What Is EMDR Therapy? How It Works, What a Session Feels Like, and Who It Helps

If you have been told that EMDR might help you, or you have read about it and are not sure what to make of the eye movements, this guide explains what it is, how it works, what a session is like, and who it is for, written by the practice in Chippewa Falls that uses it every day.

What EMDR is, in plain language

When something overwhelming happens, the brain does not always file the experience the way it files ordinary memories. Instead of becoming a story about the past, the memory stays “live”: the images, body sensations, emotions and beliefs from that moment can be triggered by a smell, a tone of voice, or nothing you can identify, and you react as if it is happening now. That is why trauma so often shows up as anger, anxiety or avoidance rather than as a memory you can talk about.

EMDR helps the brain finish processing those experiences. Using a structured protocol and bilateral stimulation, it allows the memory to be stored the way other memories are: something that happened, that you survived, that no longer controls how you feel today. People often describe the change as “I still remember it, but it does not have a grip on me anymore.”

How EMDR works: the eight phases

EMDR follows a standard eight-phase protocol. Knowing the phases takes some of the mystery out of it and explains why the first sessions do not involve processing at all.

1. History and treatment planning. Your therapist learns your history, what you want to change, and which experiences may be driving current symptoms. Together you identify “targets” to work on.
2. Preparation. You learn grounding and self-regulation skills (a calm place, containment, paced breathing) and how the process will go. This phase is not rushed; for complex trauma it can take several sessions and is part of what makes EMDR safe.
3. Assessment. For a chosen target, you identify the image that represents it, the negative belief attached to it (for example, “I am not safe” or “It was my fault”), the positive belief you would rather hold, the emotions, and where you feel it in your body.
4. Desensitization. The core of processing. You hold the target briefly in mind while following bilateral stimulation in short sets, then notice what comes up. Thoughts, images, emotions and sensations shift on their own. Your therapist guides and paces the sets until the distress drops.
5. Installation. The positive belief is strengthened until it feels true when you think of the original memory.
6. Body scan. You check for any remaining tension or sensation connected to the memory and process it.
7. Closure. Every session ends with returning to a calm, regulated state, whether or not the target is fully processed.
8. Reevaluation. The next session begins by checking what has held and what still needs attention.

What an EMDR session actually feels like

A standard EMDR session at Creative Healing is about 55 to 60 minutes. Early sessions feel much like any other therapy: conversation, history, and learning skills. Once processing begins, a session looks like this: you and your therapist choose the target, run through the assessment questions, and then begin sets of bilateral stimulation, typically 20 to 40 seconds of following the therapist’s fingers or a light bar with your eyes, or holding tappers that pulse alternately in each hand. After each set your therapist asks, “What do you notice?” You say a few words about whatever came up and the next set begins.

What surprises most people is how little talking is involved and how much happens on its own. Memories connect to other memories, emotions rise and fall, and the body often releases tension you did not know you were holding. Some sessions feel intense; others feel oddly calm. Fatigue afterward is common. So is a sense of lightness, or the realization that a memory you have avoided for years is just a memory.

You are in control the whole time. You can stop a set, take a break, or end processing for the day, and your therapist will help you close down and return to a regulated state before you leave.

Who EMDR helps

EMDR was developed for trauma and is best known for PTSD, but at Creative Healing we use it for a wider range of concerns, including:

• Single-incident trauma: accidents, assaults, medical events, sudden loss
• Complex and childhood trauma: neglect, chronic criticism, unsafe or chaotic homes, attachment wounds
• Anxiety and panic, especially when it traces back to specific experiences (see EMDR for high-functioning anxiety)
• Depression connected to loss, shame or long-standing negative beliefs (see EMDR for depression)
• Negative core beliefs such as “I am not enough” or “I am unlovable” (see core beliefs and EMDR)
• Grief, phobias, and performance anxiety
• Dissociation, with a carefully paced, parts-informed approach
• Teens and children, with age-appropriate adaptations, and couples through our EMDR for Couples work

EMDR is not the right first step for everyone. If you are in acute crisis, actively using substances in a way that would interfere with processing, or need more stabilization first, your therapist will say so and sequence the work accordingly. That is not a rejection; it is how EMDR is done well.

