Helinä Häkkänen, psychologist and psychotherapist | August 2026
Many people considering EMDR therapy want to know in advance what actually happens during treatment. Do you have to tell the whole trauma story from beginning to end? How quickly do you start working with difficult memories? What happens in an EMDR session? And how long does EMDR treatment usually take?
These are important questions. EMDR therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is not just a technique where the eyes move from side to side. It is a structured psychotherapeutic method that follows a clear process. The EMDR protocol consists of eight phases. These phases are designed to make treatment safe, structured and respectful of the client’s window of tolerance.
This article explains the 8 phases of EMDR therapy in a practical way: what happens before treatment begins, how a target memory is selected, what happens during EMDR processing and how the effects of treatment are reviewed.
In this article, we explain the different phases of EMDR therapy. If you are interested in eye movement therapy, you can continue reading on Mielenjuuri’s EMDR therapy service page or contact us to ask whether EMDR could be suitable for your situation.
Why does EMDR treatment proceed in phases?
In EMDR treatment, the therapist and client often work with memories connected to strong emotions, bodily reactions or negative beliefs about the self. For this reason, EMDR therapy does not usually begin by going straight into the most difficult memory without preparation.
A phased approach helps ensure that the client understands what is being done and why. The therapist’s role is to assess which memory or memory network is connected to the current symptom, when processing can safely begin and when more stabilisation or resourcing is needed first.
Many clients understandably hope for quick relief. Still, the first phases of EMDR therapy are important. Good treatment planning does not slow therapy down unnecessarily. It makes the work safer and more precise. If the target memory is chosen too quickly, or without a sufficient understanding of the person’s history and current situation, the work may move in a direction that neither the client nor the therapist has had time to prepare for.
The 8 phases of EMDR therapy
The 8 phases of EMDR therapy are:
- History taking and treatment planning
- Preparation
- Assessment
- Desensitization
- Installation
- Body scan
- Closure
- Reevaluation
These phases are not a mechanical checklist that always moves at the same speed. For some clients, preparation takes more time. Others may move more quickly into actual memory processing. Sometimes the same memory is processed over several sessions. Sometimes one EMDR session can significantly reduce the disturbance connected to a single memory.
What matters most is that EMDR treatment proceeds according to the client’s situation, resources and goals.
Phase 1: History taking and treatment planning
The first phase of EMDR therapy involves exploring the client’s background, symptoms, current life situation and treatment goals. This is called history taking and treatment planning.
The purpose of this phase is not to rush into the most difficult memory. The therapist aims to understand which experiences may be connected to the current symptoms and which memories may be relevant targets for EMDR processing.
A client may seek EMDR therapy for anxiety, trauma symptoms, burnout, panic symptoms, grief, shame, performance pressure or a specific fear. In the first phase, the therapist and client explore what these symptoms may be connected to.
Typical questions may include:
- When did the symptom begin?
- In which situations does it become activated?
- What emotions are connected to it?
- Is there a specific event or period of life behind it?
- What would the client like to think, feel or do differently after treatment?
History taking may take one or several sessions. This depends on how focused or complex the situation is. A single clearly defined event is usually easier to map than long-term attachment trauma, workplace bullying or a trauma history involving several areas of life.
Phase 2: Preparation
In the preparation phase, the therapist explains how EMDR treatment works and what the client can expect during an EMDR session. This phase is important because many people come to therapy feeling unsure about what actually happens in eye movement therapy.
Preparation also strengthens the client’s ability to regulate their state. This may include calming imagery, noticing the breath, grounding techniques or other methods that help the client return to the present moment.
Often, the preparation phase includes a safe place or calm place exercise. In this exercise, the client creates an inner place or state associated with safety, stability or calm. This exercise can be strengthened with bilateral stimulation.
The purpose of preparation is not to avoid difficult memories. Its purpose is to make sure that the client has enough tools to remain safe and present when a difficult memory becomes activated.
In this phase, the client also learns that they can ask for a break, slow the process down or stop the work at any time. A sense of control is important in EMDR therapy.
Phase 3: Assessment
In the assessment phase, the therapist and client select the target memory: the memory, image or situation that will be processed during the EMDR session.
The therapist asks the client to identify the worst part of the memory or the image that best represents the disturbance. After this, they explore the negative belief about the self that is connected to the memory. This belief may be something like:
- “I am in danger.”
- “I am helpless.”
- “I am worthless.”
- “It was my fault.”
- “I will not survive.”
- “There is something wrong with me.”
