EMDR Myths and Facts: 5 Things People Get Wrong About EMDR
Is EMDR hypnosis? Do you have to tell your trauma in graphic detail? Can EMDR create false memories? Let’s separate some of the most common EMDR myths from the facts.
By Jenny Staats, LMSW · EMDR and trauma therapist at High Thrive Counseling · First published October 2022 · Last reviewed October 2026
EMDR is not hypnosis, it is not only for severe PTSD, it doesn’t start with your worst memory, and you don’t have to describe your trauma in graphic detail. It isn’t designed to plant memories either, though memory is more complicated than a video recording. EMDR has its strongest research support for PTSD. It is structured therapy, not magic, and you are allowed to ask questions and be skeptical.
EMDR can sound a little bizarre when it’s explained badly
Picture the explanation: “So… I think about something terrible while watching your fingers move back and forth?” Basically? Kind of. But also not really.
I’ve been trained in EMDR for years, and I completely understand why people have questions. It looks different from traditional talk therapy. There are eye movements. People hear words like reprocessing and bilateral stimulation. And then the internet does what the internet does best and turns all of that into:
“Is this hypnosis?” “Are you going to make me relive my entire childhood?” “Can EMDR put memories in my head?” “Is this legitimate therapy or some kind of weird Jedi mind trick?”
Fair questions. And if your question is less “What is EMDR?” and more “Could I do this in a longer, more focused block of time?”, you can also learn about our EMDR intensives in Indianapolis.
Myth 1: EMDR is basically hypnosis
EMDR is not hypnosis.
This may be the EMDR myth I hear most often, and I understand why. There are eye movements in some EMDR sessions, and when most of us think about eye movements plus therapy, our brains produce an old movie scene involving a swinging pocket watch.
During EMDR, you are awake, alert, and in control.
You know where you are. You know what you’re talking about. You can stop at any point. You aren’t being put into a trance, and your therapist is not taking control of your mind.
In fact, one of the important parts of EMDR is maintaining awareness of both the memory and the present moment: “That happened then. I’m sitting here now.” EMDR often involves briefly focusing on a disturbing memory while also using bilateral stimulation, which might be eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds.
So yes, EMDR may look unusual. But unusual and hypnosis are not the same thing.
Myth 2: EMDR is only for people with severe PTSD
PTSD is where EMDR has its strongest research support, but the clinical conversation can be broader than one diagnosis.
This one needs a little nuance. EMDR was developed as a trauma treatment, and PTSD is where the evidence base is most established.
So if someone tells you “EMDR is an evidence-supported treatment for PTSD,” absolutely. If someone tells you “EMDR has been proven to fix pretty much every mental health problem imaginable,” I’d slow that train down a little.
EMDR therapists may use EMDR-informed treatment with other concerns, particularly when distressing experiences or trauma appear to be contributing to present symptoms. But the evidence is not equally strong for every diagnosis.
You also do not need the most dramatic trauma imaginable to ask whether EMDR might make sense. Sometimes the issue is one terrifying event. Sometimes it is years of criticism, instability, betrayal, loss, medical experiences, or relationships that changed what you came to believe about yourself.
“Was my trauma bad enough?”
“Is something that happened to me in the past still affecting the way I feel, react, or function now?”
Myth 3: your therapist will make you dive straight into your worst trauma
EMDR includes assessment, treatment planning, and preparation before trauma reprocessing.
People sometimes imagine their first EMDR appointment going something like: “Hi, nice to meet you. Tell me the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. Now watch my fingers.” Absolutely not.
EMDR is a structured therapy with eight phases, and actual trauma reprocessing is not Phase One. Early work may include:
- Understanding why you’re coming to therapy
- Taking a relevant history
- Identifying potential treatment targets
- Assessing whether EMDR is appropriate
- Developing strategies to help you manage distress
The eight phases, in order, are history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. Reprocessing starts in the middle of that list, not at the beginning.
A responsible EMDR therapist wants to know things like: can you stay present when difficult material comes up? What happens when you become overwhelmed? Do you shut down or dissociate? What helps you regulate? What is happening in your life right now?
