Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR): The "voodoo" Therapy Taking Over The Warrior Culture

What Is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is an evidence-based therapy that helps the brain process distressing experiences that have not been fully resolved. EMDR does not erase memories, instead, it helps the nervous system reprocess experiences so they no longer feel like they are happening in the present. The memory is still there, but the emotional charge changes.

Many clients say: "I could see the image vividly, but now the details are blurry," "It feels like it is farther away," "it went from technicolored to black and white." Or, "I remember it, but it doesn't bother me now," "I feel like I can breathe again- I didn't realize I couldn't before," "I feel like a weight is taken off of my shoulders."

Why Trauma Gets “Stuck”

Typically, the brain processes experiences, files them away, and moves forward. However, when both experiencing first hand or learning of overwhelming, life-threatening or violent events, the brain can become overloaded.

When that happens:

• Memories may remain unprocessed because the brain does not know what to do with the information- how do you explain violence?

• The body continues to react as if the threat is still present: feeling panicky, sweating, heart racing, etc.

• Triggers like crowds, noises, or stress at home can activate fight-or-flight responses unnecessarily

Due to the brain having to manage this background information, you can be capable yet still feel on edge, irritable, disconnected from those you care about, or constantly alert.

Most humans will only experience/witness 1-2 overwhelming or life-threatening events in their lifetime. Servicemembers may see 2 in one week depending on job and deployment setting. First responders may see 2 in one shift depending on the day.

How EMDR Works

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, typically through guided eye movements, tapping, or tones. This specific type of stimulation, is used to activate the part of the brain activated during REM sleep. This problem solving part of the brain processes information and transfers needed information from short term to long term memory. During EMDR processing, both the logical and the emotional parts of are brain are activated in order to reprocess the memory.

This process helps the brain:

• Reduce emotional intensity

• Create new, more adaptive connections

• Store the memory in the past, where it belongs

  
  

For many servicemembers and first responders, another benefit of EMDR is that it does not require detailed storytelling.

What EMDR Looks Like In Session

EMDR therapy follows a structured, phased approach that includes:

• Building coping skills

• Identifying target memories or patterns

• Reprocessing those memories using bilateral stimulation

• Strengthening new, more adaptive beliefs

Many times clients do not recognize the shift through the phases. Typically in practice there are 1-3 sessions getting to know the client, building rapport, strengthening coping skills, identifying thought patterns and target memories. Once shifted into the processing phase, sessions tend to begin checking in on changes, identifying session target, collecting baseline measurements, bilateral stimulation, and collecting final measurements. Following processing and strengthening the adaptive belief, therapy tends to shift into skill building to strengthen adaptive thought processes.

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

EMDR is widely used for:

• Combat trauma

• Critical incidents

• Repeated exposure to stress or danger

• Childhood experiences that still impact adult functioning (many times without the client realizing the continued impact)

• Performance-related blocks rooted in past experiences

  
  

You do not have to be severely struggling to benefit from EMDR. Most of my clients are high-functioning individuals whose nervous systems have adapted to extreme environments, yet those adaptations are no longer serving them. Reprocessing allows them to rewire their brains and adapt even further so they continue functioning in extreme environments while functioning at a higher level at home.

EMDR as a Performance Tool

For military members, first responders, and high performers, EMDR is often less about healing a diagnosis and more about restoring capacity.

When unresolved trauma is addressed:

• Focus improves

• Reactivity decreases

• Sleep and relationships stabilize

• Decision-making becomes clearer

• Energy once spent on survival becomes available for leadership and connection

Seeking EMDR can be a strategic decision to operate at a higher level, both on the mission and at home.

Final Thought

Developing trauma responses are not personal failures, they are our brains normal response to abnormal experiences in an effort to stay alive. EMDR gives the brain a second chance to process what it could not process effectively at the time, allowing people to move forward without carrying the weight of the past into every moment of the present.