The therapist then helps the client identify a more positive and realistic belief that the client would like to connect to the memory. This may be something like:
- “I am safe now.”
- “I survived.”
- “It was not my fault.”
- “I am enough.”
- “I have choices.”
- “I am worthy.”
In the assessment phase, the client also rates how true the positive belief feels and how disturbing the memory feels on a scale from 0 to 10. The therapist also asks where the disturbance is felt in the body. It may be felt in the chest, throat, stomach, hands, legs or throughout the body.
This phase clarifies what EMDR treatment is actually working with: not only the event, but the image, thought, emotion and bodily reaction connected to the event.
Phase 4: Desensitization
Desensitization is the phase most people associate with EMDR therapy. In this phase, the client holds the target memory, the negative belief and the bodily sensation in mind while the therapist guides bilateral stimulation.
Bilateral stimulation may involve eye movements, sounds or tactile stimulation. It is usually done in short sets. After each set, the therapist asks the client what they notice in the mind or body.
The client does not need to analyse the experience perfectly. They may simply say:
- “A new image came up.”
- “My chest feels lighter.”
- “Now I feel anger.”
- “It feels further away.”
- “I cannot access the memory in the same way anymore.”
- “I had the thought that it is over.”
EMDR processing often unfolds associatively. Memories, thoughts, emotions or bodily sensations may arise that were not planned in advance. The therapist’s role is to follow the process, keep the work safe and help the client remain sufficiently connected to the present.
The goal of desensitization is for the disturbance connected to the memory to decrease. The memory does not disappear, but its emotional and bodily intensity begins to reduce.
Phase 5: Installation
When the disturbance connected to the memory has decreased sufficiently, the process moves into the installation phase. In this phase, the positive belief the client would like to connect to the memory is strengthened.
For example, a memory that was previously connected to the belief “I am helpless” may, after processing, become connected to “I survived” or “I am safe now.” The positive belief should not be just a nice sentence. It needs to begin to feel true in the client’s mind and body.
During installation, the positive cognition is strengthened with bilateral stimulation. The aim is for the new, more realistic belief to become connected to the processed memory as strongly as possible.
This phase is important because EMDR treatment is not only about reducing distress. It is also about helping the memory connect with more adaptive information: what happened was difficult, but it is over; I was not responsible; I am not in the same situation anymore; I have more choices and resources now.
Phase 6: Body scan
During the body scan, the client brings the processed memory and the positive belief to mind and then notices the body.
The purpose is to check whether there is still tension, pressure, restlessness, pain or other disturbance in the body. If a bodily reaction is still active, it can be processed further with bilateral stimulation.
The body scan is an important part of the EMDR protocol because difficult memories are not stored only as words or images. They can also appear in the body. If a strong bodily reaction remains, the memory may not yet be fully processed.
When the body feels calmer and the memory no longer brings up the same activation, the process can be brought to a safer close.
Phase 7: Closure
In the closure phase, the therapist makes sure that the client is sufficiently stable before the session ends. An EMDR session should not end with the client left alone in a highly activated state.
If the memory has been fully processed, the client may feel calm, lighter or tired. If the process is not complete, the therapist helps the client close the work for that session. This may include a calm place exercise, grounding or another stabilising technique.
The client may also be told that the mind can continue working after the session. Dreams, new thoughts, tiredness or emotional shifts can be part of the process. These can be discussed in the next session.
Good closure increases the sense of safety. The client knows that they do not have to manage alone what has been activated during the session.
Phase 8: Reevaluation
Reevaluation usually takes place at the beginning of the next session. The therapist and client return to what was processed in the previous EMDR session and review how the memory feels now.
Questions may include:
- Is the memory still disturbing?
- Has the emotion connected to it changed?
- Does the positive belief still feel true?
- Is there any remaining bodily reaction?
- Have there been changes in everyday life?
- Have new memories or themes emerged?
Reevaluation is important because EMDR processing does not always end in the therapy room. Sometimes the memory continues to reorganise between sessions. Sometimes a previously processed memory remains neutral, but another related memory emerges next.
This is why EMDR treatment is a process, not a single performance.
What happens in an EMDR session?
An EMDR session usually begins with a brief check-in about how the client is feeling. If the session involves actual memory processing, the therapist helps the client return to the selected target memory and rate its level of disturbance.
The client then focuses on the essential parts of the memory: the image, the negative belief, the emotion and the bodily sensation. The therapist guides bilateral stimulation in short sets. After each set, the client briefly reports what they notice.
