The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy Explained

10 min read Updated: December 31, 2024

EMDR therapy follows a structured, eight-phase protocol developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. This systematic approach ensures thorough treatment while maintaining client safety. Understanding what happens in each phase can help you know what to expect and feel more prepared for your EMDR journey.

Overview of the 8 Phases

The eight phases of EMDR don’t always happen in a strict linear sequence. Phases 3-6 are repeated for each target memory, and you may move back and forth between phases as needed. Here’s a quick overview:

  1. History Taking and Treatment Planning
  2. Preparation
  3. Assessment
  4. Desensitization
  5. Installation
  6. Body Scan
  7. Closure
  8. Reevaluation

Phase 1: History Taking and Treatment Planning

The first phase establishes the foundation for your entire treatment. Your therapist will gather comprehensive information about your background and current symptoms.

What Happens in Phase 1

  • Discuss your history: Including significant life events, traumas, and current challenges
  • Identify symptoms: Understanding how trauma or distress shows up in your daily life
  • Establish treatment goals: What you want to achieve through EMDR
  • Create a target sequence: Identifying specific memories, triggers, or experiences to address
  • Assess readiness: Ensuring you have adequate stability for processing work

The Three-Pronged Approach

EMDR treatment typically targets:

  1. Past memories that created current disturbance
  2. Present triggers that activate distress
  3. Future templates for how you want to respond going forward

Phase 2: Preparation

Before processing traumatic material, your therapist ensures you have the tools and understanding you need. This phase is crucial for safety and treatment success.

What Happens in Phase 2

  • Education about EMDR: Understanding how the treatment works and what to expect
  • Building trust: Developing a safe therapeutic relationship
  • Learning stabilization techniques: Including breathing exercises, grounding, and the “calm/safe place” exercise
  • Establishing safety signals: Ways to pause or stop processing if needed
  • Addressing concerns: Answering questions and discussing any fears about treatment

The Safe Place Exercise

One key resource developed in Phase 2 is the “safe place” or “calm place” visualization:

  1. You imagine a place where you feel completely safe and calm
  2. You notice the sensory details—what you see, hear, and feel
  3. A cue word is associated with this peaceful state
  4. Bilateral stimulation is used to strengthen the positive experience
  5. This becomes a resource you can access during and between sessions

Phase 3: Assessment

For each memory targeted in treatment, Phase 3 activates the memory network and establishes baseline measurements.

Components of Assessment

  • Target image: The worst part of the memory or a representative image
  • Negative cognition (NC): The negative belief about yourself connected to the memory (e.g., “I am powerless,” “I’m not safe”)
  • Positive cognition (PC): The preferred belief you’d like to have instead (e.g., “I can handle challenges,” “I am safe now”)
  • Validity of Cognition (VOC): How true the positive belief feels (1-7 scale)
  • Emotions: What emotions come up when you focus on the memory
  • Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD): How disturbing the memory feels (0-10 scale)
  • Body location: Where you feel the disturbance in your body

Phase 4: Desensitization

This is where the active processing occurs. Phase 4 is often what people think of as “the EMDR part”—the bilateral stimulation work.

The Desensitization Process

  1. You hold the target image, negative cognition, and body sensation in mind
  2. You follow the therapist’s moving fingers (or other bilateral stimulation)
  3. After each set of eye movements, you briefly report what you noticed
  4. The therapist guides you to “go with that” and continue processing
  5. Sets continue until the memory’s disturbance level (SUD) decreases to 0 or 1

What You Might Experience

During desensitization, people commonly experience:

  • Shifting emotions, memories, or insights
  • Physical sensations moving or releasing
  • Connections to other memories or experiences
  • New perspectives emerging spontaneously
  • Gradual decrease in disturbance intensity

Phase 5: Installation

Once the negative charge of the memory has decreased, the positive cognition identified in Phase 3 is strengthened.

The Installation Process

  1. You pair the target memory with the positive belief
  2. Bilateral stimulation continues while holding both in mind
  3. The goal is for the positive belief to feel completely true (VOC of 7)
  4. If the belief doesn’t fully install, a more fitting belief may be identified

For example, processing a memory of a car accident might shift from “I’m in danger” to “I survived and I’m safe now,” with this new belief feeling genuinely true.

Phase 6: Body Scan

Trauma is stored not just in our minds but in our bodies. Phase 6 ensures complete processing by checking for any remaining physical residue.

How the Body Scan Works

  1. While holding the target memory and positive cognition, you scan your body from head to toe
  2. You notice any remaining tension, discomfort, or unusual sensations
  3. If anything is found, additional bilateral stimulation processes these sensations
  4. The goal is a “clean” body scan with no residual disturbance

The body scan is important because physical sensations often hold the last remnants of traumatic memory. Complete processing includes the body.

Phase 7: Closure

Every EMDR session ends with closure, ensuring you leave in a stable state regardless of where processing stands.

What Happens in Closure

  • Stabilization: Using the safe place or other calming techniques
  • Debriefing: Understanding what to expect between sessions
  • Self-care guidance: How to take care of yourself if material surfaces later
  • Journaling instructions: Often you’re encouraged to note any thoughts, dreams, or feelings that arise

Between Sessions

Processing often continues between sessions. You might notice:

  • New memories or insights surfacing
  • Vivid dreams
  • Shifting emotions
  • Continued decrease in disturbance

Self-guided bilateral stimulation exercises can help manage any disturbance that arises between sessions.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

Each new session begins with Phase 8—checking on your progress and determining next steps.

Reevaluation Focus

  • Review previous targets: Are they still resolved? Has disturbance stayed low?
  • Check for new material: Did anything significant come up since last session?
  • Assess current functioning: How are symptoms in daily life?
  • Determine next targets: What needs attention in today’s session?

How Long Does EMDR Take?

Treatment duration varies significantly based on:

  • Complexity of issues: Single-incident trauma may resolve in 3-6 sessions; complex trauma takes longer
  • Number of targets: More traumatic memories means more processing time
  • Individual processing speed: People process at different rates
  • Stability and resources: More time may be needed in Phases 1-2 for some clients

Typical Session Structure

Standard EMDR sessions are usually 60-90 minutes, though some therapists offer extended sessions (up to 2-3 hours) for intensive processing.

The EMDR Protocol in Practice

While the eight phases provide structure, skilled EMDR therapists adapt the protocol to each individual’s needs. The phases ensure comprehensive treatment while allowing flexibility in how they’re implemented.

Understanding the phases can help you:

  • Know what to expect in treatment
  • Feel more prepared and less anxious about starting
  • Track your progress through the treatment process
  • Communicate more effectively with your therapist

Ready to experience the benefits of bilateral stimulation? Try the EMDR4LIFE app for self-guided relaxation exercises, or find a certified EMDR therapist for comprehensive treatment.