EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an evidence-based method of trauma therapy that helps clients decrease the reactivity and intensity of traumatic memories. It combines a distant focus on the traumatic memory along with bilateral stimulation. This is where a stimulus moves from one side of the body to the other, back and forth. EMDR therapists often use vibrating “tappers” held in each hand along with eye movement to create this stimulation. 

The combination of bilateral stimulation and a detached focus on the traumatic event works to integrate both hemispheres of the brain. As a result, this integration increases emotional regulation and decreases reactivity to the traumatic event. Because trauma memories are held in isolated places in the brain and body, they remain “undigested”. Bilateral stimulation seems to mimic the eye movement involved with REM sleep, which can help resolve undigested memories. In other words, it can help your brain restart its natural healing process.