EMDR, PHASE BY PHASE

The eight phases of EMDR, in plain language.

EMDR is more than the eye movements. Here is the full structure, what happens in each phase and why the order matters.

More than eye movements

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. The eye movements, or other forms of bilateral stimulation, are the part most people have heard of. They are also only a piece of the method. EMDR is organized into eight phases, and a good share of the work happens before any bilateral stimulation begins.

Knowing the phases helps in two ways. It explains why early sessions may not feel like the EMDR you expected, and it gives you a way to understand where you are in the process. For an overview of the method, see the EMDR therapy page. Zandria Hooks, LCSW, is EMDR trained, and all eight phases are delivered by telehealth.

Phase 1: History taking and treatment planning

The first phase is about understanding you. That includes what brings you in, your history, your current life, what supports you have and what stressors you are dealing with. It also involves identifying possible targets for later processing: specific memories, current triggers and the future situations you want to handle differently.

You do not have to tell every detail of every hard experience here. The goal is a working map, enough to plan the order of treatment and to spot anything that needs attention first, such as sleep, safety or a current crisis.

Phase 2: Preparation

Preparation is where you learn what EMDR involves and build skills for managing distress. That can include a calm place exercise, breathing and grounding techniques, and containment imagery for setting difficult material aside between sessions. You also practice bilateral stimulation with neutral or positive material, so it feels familiar before it is used on anything painful.

This is the phase people most often want to rush through. It is also the one that makes everything after it more workable. When reprocessing brings up strong feelings, the skills built here are what bring you back to steady ground.

Phase 3: Assessment

Assessment sets up a specific memory for processing. You identify an image that represents the worst part of it, the negative belief about yourself that goes with it, such as "I am powerless" or "I should have done something," and a positive belief you would prefer to hold, such as "I did the best I could." You rate how true the positive belief feels, name the emotions that come up, rate how disturbing the memory feels right now, and notice where you feel it in your body.

These ratings are not a test. They are a snapshot, so both of you can see what shifts as the work goes on.

Phase 4: Desensitization

This is the phase most people picture. You hold the memory in mind while following bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping or tones, in short sets. After each set, you take a breath and briefly say what you notice. It might be an image, a thought, a feeling or a body sensation. Often, the next set simply continues from there.

The memory may change, other memories may connect, and feelings may rise and fall. The therapist follows the process rather than steering it, stepping in if it gets stuck or overwhelming. Desensitization can span more than one session for a single memory.

Phase 5: Installation

When the memory feels much less disturbing, the focus shifts to the positive belief identified in assessment. You hold the memory and the positive belief together while doing more sets of bilateral stimulation, with the aim of strengthening how true that belief feels. The belief may be adjusted if a better-fitting one emerges.

Phase 6: Body scan

Trauma is held in the body as well as the mind. In the body scan, you bring the memory and the positive belief to mind and notice your body from head to toe, looking for any remaining tension or discomfort. If something is there, it becomes the focus of further processing.

Phase 7: Closure

Every session ends with closure, whether or not a memory is finished. Closure brings you back to a calm, oriented state before the session ends, often using the skills from preparation. You also talk about what to expect afterward, since processing can continue between sessions, and how to note anything that comes up. This is part of why sessions are never ended in the middle of distress.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

The next session begins by checking in on the previous work. How does the memory feel now? What came up during the week? Did anything new surface? Reevaluation guides what happens next, whether that means continuing with the same memory, moving to another target, working on present triggers or practicing future situations.

Why the early phases are not a delay

It can feel frustrating to spend sessions on history and skills when you came in wanting relief from a specific memory. But the early phases are part of the treatment, not a waiting room. They help the reprocessing phases stay within a range you can tolerate, and they give you tools to carry the work between sessions. For people with a lot of trauma history, or with high stress in their current life, preparation often needs more time, and that is appropriate.

If you are dealing with trauma more broadly, the PTSD and trauma page describes how EMDR fits alongside other approaches.

Questions about the phases

Sessions are 50 minutes by video, for adults physically located in Texas, Maryland or Massachusetts at the time of each session. Request a free 15-minute consult on the contact page.

In crisis or thinking about harming yourself? This site is not for emergencies. Call or text 988, or dial 911. Veterans: press 1 after calling 988.

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