By Carol Goh
Have questions about EMDR or ready to start? Book an appointment, contact us, or WhatsApp us for a quicker response.
You may have heard of the term “EMDR” when speaking about mental health issues, particularly trauma. But what does this term mean? How exactly does it work? And is it as effective as experts claim?
We answer these questions with a concise guide to EMDR therapy.
An overview of EMDR therapy
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological and emotional distress.
Until recent years, treating trauma-related conditions was often time-consuming and complex. That changed with EMDR—a well-researched approach developed in 1987 that can be effective for resolving past traumas.
How does EMDR therapy work?
The technique is based on the idea that when painful and traumatic memories are not fully processed, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may result. Triggers such as sights, smells, and sounds can make a person re-experience the event.
In EMDR, you briefly focus on the traumatic memory while undergoing bilateral stimulation (usually guided eye movements). Because unprocessed memories can feel like being “back in that moment,” the repeated left-right stimulation engages both brain hemispheres and helps the nervous system reprocess what was “stuck,” reducing the vividness and emotional intensity.
Simply put, EMDR aims to desensitise and reprocess distressing memories through sets of bilateral eye movements as you recall the event in safe, manageable segments, until the memory no longer causes strong distress.
Who might benefit from EMDR?
EMDR is often recommended for people dealing with overwhelming traumatic memories and PTSD symptoms. It can also help with:
- Depression
- Anxiety (including panic attacks and social anxiety)
- PTSD (from physical/sexual/emotional abuse, traumatic accidents, witnessing a death, and more)
- Grief
- Phobias
- Anger
- Low self-esteem (including links with eating concerns or self-harm)
- Childhood traumas
These are common use-cases, not an exhaustive list. A Singapore-certified counsellor/psychotherapist can assess fit and sequence EMDR within an overall plan. For related approaches, see Psychotherapy, Schema Therapy, and Trauma overview.
How effective is EMDR therapy?
EMDR is recognised as an effective treatment for PTSD and related conditions by major professional bodies. Controlled studies show clinically meaningful reductions in trauma symptoms, with some reporting rapid improvement across a small number of sessions. Outcomes vary by person and history; EMDR is typically integrated with stabilisation skills (sleep, grounding, emotion regulation) and, where appropriate, complementary therapies such as CBT and Schema Therapy.
Bottom line: EMDR has strong evidence for trauma and can be a powerful part of a personalised treatment plan.
Getting started safely
- EMDR should be delivered by qualified mental health professionals trained in the method.
- Before trauma processing, we prioritise readiness and safety (psychoeducation, coping skills, and stabilisation).
- Sessions proceed at your pace, with options to pause when needed.
Work with Emotional Wellness Counselling Singapore
Our certified psychotherapist has extensive experience providing EMDR within integrative care. Alongside EMDR, we use Gestalt, Schema Therapy, CBT, visualisation, and our in-house RENEW programme to help reshape stuck beliefs and responses.
We also support a wide range of concerns: grief, PTSD, anxiety, anger management, eating and self-esteem issues, depression, and youth counselling.
Book a session
- Book an appointment (in-person or online)
- Contact us or WhatsApp us for a quicker response.
The information in this article is for educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