How EMDR differs from talk therapy and CBT

Talk therapy builds insight and works through problems in conversation. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) teaches you to notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, and it is highly effective for many concerns. EMDR is different in two ways. First, it targets how a memory is stored rather than what you think about it, so change tends to happen at the level of felt experience rather than through reasoning. Second, it requires far less verbal detail; you do not have to tell the story to process it. Many clients at Creative Healing use EMDR alongside parts work (an approach that helps you understand the protective “parts” of yourself that formed around painful experiences) and mindfulness, and some also benefit from CBT skills. The right mix is something you and your therapist decide together.

Weekly EMDR or an EMDR Intensive

Weekly EMDR sessions, usually covered by insurance, leave integration time between appointments and suit most people. An EMDR Intensive delivers 3 to 5 hours of therapy per day over 1 to 4 days, self-pay, which lets you process more in one stretch without stopping and restarting each week. Our posts on choosing between weekly EMDR and an intensive and on preparing for an intensive go deeper.

EMDR trained vs. EMDR certified

A therapist can offer EMDR after completing basic training. Certification is an additional, voluntary credential that requires documented EMDR sessions with clients, hours of consultation with an approved consultant, and continuing education. It signals depth of experience with the method. At Creative Healing, Jenifer Olson, LCSW, trained in EMDR in 2020, became a certified EMDR therapist in 2022, and was accepted into an EMDR consultant-in-training program in 2023. When you are choosing a provider, our guide to choosing a trauma therapist lists the questions worth asking.

How to start EMDR in Chippewa Falls or Eau Claire

1. Call or text 715-797-2770 or send us a message for a free 20-minute consultation. Tell us what you are hoping to change.
2. Meet your therapist. The first session is a casual, structured conversation; you share only what you are ready to share.
3. Prepare. You will learn grounding skills and map out targets together before any processing begins.
4. Choose your format: weekly sessions or an intensive.

Creative Healing Mental Health Center is located at 1791 County Highway OO, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729, serving Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and the greater Chippewa Valley. Learn more about EMDR therapy at Creative Healing or review our rates and insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Is EMDR only for PTSD?

No. EMDR was developed for trauma and is best known for PTSD, but it is also used for anxiety, panic, depression rooted in past experiences, grief, negative core beliefs and low self-worth, phobias, and the lingering effects of medical events, accidents or difficult relationships.

Do I have to talk about the trauma in detail?

No. EMDR requires far less verbal description than traditional talk therapy. You identify a target memory and notice what comes up during processing, but you do not have to narrate the event in detail, and you control what you share.

How many EMDR sessions will I need?

It depends on what you are working on. A single, recent event may resolve in a handful of sessions; complex or childhood trauma usually takes longer. Some clients find relief in a few sessions and some work with us for a year or more. An EMDR Intensive condenses that work into one to four days.

Is EMDR safe? Can it make things worse?

EMDR is a structured, well-established therapy, and a trained clinician builds stabilization skills before processing begins and paces the work to your nervous system. Some people feel tired or emotionally stirred for a day or two after a session, which usually settles. That is one reason we prepare you and check in between sessions.

Does insurance cover EMDR?

Standard EMDR sessions are billed like regular therapy sessions and are covered by the in-network plans we accept. EMDR Intensives are extended sessions and are self-pay. See our rates page for details.

Can EMDR be done online?

Some clinicians offer EMDR by telehealth with adapted bilateral stimulation. At Creative Healing, EMDR is primarily in person in Chippewa Falls; sessions can move to telehealth in inclement weather.

Who at Creative Healing provides EMDR?

Jenifer Olson, LCSW, is a certified EMDR therapist (certified 2022) and leads our EMDR Intensives. Other therapists on our team are EMDR trained. Ask about EMDR on your free consultation call.

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.