There is no need to “perform” correctly in an EMDR session. The client’s task is simply to notice what happens in the mind and body. If nothing happens, that can be said. If a new thought, image or emotion arises, it is followed.
Many people are surprised that EMDR processing does not always proceed logically. The mind may move from one memory to another, from the present to childhood, from a bodily sensation to an insight, or from shame to anger. This does not necessarily mean that the work is going wrong. Often, it means that the memory network has been activated and the mind is processing related material.
Do I have to describe the trauma in detail?
One of the most common questions is whether the client has to describe the trauma in detail from beginning to end.
In EMDR therapy, the therapist needs to understand enough about what is being processed, but the client usually does not need to describe everything in detail again and again. EMDR is not based on repeatedly retelling the traumatic event at length in every session.
This can be reassuring for many clients. Especially in situations involving shame, violence or sexual trauma, it can be important to know that everything does not have to be fully verbalised.
What matters is finding the target memory, the belief, the emotion and the bodily reaction connected to it. After that, processing can also take place without long storytelling.
How long does EMDR treatment take?
The length of EMDR treatment varies greatly. It depends on the focus of the problem, the number of memories involved, the client’s resources, the current life situation and whether the issue is a single event or a long-term trauma history.
A single clear memory, such as a specific accident, medical procedure, performance experience or frightening situation, may sometimes improve within a few EMDR sessions. More complex situations, such as childhood attachment trauma, long-term violence, severe burnout or a trauma history involving several stages of life, often require longer work.
EMDR treatment is therefore not always short-term, even though individual memories can sometimes process quickly. More important than speed is the right timing, safe pacing and making sure that the work targets the right memories.
In practice, the first session or first sessions are often used for assessment and preparation. Actual processing begins when both the client and therapist consider it safe and appropriate.
Can EMDR therapy be done online?
Many people now ask whether EMDR therapy can be done online. In many situations, it can be possible if the client has a calm and safe space, a stable connection and enough ability to regulate their state while working remotely.
Online EMDR may use a visual stimulus on the screen, sounds or another agreed form of bilateral stimulation. The therapist’s role is to assess whether online EMDR is suitable for the particular client and situation.
Online work is not the best option for everyone. If the client experiences strong dissociation, is in acute crisis, has an unsafe home environment or has difficulty returning from strong activation, in-person therapy or more stabilising work may be more appropriate.
How do you know if EMDR therapy is working?
Change in EMDR treatment is monitored in several ways. One practical measure is the disturbance level of the memory on a scale from 0 to 10. If the memory felt like an eight at the beginning and later feels like a two or a zero, something has changed.
Another sign is that the positive belief begins to feel more true. For example, “I am safe,” “I survived” or “It was not my fault” does not remain only a rational idea, but begins to feel more believable in the body.
A third sign appears in everyday life. The client may notice that they no longer avoid the same thing, react more calmly, sleep better, can speak about what happened, do not get caught in shame in the same way, or feel more able to make choices.
Change is not always dramatic. Sometimes it appears as a quiet observation: “I thought about it, but it did not feel the same anymore.”
Summary: EMDR treatment proceeds safely step by step
EMDR treatment follows an eight-phase protocol. First, the therapist and client explore the client’s situation and plan treatment. Then the work is prepared, a target memory is selected, the related thoughts, emotions and bodily reactions are assessed, the memory is processed with bilateral stimulation, a positive belief is strengthened, bodily reactions are checked, the session is closed safely and the effects are reviewed in the next session.
The 8 phases of EMDR are not a rigid formula. They are a safe structure. They help ensure that difficult memories are not approached too quickly or too alone. In an EMDR session, the client does not need to perform, and they do not need to tell everything perfectly. It is enough to notice what happens in the mind and body and to proceed with the therapist’s support.
In short: the purpose of EMDR treatment is to help a memory connected to the past settle into the past. When the emotional and bodily intensity of the memory decreases, there can be more calm, freedom and capacity to function in the present.
Next, you can visit Mielenjuuri’s EMDR therapy service page or contact us_if you would like to discuss whether EMDR treatment could be suitable for your situation.
More EMDR articles:
- How Does EMDR Therapy Work? The AIP Model, Bilateral Stimulation and the Brain’s Ability to Process Information
- How does EMDR treatment proceed? The eight phases of the process
- What is EMDR therapy used for? Help with trauma, anxiety, depression and burnout
- Is EMDR therapy effective? A review of the research evidence
- Specialized applications of EMDR therapy: from sport psychology to forensic psychology
- The history of EMDR therapy: from Francine Shapiro’s discovery to a global treatment method
