Understanding EMDR: How It Heals Trauma and Builds Emotional Freedom
When it comes to trauma healing, few methods are as transformative as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Many clients arrive in therapy unsure of what EMDR is or how it works. But once they experience it, the results can be profound. In Understanding EMDR: How It Heals Trauma and Builds Emotional Freedom, we’ll explore what EMDR is, how it works, and what makes Catherine Adams’ approach at Therapy by Catherine uniquely powerful for deep emotional healing.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR is a form of psychotherapy designed to help people heal from traumatic experiences, distressing memories, and long held emotional pain. Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, EMDR helps the brain process unhealed trauma that continues to trigger emotional and physical reactions. Traditional talk therapy focuses on understanding experiences through conversation, but EMDR works directly with the nervous system. It uses a process called bilateral stimulation. Such as side to side eye movements or tapping, to help the brain reprocess painful memories so they lose their emotional charge. When guided by a skilled therapist, EMDR allows clients to reconnect with their natural ability to heal, fostering a sense of calm and control over emotions.
How EMDR Works in Session
A session typically begins with an evaluation to determine what experiences or triggers to focus on. At Therapy by Catherine, this process is deeply collaborative. You and Catherine decide together what to address, based on your current struggles and emotional goals. For example, someone may avoid new opportunities because early experiences created low self esteem or fear of failure. EMDR helps calm these triggers, allowing you to respond from confidence rather than fear. Catherine often uses attachment based EMDR, which integrates work with your inner child, the part of you that carries emotional wounds from early life. By combining EMDR with inner child healing, you not only reduce symptoms but also repair the emotional roots of those wounds.
Working with Trauma and Attachment Triggers
When a client experiences a strong emotional reaction (a trigger) it’s often a sign that the nervous system is remembering something painful from the past. In EMDR, you don’t have to consciously recall every detail of the trauma for it to work. As Catherine explains, your nervous system “knows” what it’s healing.
During a session, once a triggered feeling is identified in your body, EMDR begins. Using eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, your brain and body start reprocessing the emotion. Typically, Catherine uses three sets of twenty passes of bilateral stimulation to process a particular trigger, which usually takes about fifteen minutes.
It’s common to feel temporary discomfort during the process as old emotions surface, but after another set or two, clients often notice a sense of relief and calm. The body relaxes, and the trigger loses its power. Over time, this creates lasting emotional regulation and resilience.
Creating Positive Change with EMDR
While EMDR is often associated with trauma recovery, it can also be used to create positive outcomes. Catherine incorporates an approach called Expansion Brainspotting, developed by Lisa Larson, LMFT. This technique combines visualization and EMDR to help you embody your desired future. Together, you and Catherine define the outcome you want such as confidence, peace, or a sense of belonging. You visualize it clearly and allow yourself to feel it. Then, EMDR helps your nervous system “believe” in this vision, integrating it into your subconscious so it feels natural and achievable.
This approach harnesses the brain’s neuroplasticity (the ability to form new connections) to reinforce empowering beliefs and behaviors. It’s a gentle yet powerful way to help your inner world align with the life you want to create.
Why EMDR Is So Effective
Many people are surprised at how effective EMDR can be, given its simplicity. It may look like just moving your eyes back and forth, but underneath, complex neural processes are taking place. EMDR allows your brain to complete the natural healing it couldn’t finish at the time of the trauma. Your nervous system controls how you experience life, how you respond to stress, connect with others, and feel emotions. While your conscious mind can try to think positively, your body still holds unprocessed pain. EMDR bypasses the mind’s defenses and works directly with the nervous system, bringing deep relief that talk alone can’t always reach. As Catherine describes, the goal is to use “the most effective, simplest, and easiest therapy tools” so you can feel better as soon as possible. EMDR’s power lies in this balance of simplicity and depth, it helps your system release what no longer serves you while building the capacity to welcome peace, love, and clarity.
Understanding AIP: The Theory Behind EMDR
EMDR is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR. The AIP model proposes that the brain has a natural ability to heal, much like the body heals from physical wounds. However, when a traumatic or overwhelming event occurs, the brain may not be able to fully process the experience. Instead of being stored as a normal memory, it becomes “frozen” in the nervous system along with the emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs experienced at the time. These unprocessed memories continue to affect how a person feels, reacts, and views themselves in the present.
During an EMDR session, bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping, activates both sides of the brain and supports the nervous system in reprocessing these stuck memories. According to the AIP theory, this stimulation helps the brain move the traumatic memory from a reactive, emotionally charged state into a processed state where it can be stored like a regular memory. Once this happens, the emotional intensity decreases and the brain is able to integrate new, healthier beliefs. It is important to note that AIP is a guiding theory, not a proven scientific fact, but it remains the most widely accepted explanation for why EMDR is effective. While the exact mechanisms in the brain are still being studied, AIP offers a powerful framework for understanding how EMDR helps the mind complete its natural healing process.
Healing Through Therapy by Catherine
If you’re ready to experience emotional freedom and inner calm, Therapy by Catherine offers a compassionate space for deep healing. Catherine Adams, LMFT, specializes in EMDR, Brainspotting, and Attachment Repair Therapy. She helps clients work through trauma, grief, and early attachment wounds with warmth and expertise. Her approach blends evidence based practices with intuitive care, helping you reconnect with your authentic self. Through EMDR and other somatic methods, Catherine guides you toward peace, clarity, and purpose, so you can live with confidence and joy.
At Therapy by Catherine, the goal is not just to manage symptoms but to transform your relationship with yourself and your past. Whether you’re healing from trauma or stepping into a new chapter of self discovery, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to Therapy by Catherine today to begin your journey toward calm, connection, and emotional freedom. Healing is possible, and it starts with one courageous step.
