The Eight Phases of EMDR: What Happens in EMDR-Informed Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing has become one of the most requested trauma treatments in Ireland, and one of the most misunderstood. Clients sometimes imagine a quick fix; practitioners sometimes imagine it is simply eye movements bolted onto talking therapy. In fact EMDR is a structured, eight-phase psychotherapy grounded in the adaptive information processing model. This article walks through the phases and explains what EMDR-informed training involves.
The adaptive information processing model
EMDR rests on the idea that the brain has a natural capacity to process disturbing experience into adaptive memory, and that trauma overwhelms this capacity, leaving memories stored in raw, unintegrated form with their original images, emotions, sensations and beliefs. Symptoms are understood as these unprocessed memories being triggered in the present. Treatment aims to reactivate processing so the memory is integrated and loses its charge.
Phases one to three: history, preparation and assessment
Phase one takes a thorough history and builds a treatment plan identifying target memories, present triggers and future goals. Phase two prepares the client: explaining the model, establishing the alliance, and teaching stabilisation resources such as a calm place, container imagery and grounding. Many clients need extended time here, particularly where trauma is complex. Phase three assesses the specific target: the image, the negative belief about the self, the desired positive belief, the emotion, its subjective intensity and where it is felt in the body.
Phases four to seven: processing and closure
Desensitisation: the client holds the target in mind while following sets of bilateral stimulation, usually eye movements but also taps or tones, reporting what arises between sets until disturbance reduces.
Installation: the positive belief is strengthened until it feels fully true when paired with the memory.
Body scan: any residual physical tension linked to the memory is processed.
Closure: every session ends with the client stable, using resources from phase two if processing is incomplete.
Phase eight and the three-pronged approach
Each subsequent session begins with reevaluation: checking what has shifted, whether new material has surfaced and where to go next. Across treatment, EMDR follows a three-pronged protocol, processing past events that laid down the disturbance, present triggers that still activate it, and future templates for handling situations adaptively. This is what makes it a comprehensive therapy rather than a single technique.
EMDR-informed training and its limits
Full EMDR accreditation involves standardised training with a recognised association, supervised casework and consultation. EMDR-informed professional training, such as that offered within an integrative trauma diploma, teaches the model, the phases and the stabilisation work in depth, and shows practitioners how EMDR principles integrate with other trauma approaches. It is a rigorous foundation and a route towards, not a substitute for, full accreditation. Practitioners should be candid with clients about their level of training.
How ICPS College can help
If this topic is central to your work, the Professional Diploma in Integrative Trauma Therapy & EMDR Practice at ICPS College is delivered live online, is CPD-accredited, and is designed for counsellors, psychotherapists, social care and healthcare professionals across Ireland and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
How many EMDR sessions are needed?
Single-incident trauma may resolve in a small number of sessions after preparation. Complex or developmental trauma typically requires much longer treatment with extended stabilisation.
Does EMDR work without eye movements?
Bilateral stimulation can also be delivered through alternating taps or tones. Research on the precise mechanism continues, but bilateral stimulation is a core component of the standard protocol.
Is EMDR suitable for everyone?
No. Clients with severe dissociation, active substance dependence, unstable medical conditions or insufficient stabilisation may not be ready. Careful phase-one and phase-two assessment determines suitability.
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace clinical supervision, professional training or individual therapy.
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