Talk therapy is popular for good reason. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most popular forms of talk therapy, and it focuses on breaking down your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors “to find new perspectives and change [your] thought patterns,” says therapist Kandace Ledergerber, LMHC. But this therapeutic style doesn’t work for everyone. If you’ve exhausted the talk-therapy route, there’s another method you should be aware of: EMDR therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

EMDR therapy is very different from CBT, primarily because it doesn’t actually involve much talking. Ledergerber, who is also EMDR-trained, describes it as a “bottom-up approach that helps clients build upon resources they already have within them and process trauma by using bilateral stimulation.” Get used to that term, “bilateral stimulation” — we’ll explain more on that ahead. EMDR, in other words, is a unique therapeutic approach that actively utilizes the biology of your brain to help you process trauma. Keep reading to find out how it works, why it’s useful, and whether you should consider trying EMDR therapy yourself.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR therapy is “a form of trauma therapy that takes place by activating bilateral stimulations of the brain,” says EMDR-trained psychotherapist Elizabeth Fedrick, PhD, LPC. Bilateral stimulation is the activation of one side of your brain, then the other, in a repetitive, continuous pattern. This can be done by following your clinician’s finger horizontally from side to side while thinking about the traumatic event you’re trying to reprocess, for example — the original format of EMDR. The approach has since evolved, Dr. Fedrick explains, “and now can be facilitated through visual, auditory, or tactile stimulations,” like tapping or blinking lights.

A bit of background: the idea behind EMDR actually comes from REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. “This is the stage of sleep in which you are dreaming, processing life events, and storing memories into long-term memory,” Dr. Fedrick says. All throughout REM sleep, your eyes naturally move back and forth to create bilateral stimulation. EMDR taps into the same physical strategy but applies it to specific traumatic events. “With EMDR, you choose which event you want to target and then intentionally focus on this event to work to desensitize the distressing emotions and reprocess the negative beliefs associated with it,” Dr. Fedrick says.