EMDR should not feel like somebody throwing you into the deep end to see whether you can swim. Sometimes preparation is relatively brief. Sometimes it takes considerably longer. The answer depends on the person. Annoyingly therapist-y answer? Yes. Still true.
Myth 4: you have to describe your trauma in graphic detail
You do not necessarily have to give a detailed verbal play-by-play of everything that happened.
This is one of the things people are often most relieved to learn about EMDR.
You and your therapist do need enough information to identify what you’re working on. But you might simply say “It’s the car accident,” or “It’s what happened in the bedroom,” or even “I don’t want to describe that part out loud.” Your therapist can still work with the image, emotion, belief, and body sensations associated with the memory without requiring every intimate detail.
You can work on the trauma without having to verbally recount every detail of it.
That can make EMDR particularly appealing to someone who is thinking: “I want help with this. I just really don’t want to tell the entire story again.” Reasonable.
Myth 5: EMDR plants false memories
EMDR is not designed to uncover hidden memories or convince you that something happened.
This one deserves a more careful answer than “Absolutely impossible!” Memory doesn’t work like a video recording. Human memory is reconstructive and can be influenced by many things, including suggestion, and that is true inside and outside therapy.
EMDR is not designed to uncover secret memories or convince you that something happened. A well-trained trauma therapist should not be saying “Maybe this means you were abused” or “There must be another trauma you don’t remember.”
EMDR is intended to work with your experience, not supply one for you.
At the same time, I would not make the blanket claim that EMDR has zero implications for memory accuracy. Human memory is more complicated than that. This is one reason ethical trauma therapy should be non-suggestive.
If a new image, thought, or memory emerges during therapy, we can be curious about it without automatically declaring “Well, that definitely happened.” Those are two very different things.
What does EMDR actually feel like?
This may be the question underneath all of the myths: “Okay, but what am I actually going to be doing?”
During the reprocessing portion of EMDR, your therapist may ask you to bring up a specific memory or image along with the belief, emotion, and body sensations connected to it. Then you’ll engage in brief sets of bilateral stimulation: following the therapist’s fingers with your eyes, tapping, or alternating sounds. After a set, your therapist may simply ask “What are you noticing now?” and you report whatever comes up:
- An image
- A thought
- A feeling
- A body sensation
- Another memory
- Or… nothing
Nothing is also an answer. Then you continue from there.
The goal isn’t to erase the memory. You should still know what happened. What may change is the distress, emotional intensity, or sense that the event is somehow still happening now.
Do I have to believe in EMDR for it to work?
No. You do not have to arrive saying “I BELIEVE IN THE EYE MOVEMENTS.” This isn’t Tinker Bell.
You are allowed to be skeptical. You are allowed to ask your therapist why they are doing something. You are allowed to ask:
- What are we targeting?
- Why do you think EMDR is appropriate for me?
- What happens if I get overwhelmed?
- How will we know whether it’s helping?
Frankly, I like those questions. Therapy should make enough sense that you understand what you’re agreeing to.
How do I know if EMDR might be right for me?
You don’t have to figure this out alone before contacting somebody. An EMDR therapist can help determine whether your current symptoms seem connected to trauma or distressing past experiences, whether you have enough stability to begin the work, and whether EMDR, or another treatment, makes the most sense.
You may especially want to ask about EMDR if you find yourself saying:
“I know logically I’m safe. My body apparently did not get the memo.”
“I understand what happened. It just still feels like it’s happening.”
“I’ve talked about this a thousand times, and it still has the same emotional charge.”
Those are useful conversations to have with a trauma therapist.
You don’t have to understand EMDR before you ask whether it might help. At High Thrive Counseling in Indianapolis, we offer trauma therapy and EMDR for adults dealing with trauma, PTSD, distressing experiences, and reactions that still feel much more powerful than they would like.
We also offer EMDR intensives for people who prefer longer treatment blocks to traditional weekly sessions, and you do not need to decide which format you need before contacting us. You definitely don’t need to understand all eight phases first. That’s our job.
