What is EMDR and How Does It Work?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic process that helps people heal from the emotional and spiritual wounds of painful experiences—especially those that were too much, too soon, or too long without the care we needed.
When something overwhelms us—whether trauma, neglect, or a loss we couldn’t make sense of—our brains often store those experiences in fragmented, stuck places. EMDR helps re-open those places so healing can take root.
Through guided recall and rhythmic eye movements (or other forms of bilateral stimulation), EMDR activates the brain’s natural ability to reprocess stuck memories. But more than that, it creates a space to bring your whole heart to what once felt too scary to face.
From a Spiritual Root System lens, EMDR honors the truth that we are feeling, needing, desiring, longing, and hoping creatures. It doesn’t bypass pain—it invites us to name our hurt, fear, shame, or anger with compassion and curiosity. As the memories begin to reprocess, the intensity lessens, and new meaning emerges. You begin to tell the truth about what happened without being trapped in it.
In short, EMDR helps you:
Face what you were once powerless to change
Feel the feelings that were frozen in fear or shame
Name the needs that went unmet
Discover the longings that still remain
And reclaim hope, one step at a time
Healing doesn’t mean erasing the past. It means your past no longer owns your present. You become more free to live, love, and lead from your whole heart.
Written by Alex Courington, LMFT
The content in this blog was partially generated with the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI.