by Cindy Zabinski, LMHC, LCMHC, CRC, ACS, EMDRIA Certified Therapist & Approved Consultant

Our practice receives many calls from people interested in EMDR therapy, and most have not tried EMDR before. They call with many questions, including: “How does it work?”, “How many sessions will it take?”, and “How do I know if it is going to help me?". Many people are interested in jumping in with both feet and want to heal from their trauma as quickly as possible. While it is difficult to predict how long EMDR therapy will take, as everyone's process is different, there are some steps that can assist with entering EMDR therapy as efficiently as possible. 

The second phase of EMDR, Preparation, involves a number of tasks, including rapport building, grounding tools, and stabilization. (For more details about the 8 Phases of EMDR, see our previous Blog Post, "What is EMDR and How Does it Work?") There are ways to begin working on this prior to beginning EMDR therapy, if they feel safe and comfortable enough for you. They can also be worked on with the help of a talk therapist, should you already be working with one. 

I write this post with the hope that it provides some assistance to people who are interested in starting EMDR therapy and want to get the most out of it. Many of the below topics can help to move more quickly through the preparation process. Although I cannot predict the number of EMDR sessions it will take for someone to heal from their trauma, I do believe that attending to the following items will help to accelerate the process!

First, focus on finding a therapist who was properly trained in EMDR by an EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) approved provider. A therapist who is EMDRIA Certified has gone through thorough training and consultation to be able to practice EMDR effectively. Feel free to ask the therapist what kind of training they completed and whether they are certified by EMDRIA. To assist in locating an EMDRIA trained provider, you can use the EMDRIA Find a Therapist tool: https://www.emdria.org/find-an-emdr-therapist/​

EMDR is covered by health insurance similarly to other therapy services. You can ask the provider if they are in-network with your health insurance or how they can work with you to use out-of-network benefits. EMDR can also be covered by automobile no-fault insurance if the trauma that occurred was related to an automobile accident as long as mental health benefits are included in your claim.

As with the process of therapy in general, make sure that you feel comfortable enough and safe enough with the therapist you have chosen. If their style or demeanor is off-putting to you, it could interfere with your therapy experience and interfere with your work. Although EMDR does not require you to share every detail of your past traumas to the therapist, it is important to feel that you can be honest and open with the clinician. Make sure that the therapist you have chosen offers therapy in the style that you are interested in, in person in an office or online. EMDR can be effective by either method, so it is up to the client which they prefer and which is accessible to them. There are some providers who offer EMDR Intensives, which can include longer EMDR sessions over the course of several days. 

EMDR is focused on assisting your brain in engaging in the natural healing process that it is designed to do. Rather than trying to force cognitive reframes or challenge thoughts, in EMDR Therapy we allow the healing process to occur by supporting it. Because of this, the client is meant to observe, without judgment, what is coming up for them. This can include some of the following: thoughts (such as idea about yourself or the world), images (memories of the event or another event), feelings (surges of emotions), and body sensations (physical perception). When explaining this role of observer to clients, I often use the analogy of riding on a train and watching the scenery pass by. Sometimes the train travels quickly and the images seem to fly by, and at other times the train slows down and more time is allowed for noticing what is coming up. Rather than overthinking the speed of the train, the client notices what passes by without judgment.

One of the most common questions I hear from clients at the end of the first few sessions of EMDR is “Am I doing it right?”. There is no right or wrong way as a client to do EMDR. Everything that comes up is part of the process. Having trust in the clinician, as discussed above, will allow them to guide you as needed through the EMDR process.

An essential part of EMDR is allowing oneself to be vulnerable in exploring and processing emotions. It requires vulnerability with yourself, in allowing emotions to ebb and flow throughout the session, and the therapist, to allow yourself to process in their presence. Vulnerability can be really difficult for trauma survivors, especially those who have compartmentalized their trauma and feelings for years in order to function. Here are some suggestions for exercises that can help you to explore vulnerability:

Since the main focus of EMDR is to reprocess traumatic memories, it is likely to bring up many feelings along the way. Grounding skills are very helpful when you may feel that your feelings are overwhelming or unsafe. Between sessions, should thoughts of your EMDR work pop up in your head, you can use your grounding skills to return your focus on the present moment. Here are some of my favorites:

Use your Senses
Focus on one of your 5 senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste) and place all of your attention there. There is no need to describe or judge what you are experiencing - just experience it. This can work especially well when you have something that you enjoy, like the taste of a fresh cup of coffee or the smell of a flower.

Focus on your Feet
Your feet connected to the ground beneath you is as present-moment as you can get. Notice the connection of your feet to the ground. Notice the way in which the ground holds your feet up. This tool can be used anytime that the ground is accessible to your feet, whether you are wearing sneakers at the gym, barefoot at the beach, or wearing dress shoes at the office.

Safe and Calm Enough Place
Bring up an image of a place that feels safe and calm enough for you. Perhaps it is a place you have been before, or it is a place you think of but have never traveled. Notice everything about it - what you see, smell, taste, feel, and hear. Notice how you feel as you think of this place. Notice how you feel in your body as you think of this place.

Breathing Exercises
There are many excellent breathing exercises that are taught in therapy. One of my go-to’s is to count the breath as you breathe in deeply through your nose (think: “In 1”) and out through your mouth (think: “Out 1”). Repeat this up to a number of your choosing, or until you feel grounded!

Create a Container
EMDR does not require homework between sessions (yay!). However, sometimes thoughts of EMDR work pop up between sessions due to a reminder that can come up in your daily life. Having a theoretical container in your mind to store all of your EMDR work gives you a tool to help you between sessions should a thought or feeling related to your EMDR work come to mind between sessions. Practice visualizing your container, designing it however you wish, and feel free to add as many security measures as you would like to keep it closed.

Remember, the above items are not mandatory to complete before starting to work with an EMDR therapist. Your EMDR therapist will likely review all of the above with you as you start working together. 
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EMDR is an amazing therapy to engage in. It is different from other therapies, and for that reason can be challenging to begin. I hope that these items may help you to prepare and feel more comfortable with EMDR as you embark on your journey. 

Interested in learning more about the EMDR services at Healing & Growth Counseling? Check out our EMDR Therapy service page here.

Interested in learning more about Cindy? Check out her bio here.

Interested in scheduling an appointment for EMDR Therapy in New York? Call us at (516) 406-8991 or fill out our contact form here.

Interested in learning more about Candyce? Check out her bio here.

Interested in scheduling an appointment for Couples Counseling in New York? Call us at (516) 406-8991 or fill out our contact form here.