A free 15-minute consultation can help you figure out what you’re experiencing, whether EMDR therapy may be appropriate, and which treatment format could be the best fit.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with JennyFrequently asked questions about EMDR myths
Is EMDR hypnosis?
No. During EMDR you are awake, alert and in control. You know where you are, you know what you are talking about, and you can stop at any point. You are not in a trance, and your therapist is not taking control of your mind. Part of the work is staying aware of both the memory and the present moment: that happened then, and I'm sitting here now.
Is EMDR only for severe PTSD?
No, but PTSD is where EMDR has its strongest research support. EMDR therapists may also use EMDR-informed treatment for other concerns when distressing experiences seem to be contributing to present symptoms, though the evidence is not equally strong for every diagnosis. You also don’t need the most dramatic trauma imaginable to ask whether EMDR makes sense. A more useful question is whether something from the past is still affecting how you feel, react or function now.
Will my therapist make me dive straight into my worst memory?
No. EMDR is a structured therapy with eight phases, and reprocessing is not Phase One. Early work includes understanding why you came, taking a relevant history, identifying possible targets, assessing whether EMDR is appropriate and building ways to manage distress. Preparation is sometimes fairly brief and sometimes takes considerably longer, depending on the person.
Do I have to describe my trauma in graphic detail?
No. You and your therapist need enough information to identify what you are working on, but you don’t have to give a detailed play-by-play. You might say “it’s the car accident” or even “I don’t want to describe that part out loud.” Your therapist can still work with the image, emotion, belief and body sensations connected to the memory.
Can EMDR plant false memories?
EMDR is not designed to uncover hidden memories or convince you that something happened, and a well-trained trauma therapist shouldn’t suggest that it did. At the same time, human memory is reconstructive and can be influenced by suggestion both inside and outside therapy, so I wouldn’t claim EMDR has no implications for memory accuracy. That is one reason ethical trauma therapy should be non-suggestive. If a new image or thought comes up, we can be curious about it without declaring that it definitely happened.
Does EMDR actually work?
There is meaningful research supporting EMDR as a treatment for PTSD, and it is included in major trauma-treatment guidelines. It isn’t a cure-all, it isn’t right for every person, and it doesn’t guarantee you will never feel sad, anxious or triggered again. Sometimes the results feel surprisingly significant, sometimes the work is slower, and sometimes another treatment makes more sense.
Do I have to believe in EMDR for it to work?
No. You are allowed to be skeptical, and you are allowed to ask your therapist questions: what are we targeting, why do you think EMDR is appropriate for me, what happens if I get overwhelmed, and how will we know whether it is helping? Therapy should make enough sense that you understand what you are agreeing to.
What does EMDR feel like?
During reprocessing, your therapist may ask you to bring up a specific memory or image along with the belief, emotion and body sensations connected to it. Then you do brief sets of bilateral stimulation, such as following the therapist’s fingers with your eyes, tapping, or alternating sounds. After each set you report whatever you notice: an image, a thought, a feeling, a body sensation, another memory, or nothing. The goal isn’t to erase the memory. You still know what happened, but the distress, intensity or sense that it is still happening now may change.
Meet Jenny Staats, LMSW
Warm. Practical. Collaborative. Less “try harder.” More “let’s figure out why this isn’t working.”
Jenny provides EMDR therapy and EMDR intensives at High Thrive Counseling in Indianapolis. Her approach is paced around the person in front of her, not around how much trauma is supposedly meant to fit into a single session.
Jenny also works with teens, young adults, adults, and couples navigating ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, overwhelm, relationship stress, premarital concerns, perimenopause, and major life transitions.
- EMDR + Trauma
- EMDR Intensives
- ADHD
- Anxiety + Depression
- Teens + Young Adults
- Couples + Premarital
In person in Broad Ripple, Indianapolis · Online in Indiana · Online therapy in Florida
Source
- American Psychological Association. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, in the clinical practice guideline for the treatment of PTSD.
This article is general education. It doesn’t replace an individual assessment or treatment. If you are in crisis or may harm yourself, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.