traumatic experiences, healing will likely unfold more gradually. Complex trauma often requires more extensive preparation before reprocessing begins, and there may be layers of memories and experiences to address. This work might take months or longer. This isn't a failing—it's a reflection of what you've survived and what your system needs to heal safely.
Your Unique Nervous System
Each person's capacity for processing trauma is different. Some nervous systems can tolerate intense emotion and move through it quickly. Others need a slower, more titrated approach. Neither is better. What matters is that the pace feels manageable to you and that you're not being retraumatized by moving too quickly.
Life Circumstances Matter
If you're currently in a safe, stable environment with good support, processing may move more smoothly. If you're dealing with ongoing stressors, limited resources, or current safety concerns, therapy may need to focus more on stabilization. Healing happens most effectively when you have enough safety and support in your present life.
Integration Takes Time
Even after memories have been reprocessed, integration continues. You're learning new ways of being with yourself and the world. You're updating old beliefs and patterns that have been with you for years. This kind of deep change unfolds gradually, and that's appropriate. Be patient with yourself.
EMDR and Trauma Therapy in Denver
If you're in Denver and considering EMDR, finding a therapist who is not only trained in the method but also skilled in creating a safe, attuned therapeutic relationship is essential. The technique matters, but the relationship is what makes the work possible.
What to Look For
Seek a therapist with formal EMDR training from an EMDRIA-approved program. Some therapists have also pursued EMDRIA certification, which requires additional consultation and clinical hours. Beyond credentials, look for someone who understands trauma comprehensively—how it affects the nervous system, attachment, sense of self, and capacity for connection.
The best EMDR therapists often integrate other approaches—somatic work, Internal Family Systems, psychodynamic understanding—to address the full complexity of trauma. They recognize that healing isn't just about processing memories; it's about helping you reclaim your life and sense of self.
Most importantly, you need to feel safe with your therapist. Do you feel heard? Do they move at a pace that respects your experience? Do they understand that you are the expert on your own life? The therapeutic relationship is the container in which healing happens, and finding the right fit matters deeply.
Taking the First Step
Reaching out for help with trauma takes courage. If you're considering EMDR, we encourage you to schedule a consultation to discuss your needs and see whether this approach feels right for you. You can ask questions, share what you're struggling with, and get a sense of whether the therapeutic relationship feels like a good fit.
You don't have to carry the weight of your trauma alone. Healing is possible, and finding the right support can make all the difference. Whether you choose EMDR or another approach, what matters most is that you're taking steps toward the life you deserve—one where your past no longer dictates your present, and where you can move forward with greater peace and possibility.
About Integration Psychotherapy LLC | Colorado Online Counseling or Denver In-Person
Integration Psychotherapy LLC is a Denver-based practice specializing in trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults. Founded on the belief that healing happens within the context of a safe, authentic therapeutic relationship, we provide depth-oriented therapy that honors how past experiences continue to inform present challenges.
Our Approach
We practice psychodynamic therapy with an integrative lens, drawing from multiple evidence-based modalities including EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic approaches, and relational psychotherapy. Our work is rooted in the understanding that trauma affects not only memory but also the body, sense of self, relationships, and capacity to feel safe in the world. True healing addresses all of these dimensions.
We believe in a collaborative therapeutic process. You are the expert on your own experience, and our role is to provide the skill, attunement, and presence to support your healing journey. Together, we determine which interventions will best serve your unique needs and move at a pace that honors what your nervous system can integrate.
Who We Work With
We work with adults navigating a range of challenges:
Processing traumatic experiences, both recent and historical
Complex or developmental trauma
Anxiety and depression rooted in difficult life experiences
Relationship patterns that no longer serve you
Life transitions and existential questions
The search for deeper meaning and authenticity
Our practice is grounded in the belief that your symptoms are adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences, not character flaws. We approach your struggles with curiosity and compassion, recognizing the wisdom in how you've survived.
The Therapeutic Relationship
We are approachable, genuine, and grounded in our therapeutic presence. We don't hide behind clinical distance or jargon. We show up as real people who care deeply about this work and about the people we're privileged to sit with. We believe healing happens in relationship—not through technique alone, but through the experience of being truly seen, understood, and held with care.
The safety and trust you feel in the therapeutic relationship is not incidental to the work; it is the work. When you feel genuinely met and attuned to, your nervous system can begin to release what it has been holding. This relational foundation makes deeper processing—whether through EMDR, IFS, or other modalities—possible and effective.
Our Commitment
We are committed to ongoing learning and supervision to ensure we provide the most skillful, ethical care possible. We recognize that this work asks much of us, and we take seriously the responsibility of holding space for your most vulnerable experiences.
We also recognize the courage it takes to reach out for help. Many people spend years—sometimes decades—carrying the weight of trauma alone before seeking support. If you're here, reading this, considering whether therapy might help, we want you to know: you deserve support, your pain is real and valid, and healing is possible.
Location and Contact
Integration Psychotherapy LLC serves clients in the Denver area. We offer a free consultation call to discuss your needs, answer your questions, and help you determine whether our practice is the right fit for your healing journey.
Taking the first step toward therapy can feel vulnerable and uncertain. We welcome that vulnerability and will meet it with respect, warmth, and competence. You don't have to have everything figured out before you reach out. You just have to be willing to begin.
In the spirit of transparency and authenticity, this blog post was constructed with AI assistance for informational, educational, and marketing purposes. Erin does not use AI in her sessions or in her note-taking of sessions.
