If you’re tapped into the mental health or pop culture world, there’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The therapy technique has been around since the late 1980s but in the past few years has become increasingly popular, thanks in part to some major celebrity shoutouts.
Prince Harry, for one, filmed an EMDR session for his 2021 documentary series with Oprah; Sandra Bullock publicly shared how the method helped her heal after a stalker broke into her home; Ashley Judd recently told The New York Times that she turned to EMDR to process the trauma of her mother’s death by suicide; and Kesha, SELF’s June 2023 cover star, named it as one of her go-to self-care practices for managing difficult emotions and recovering from an eating disorder.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and like many scientific discoveries, it came about almost by accident: “Dr. Francine Shapiro, the psychologist who originated it, was walking through a park, thinking about some upsetting memory, when she noticed that when she moved her eyes back and forth, she felt calmer,” Rachelle Kammer, PhD, LCSW, an EMDR-certified therapist and clinical professor at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, tells SELF.
Dr. Shapiro started testing out her theory in studies, having participants dart their eyes from side to side (what’s called bilateral stimulation) as they thought about a traumatic memory of their own. Many of them, too, found that it helped them work through distressing feelings. Dr. Shapiro theorized that for some people, after facing trauma and other highly stressful circumstances (such as a parents’ bitter divorce), the associated memories, emotions, and physical sensations can end up getting “stuck” in the information processing part of the brain. Bilateral stimulation seemed to work like a neurobiological Drano, unclogging that psychological build-up and allowing people to see the event more objectively.
“Some people go through a traumatic or otherwise stressful experience and they’re okay, but for others, the original sounds, feelings, images, and thoughts can stay locked in their brain and body,” says Dr. Kammer. In that case, they’ll either keep reliving it—which is what happens with PTSD—or the associated emotions and memories may end up manifesting as depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues, she adds.
Is EMDR effective? And who is it for?
Studies show that, yes, it can work for a lot of people. Major psychological and health organizations endorse the use of EMDR as a treatment for trauma, specifically: The World Health Organization, the Veterans Administration, and the American Psychological Association have each recommended it for people with PTSD and issued guidelines for administering it.
Ongoing research and anecdotal evidence suggest it may also be a helpful tool for addressing other mental health concerns, including substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and chronic pain.
