Hey there,

Here's a scenario that's probably familiar:

A new client sits down across from you.

They've been referred for trauma. They've done some research, read a few articles online, and now they're looking at you with that mix of curiosity and skepticism that's become really common with EMDR.

"So... we're going to move my eyes back and forth? And that's supposed to help me with what happened to me?"

You've answered this question a hundred times. Or the question from a counseling colleague who doesn’t do EMDR.

“I’ve heard a lot of clients benefit from EMDR, but I just don’t get what the hype is about. What’s the point of the eye movements?”

But somehow, every time, you find yourself fumbling for the right words. You know EMDR works, you've seen it work, you've experienced the shifts in clients that no other modality has produced as quickly or completely.

But explaining it in a way that makes sense (without sounding like you're reading from a script or oversimplifying to the point of nonsense) takes a bit more thought.

I’ve thought about this a lot.

Particularly because how well we can articulate what EMDR is, and why it works, directly affects how many people get access to it.

That’s why today, I want to talk through what I've found works when talking about EMDR (so you can do the same with clients and colleagues you encounter).

The Challenge with Explaining EMDR

While the protocol itself is straightforward, the challenge is that EMDR doesn't fit neatly into the existing mental models people typically have about therapy.

When someone hears "talk therapy," they have a frame for it:

Two people in a room, working through problems by talking about them. They can picture it, and probably have a vague sense of how it's supposed to work (you talk about your past, you gain insight, you feel better). They’ve seen it on countless movies and television shows.

CBT also fits a familiar frame:

You identify unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, you challenge them, you replace them with more accurate ones. It's logical and makes sense to people, even if they've never done it.

EMDR doesn't have that built-in frame.

We're asking clients to think about a memory while moving their eyes back and forth (or tapping, or following audio tones). We're saying this somehow processes the trauma, and we're claiming results that often happen faster than other evidence-based trauma treatments.

To a layperson, this can sound either revolutionary or like pseudoscience, depending on how it's explained (unfortunately I’ve seen therapist echo-chambers online that still think it’s pseudoscience, even after 30+ years of practice and research).

The Core Concepts (Worth Explaining Well, and How I’ve Seen Them Explained Most Often)

When explaining EMDR to someone unfamiliar with it, there are a few core concepts I see most often described by other therapists. None of them require deep neuroscience knowledge to grasp, but together they paint a coherent picture of what's happening and why it works.

1. The brain has a natural healing system for emotional experiences

Most people are familiar with how the body heals from physical injury. You cut your hand, the body initiates a healing process, and over time the wound closes.

The brain has something similar for processing emotional experiences.

Most experiences get filed away and integrated into our broader sense of self over time. We talk about them with friends, we sleep on them, we make meaning of them, and they become part of our story.

But sometimes, especially with overwhelming experiences, that natural processing system gets blocked. The memory stays "stuck" in its original form (with all the original sights, sounds, feelings, beliefs, and body sensations) rather than getting integrated.

That stuck material is what we experience as trauma symptoms:

• the flashbacks
• the triggers
• the body reactions
• the negative beliefs about ourselves

These are all signs that the memory hasn't been fully processed yet (and EMDR essentially helps the brain finish that processing).

2. Bilateral stimulation isn’t the magic (it’s a tool)

Bilateral stimulation is where I see a lot of explanations go off the rails. People treat bilateral stimulation like it's some mystical mechanism that fixes trauma on its own.

It's not.

Bilateral stimulation is a tool that facilitates the brain's natural processing system, similar to what happens during REM sleep (when our eyes naturally move back and forth as we process the day's experiences).

While the exact mechanism is still being researched, current theories range from working memory taxation to dual attention to interhemispheric communication.

The honest answer is:

We don't fully understand why it works, but we have plenty of evidence that it does. It’s kind of like aspirin, which we used for decades before we understood the mechanism.

The lack of complete mechanistic understanding didn't stop it from being effective.

3. The speed is a feature, not a red flag

This is where I find a lot of skepticism comes from.

People hear that EMDR can produce significant results in fewer sessions than other modalities and they think: "That sounds too good to be true."

But the speed makes sense when you understand the model. We're not trying to teach new skills or restructure thought patterns over time. We’re instead helping the brain finish processing something it was already trying to do.

That's why a single-incident trauma can sometimes resolve in just a few sessions, while complex trauma still takes time but typically moves faster than non-EMDR approaches.

4. The evidence base is strong

This one matters when you're talking to colleagues, referring providers, or insurance companies.

EMDR is recognized as an evidence-based treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and other major institutions.

It's not a fringe modality.

When skepticism comes up, sometimes it's enough to just point to the evidence. Other times, people need the conceptual model first before they can hear the evidence.

How I Actually Present EMDR Most of the Time

I’m going to paste how I explain EMDR on my private practice website, which is essentially how I explain it on new client consult calls, when discussing with colleagues, and when I’m delivering trainings:

Feel free to steal the above explanation, but please give me (and the researchers cited) credit if/when appropriate.

One Concept, Different Frames (or not?)

The four core concepts listed earlier are the foundation of EMDR, but how you present them could depend on your audience.

For example:

• A client struggling with trauma probably needs the most accessible version (focused on what they can expect, how it works at a high level, and why it's worth trying).
• A psychiatrist colleague might respond better to the neurobiological framework, including the AIP model and the relationship to memory reconsolidation.
• A CBT colleague might appreciate the parallels to exposure therapy, with the addition of bilateral stimulation facilitating the processing.
• A family member might just need to understand the basic premise (that it's evidence-based, it's a structured protocol, and their loved one isn't doing anything weird or harmful).

The core ideas stay the same, but the language and emphasis might shift depending on who's listening. This is a common approach I think a lot of EMDR therapists take.

Personally, I think the explanation I provided above that I actually use is comprehensive and digestible enough to share with most people... and I do. I actually start with that same example explanation above with every person I talk to about EMDR, and then if they have specific questions, I fill in the blanks with some of the other frames.

The Bigger Picture

So why does any of this matter?

As you may know, EMDR is one of the most effective tools available for trauma. People who could benefit from it aren't accessing it for a lot of reasons (cost, availability, insurance issues), but one of those reasons is that they don't understand it well enough to seek it out.

The better we can articulate what EMDR is, why it works, and what it can do, the more people will end up in EMDR therapy and get access to a treatment that can change their lives.

With that in mind, we're putting together a resource guide at Helicon designed to help with exactly this and it will be available for free on our platform (you can apply to join the waitlist here, which will also give you access to our consultation matching tools, progress tracking, and a private community of EMDR therapists). It'll give therapists practical language for framing EMDR in marketing materials and when representing EMDR to other professionals.

I’ll share more details when it's ready.

In the meantime, if you've found explanations that work particularly well in your practice, I'd love to hear them. Hit reply and let me know.

Until next time,
Chris

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only. This is not legal or clinical advice and we make no guarantees about the outcomes or results from information shared in this document. Proceed at your own risk and discretion.​