Quick Summary
During an overwhelming experience, the brain’s alarm system takes over and the memory is stored raw: images, sensations and beliefs bundled together and easily re-triggered, rather than filed as a past event. EMDR is built on the Adaptive Information Processing model: the brain has a natural capacity to process experiences, and trauma blocks it. Holding the memory in mind while following bilateral stimulation appears to reopen the memory for updating, reduce its vividness and emotional charge, and let it be re-stored in a resolved form. Imaging studies report changes in threat- and memory-related brain activity after treatment; the exact mechanism is still being researched. Creative Healing in Chippewa Falls provides EMDR with a certified EMDR therapist. Call or text 715-797-2770.
Table of Contents
EMDR sounds strange until you understand what it is working with. This is a plain-language explanation of what trauma does in the brain, why certain memories will not fade, and what the leading scientific explanations say EMDR does about it. Where the science is settled we say so; where it is still being worked out, we say that too.
What trauma does in the brain
Under ordinary conditions, an experience is processed and stored as a memory: something that happened, with a time stamp, that you can recall without reliving. During an overwhelming event, the brain’s alarm system (centered on the amygdala) takes over. Stress hormones surge, the parts of the brain that handle language, sequencing and context go partly offline, and the experience is recorded raw: sensory fragments, body states, emotions and the beliefs of the moment (“I am going to die,” “I am powerless”), all bundled together without the usual filing.
Why some memories get stuck
That raw bundle does not behave like a normal memory. Because it was never integrated with context, it does not carry the sense of being over. A reminder, sometimes something as small as a smell or a tone of voice, can trigger the whole bundle: the body reacts as if the danger is present, the same beliefs flood back, and the thinking brain struggles to intervene. This is what people mean when they say the trauma is “live.” It also explains why understanding a trauma intellectually often does not change the reaction; insight lives in a different system from the one holding the memory.
The model behind EMDR
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model developed by its originator, Francine Shapiro. The core idea is that the brain has a natural, built-in capacity to process experiences toward resolution, the same capacity that lets most difficult days fade into ordinary memories. Trauma overwhelms that system, and the memory is stored in an unprocessed state. EMDR does not add anything artificial; it is designed to reactivate the brain’s own processing so the stuck memory can be integrated. That is why, during a session, connections and shifts happen on their own rather than being scripted by the therapist.
What bilateral stimulation appears to do
The eye movements, taps or tones are the visible part of EMDR and the most studied. Two explanations have the most support, and they are not mutually exclusive:
- Working memory. Recalling a memory and tracking a moving target at the same time competes for limited working memory. The memory becomes less vivid and less emotional while it is held this way, and research on memory reconsolidation suggests it is then re-stored in that reduced form. Repeated sets compound the effect.
- Orienting response. Rhythmic bilateral stimulation appears to trigger a calming orienting reflex and shift the nervous system out of the alarm state, which makes it possible to stay with the memory without being overwhelmed.
Some researchers have also noted similarities to REM sleep, the stage in which the brain consolidates and integrates emotional memories. The exact mechanism remains an active area of study; what is well established is that the structured protocol, with bilateral stimulation, produces the clinical results.
What changes after treatment
Clinically, the change is consistent: the memory remains, but its emotional charge, the body’s reaction and the negative beliefs attached to it diminish, and a more accurate belief (“it is over,” “I did what I could”) takes hold. Imaging studies have reported corresponding changes after EMDR in activity and connectivity across regions involved in threat detection, memory and emotion regulation. People describe it in simpler terms: the memory stops running the show.
What this means if you are considering EMDR
- You do not have to tell the story in detail. The processing happens in the brain, not in the narration.
- Insight is not required first. If you already understand your trauma and it still controls your reactions, that is exactly the situation EMDR addresses.
- Preparation matters. Because processing engages the alarm system, a trained therapist builds stabilization skills first and paces the work.
- Fatigue after sessions is normal; the brain is doing real work.
For the full picture of the protocol and what a session feels like, see what EMDR is and how it works and what to expect in an EMDR session.
Getting started in Chippewa Falls or Eau Claire
EMDR at Creative Healing is led by Jenifer Olson, LCSW, a certified EMDR therapist, in weekly sessions or as an EMDR Intensive. Call or text 715-797-2770 for a free 20-minute consultation, or learn more about EMDR therapy at Creative Healing.
Ready to talk to someone?
Creative Healing Mental Health Center offers a free 20-minute phone consultation. Call or text 715-797-2770 or send us a message. We serve Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley from our office at 1791 County Highway OO, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.
Frequently asked questions
Does EMDR actually change the brain?
The clinical effects of EMDR are well documented, and imaging studies have reported changes in activity and connectivity in brain regions involved in threat and memory after treatment. The precise mechanism is still being researched; the leading explanations involve how memories are updated during recall and how bilateral stimulation affects working memory and the orienting response.
Why eye movements?
Eye movements are one form of bilateral stimulation; taps and tones are also used. The leading theory is that the task occupies working memory while the memory is recalled, which makes the memory less vivid and less emotional as it is re-stored. Other research points to the calming orienting response the movements trigger.
Is EMDR just hypnosis or placebo?
No. EMDR does not involve a trance state; you remain fully alert and in control. It is a structured protocol recognized in international PTSD treatment guidelines and has been studied against other active treatments.
Will EMDR erase the memory?
No. You will still remember what happened. What changes is the emotional charge, the body’s reaction and the beliefs attached to it. People describe it as the memory becoming ‘just a memory.’
Why do people feel tired after EMDR?
Processing is demanding work for the brain, similar in some ways to what happens during REM sleep. Fatigue afterward is common and typically passes within a day.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized care. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room.