EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, desensitization and reprocessing through eye movements — is a structured psychotherapeutic approach, developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, used to process traumatic experiences and memories that continue to cause suffering in the present.
The underlying premise
The basic idea is that some particularly intense experiences are not processed normally by the brain, but remain stored in a “raw” form: with the same images, physical sensations, and emotions from the moment they occurred. This is why, years later, a smell or a sound can trigger a disproportionate reaction. The memory has not been filed away as past: it continues to behave as if it were present.
When it is used
- Single traumas: accidents, assaults, medical procedures, sudden bereavements
- Difficult relational experiences prolonged over time, including childhood ones
- Anxiety and panic attacks connected to specific memories
- Traumatic experiences related to work, such as mobbing or critical events, often intertwined with burnout
- Complicated grief and emotional blocks that resist rational understanding
How the work unfolds
EMDR does not begin at the first session. The initial phases serve to reconstruct the person's history, identify the memories to be treated, and verify that there are sufficient resources to sustain the work: stabilization tools are built before approaching the painful material.
In the reprocessing phase, the person recalls the memory while following bilateral stimulation, generally eye movements guided by the therapist's hand. It proceeds in short sets, alternated with moments of checking on what has emerged. The person remains awake, aware, and in control throughout the entire session: it is not hypnosis, and nothing happens without their knowledge.
What realistically changes
EMDR does not erase the memory, nor is that its purpose. What typically changes is the emotional charge associated with it: the event is relocated to the past, the physical sensations that accompanied it lessen, and the negative beliefs about oneself born from that experience can be reformulated.
The other side must also be said: it does not work the same way for everyone, it can involve a temporary increase in emotional activation between one session and another, and it is not indicated in every situation. Its suitability is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and it is right to be wary of anyone who presents it as a quick, universal technique.
How I integrate it into the process
In my work, EMDR is not an isolated intervention: it is combined with Gestalt psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and Autogenic Training. Which combination makes sense is decided after the initial consultations, not before.
A journey in Florence or online
I see clients at my office in Florence, at Via Tommaso Campanella 5, in the Campo di Marte – Coverciano area. You can contact me for an initial introductory session, or learn more on the dedicated page aboutEMDR in Florence.
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