EMDR is one of the most thoroughly researched trauma therapies available. At SMHWI, certified EMDR therapists work with adults dealing with PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and depression at four locations in Arizona and Texas, and via telehealth throughout both states.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based therapy developed to help people process and recover from traumatic memories. It's one of the most extensively researched trauma therapies available, endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a first-line treatment for PTSD.
What makes EMDR different from traditional talk therapy is that it doesn't require you to discuss your experiences in depth or complete extensive homework between sessions. Instead, it uses a specific protocol involving bilateral stimulation, most commonly guided eye movements, to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they lose their emotional intensity.
At SMHWI, our EMDR therapists work alongside our board-certified psychiatrists as part of the same practice. When medication is part of your treatment plan, both your therapist and psychiatrist coordinate directly rather than operating independently. EMDR is available at all four locations and via telehealth throughout Arizona and Texas.
Call any location directly or schedule through our patient portal. Most patients are seen within a few days.
Insurance verified before your first appointment. Tricare accepted at all four locations.
Become a Patient →EMDR follows a structured, eight-phase protocol developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro. Each phase has a specific purpose. The treatment isn't linear in the sense that you move through a checklist. Your therapist returns to earlier phases as needed based on how you're responding.
Your therapist reviews your history, identifies target memories, and builds a treatment map. No trauma processing happens at this stage.
You learn stabilization techniques and what to expect during processing. Your therapist ensures you have the tools to manage distress between and during sessions.
A specific target memory is identified along with the negative belief it carries and the positive belief you'd prefer to hold. Baseline distress levels are measured.
The active reprocessing phase. Bilateral stimulation is applied while you hold the memory in mind. Your therapist guides this until the distress level drops significantly.
The positive belief you identified is strengthened and linked to the memory. The goal is for it to feel genuinely true, not just something you're trying to believe.
You scan your body for any remaining physical tension tied to the memory. Trauma is stored somatically as well as cognitively, and this phase addresses the physical residue.
Each session ends with stabilization, regardless of whether processing is complete. You leave with a clear sense of what to do if distressing material surfaces before your next visit.
At the start of each new session, your therapist checks how the previous week went, whether progress held, and what targets to work on next.
When an event is overwhelming, the brain's normal memory consolidation process can be interrupted. The memory gets stored in a raw, unprocessed form, complete with the original emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs, rather than being filed away as a past event. Each time it's triggered, it feels immediate rather than historical.
The back-and-forth eye movements used in EMDR are thought to work through a mechanism similar to what happens during REM sleep, the stage of sleep where memory consolidation naturally occurs. The bilateral stimulation creates a dual-attention state that simultaneously activates the distressing memory while reducing its emotional load, allowing the brain to complete the processing that didn't finish originally.
Across more than 30 controlled studies, EMDR has been shown to significantly reduce PTSD symptoms, often in fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy. The WHO, APA, VA, and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies all recognize EMDR as an effective treatment. Brain imaging studies have documented measurable changes in how traumatic memories are stored and accessed after EMDR treatment.
EMDR was developed originally for trauma and PTSD, and that remains its best-documented application. But the research base has grown considerably. EMDR is now used effectively for several other conditions where distressing memories or beliefs play a central role in keeping symptoms active.
The primary application. EMDR is a first-line treatment for PTSD from single incidents, complex or repeated trauma, childhood experiences, and military or combat exposure.
For anxiety rooted in specific experiences or beliefs, EMDR can target the underlying memories that feed ongoing fear responses, including phobias, panic disorder, and social anxiety.
When depression is linked to past losses, failures, or negative core beliefs about oneself, EMDR can work alongside antidepressant medication or therapy to address those deeper anchors.
Complicated grief, particularly when a loss was sudden, traumatic, or unresolved, can respond well to EMDR. The goal is not to diminish grief but to reduce the traumatic charge that makes it unprocessable.
Deep negative beliefs like "I am not good enough" or "I am fundamentally broken" are often tied to specific memories. EMDR targets those memories directly and installs the adaptive belief that replaced them.
Specific phobias and performance-related anxiety often trace back to a triggering memory or series of experiences. EMDR can reduce the intensity of these responses faster than prolonged exposure alone.
Most people come in with questions about the practical side of EMDR. Here's what to expect from the experience itself, from the first session through active processing.
Your EMDR therapist begins with a thorough history and treatment planning conversation. This isn't a warmup formality. It's essential. Your therapist needs to understand your history, identify which memories to target, and make sure you have the stabilization tools to handle what comes up during processing. You won't be pushed into anything before you're ready.
During active processing, your therapist will guide your eyes from side to side using a moving finger, light bar, or other visual prompt. Some therapists use taps on the hands or tones through headphones instead. The sensation is mild and not disorienting. Your attention is split between the bilateral stimulation and the memory you're holding. Most people describe a gradual softening of the distress rather than any dramatic shift.
Standard EMDR sessions run 60 to 90 minutes. Some therapists offer extended sessions, particularly for processing phases, to allow more complete resolution within a single sitting. Frequency typically starts at once weekly. The number of sessions needed varies considerably depending on the complexity of the trauma, though single-incident trauma often resolves in fewer sessions than complex or childhood trauma.
Processing can continue after a session ends. It's common to notice new thoughts, emotions, or memories in the days that follow, which is a normal part of how EMDR works. Your therapist will give you tools for managing this and will check in on it at the start of your next session. Journaling is often encouraged, though there's no homework requirement the way there is in some other structured therapies.
Progress in EMDR typically shows up as a reduction in the emotional charge a memory carries. The same event may still be recalled, but without the same visceral distress, intrusive quality, or felt sense of present danger. Over time, many patients also notice changes in the negative beliefs tied to those memories, moving from "I am at fault" or "I am not safe" toward something more balanced and accurate.
