EMDR and the Wisdom of Getting Out of the Way
The Origins of EMDR
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, was developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro. Shapiro noticed that some patients who processed trauma while walking outdoors made more progress than those sitting in a chair. This small observation led to an idea. Could physical movement help the brain process painful memories?
The answer, it turns out, is yes. EMDR has since become one of the most researched and effective treatments for trauma, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder. Studies have shown that it can reduce emotional distress, reframe negative beliefs, and promote long-term healing. What remains unclear is exactly how it works.
The Theory of Taxing Attention
One of the leading theories is that EMDR engages what researchers call the working memory system. During EMDR, clients are asked to recall a distressing memory while simultaneously focusing on a bilateral stimulus. This might be eye movements from left to right, alternating sounds in each ear, or tactile pulses. The task taxes the brain’s attentional system while keeping the emotional memory online.
This dual attention creates a unique psychological space. The memory is present, but softened. Clients remain connected to the experience without becoming overwhelmed by it. The technical term for this is dual awareness. But from a clinical perspective, it looks a lot like mindfulness.
EMDR as Assisted Mindfulness
In EMDR, as in mindfulness practice, you stay with discomfort rather than flee it. You observe what arises in the body and mind, moment by moment. You allow. You witness. But for some trauma survivors, mindfulness alone can be too much. The pain floods the system and pushes them out of their window of tolerance. EMDR offers an elegant workaround. The bilateral stimulation serves as a lifeline, something to hold onto, something to do. It grounds the person in the present while the past is being remembered.
In this way, EMDR becomes a form of assisted mindfulness. It helps the client stay anchored while visiting a memory that once felt impossible to face. It allows the nervous system to process the event without shutting down or dissociating.
Letting the Mind Heal Itself
The heart of EMDR is the processing phase. This is where clients are asked to bring up a target memory and then let their mind go wherever it needs to go. They are instructed not to steer, not to analyze, not to control the process. Just observe. Let the images, emotions, and sensations unfold.
This approach reflects a deep trust in the mind’s capacity to heal itself. It suggests that trauma persists not because of the memory itself, but because of the way we resist it. When we stop interfering, something begins to move. Something begins to release.
A Very Buddhist Insight
This is a profoundly Buddhist idea. That suffering is sustained by avoidance. That healing begins when we stop trying to control it. And that the self, the ego, often needs to step aside so deeper processes can unfold.
EMDR offers a structured way to do just that. It helps people meet what was once unbearable and discover that they can survive it. More than that, they can grow from it.