Online EMDR therapy is available throughout Arizona and Texas. Research supports the effectiveness of telehealth EMDR, and for some patients, beginning trauma work from a familiar environment they control can be genuinely helpful. Your therapist uses digital tools for bilateral stimulation that work through a secure video platform. Tricare and most major insurance plans cover telehealth sessions.
Tricare and most major insurance accepted. EMDR available at all four SMHWI locations.
Become a Patient →If you've looked into therapy options, you've probably seen CBT, traditional talk therapy, and EMDR all recommended. Each has a different mechanism and works better for certain situations. Understanding the differences helps you ask better questions when choosing a path forward.
| Feature | EMDR | CBT | Talk Therapy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary mechanism | Bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic memory | Restructuring distorted thought patterns | Verbal exploration and insight |
| Detailed verbal recall required? | No. Memory is held briefly, not narrated | Often yes, to examine cognitive distortions | Yes, usually the central activity |
| Homework between sessions? | Minimal. Journaling encouraged, not required | Yes. Thought records and behavioral exercises are core | Varies by approach |
| Best for | PTSD, trauma with specific memories, anxiety with memory roots | Depression, anxiety, OCD, behavioral patterns | General mental health, relationships, insight-building |
| PTSD evidence base | Extensive. WHO, APA, VA first-line recommendation | Strong. CPT is a CBT-based PTSD treatment also VA-endorsed | Limited for trauma specifically |
| Typical session count for PTSD | 6–12 for single-incident trauma; more for complex | 12–16 for structured CPT | Open-ended; varies widely |
EMDR and CBT are not mutually exclusive, and some clinicians integrate elements of both. At SMHWI, your therapist recommends the approach that fits your specific situation rather than defaulting to a single modality for everyone.
Most major insurance plans cover EMDR therapy when delivered by a licensed therapist for a covered diagnosis. Tricare covers EMDR for eligible veterans and service members. Coverage is verified before your first appointment. Call your nearest location to confirm your plan.
EMDR therapy is available at all four SMHWI locations and via telehealth throughout Arizona and Texas. Scottsdale has the highest local search volume for EMDR in our markets; if that's closest to you, you're in the right place.
8350 E Raintree Dr, Ste 125 & 130
1492 S Mill Ave, Ste 206 & 214
6120 W Bell Rd, Ste 130
810 E Ralph Hall Pkwy, Ste 140
EMDR therapy is available via HIPAA-compliant telehealth throughout Arizona and Texas. Research supports its effectiveness delivered online. Covered by most insurance including Tricare. A secure video platform is used with digital bilateral stimulation tools that replicate the in-office experience.
These are the questions people most commonly bring before their first EMDR appointment. If yours isn't here, call any of our locations and someone can walk you through it.
It varies considerably depending on the nature and complexity of what you're working on. A single-incident trauma that happened in adulthood, such as an accident or an assault, may resolve in as few as six to twelve sessions. Complex or childhood trauma, or situations where multiple events are layered on top of each other, typically require more sessions and a longer stabilization phase before active processing begins. Your therapist will give you a more specific estimate after your first assessment session.
Yes. Complete narrative recall is not required for EMDR to be effective. What matters is that there's a felt sense of the distress, some fragment of the memory, an image, a physical sensation, an emotion, that can be targeted. Many people with fragmented or non-verbal trauma memories, including early childhood experiences, have benefited from EMDR. Your therapist will work with whatever material is available.
EMDR is well-tolerated, but it's not uncommon to feel emotionally fatigued, unsettled, or to notice new thoughts and memories surfacing in the days after a processing session. This is a normal part of how EMDR works, as the brain continues integrating material between sessions. Your therapist prepares you for this, teaches you stabilization techniques, and checks in at the start of each session. Some people also notice vivid dreams during active processing phases, which is similarly normal.
Yes. EMDR and psychiatric medication are often used together, and research suggests that medication can make EMDR more accessible for people with severe symptoms by reducing the intensity of distress enough to engage in processing. At SMHWI, your EMDR therapist and psychiatrist work within the same practice and coordinate directly so both sides of your care stay aligned.
Yes. EMDR therapy is available via HIPAA-compliant telehealth throughout Arizona and Texas. Your therapist uses digital bilateral stimulation tools through a secure video platform. Research supports telehealth EMDR as comparably effective to in-person delivery for most patients. For some people, beginning trauma work from a familiar environment can actually support the process. Tricare and most major insurance plans cover telehealth EMDR sessions.
Your therapist's job is to manage the pacing of sessions so that distress stays within a tolerable range. You will be taught stabilization techniques, including grounding and containment exercises, before any active trauma processing begins. If distress rises above a manageable level during a session, your therapist will pause and apply those techniques. Sessions always end with a closure protocol designed to leave you in a stable state, whether or not processing is complete for that session.
Most major insurance plans, including Tricare, cover EMDR when delivered by a licensed therapist for a covered diagnosis such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression. SMHWI verifies your coverage before your first appointment so you know what to expect. Call any of our four locations or use the patient portal to get started.
They are genuinely different things. EMDR does not involve a trance state, suggestion, or loss of control. You are fully conscious and present throughout the entire session. The bilateral stimulation in EMDR creates a dual-attention state, meaning you are simultaneously aware of the memory and the present moment, which is the opposite of a dissociative or hypnotic state. EMDR has a specific eight-phase protocol with extensive peer-reviewed research behind it. Hypnotherapy does not have the same level of evidence for PTSD specifically.
Authoritative sources on EMDR therapy from the organizations that research, certify, and endorse it.
Contact SMHWI to schedule at any of our four locations in Arizona and Texas. No referral required, and insurance is verified before your first appointment.
