You have been told EMDR might help, and now you are searching for what it involves. Eye movements and difficult memories can sound like a lot to agree to. This guide explains the EMDR phases step by step, so you know what to expect before you book.
Content note: this article talks about trauma in general terms only, with no graphic detail. Pause whenever you need to.
What are the 8 phases of EMDR therapy?
The 8 phases of EMDR therapy are history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitisation, installation, body scan, closure and reevaluation. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. The RACGP’s HANDI summary of EMDR for PTSD describes it as a standard protocol with eight phases.
Psychologist Francine Shapiro developed the approach. It rests on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory that distressing memories can be stored in a way that keeps triggering strong reactions in the present.
How the EMDR phases fit into your sessions
The EMDR phases are not eight steps in one appointment. They run across your treatment, and you may return to earlier phases as needed. Lifeline notes that you may not do every phase in each session, and that moving back and forth is common (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025).
Phase 8 effectively becomes phase 1 of your next session. EMDRIA, the US-based international association, says a session often runs 60 to 90 minutes (Source: EMDRIA, 2024). Session length varies by practice, so check with your psychologist.
How many sessions you need depends on your history and progress. Lifeline says treatment may take several weeks or longer (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). Results vary, and individual circumstances differ. A registered psychologist can talk through what to expect for you.
Phases 1 to 3: getting ready before any memory work
Phase 1: history and treatment planning
Your psychologist asks about your history and what brings you in. Together you agree on a plan covering past events, current triggers and skills you want for the future. You do not need to describe distressing memories in detail. A general outline is enough to identify a target (Source: EMDRIA, 2024).
If you want to know how a first session runs, read what to expect in your first appointment.
Phase 2: preparation
Preparation is where you build ways to steady yourself and learn how the process works. It also builds trust. It can take more than one session and can be revisited during treatment (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025).
Throughout these early phases, your psychologist checks whether EMDR suits you. HANDI notes it is thought to suit adult trauma and single events better than childhood trauma or complex histories (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021).
Phase 3: assessment
You and your psychologist choose one memory to work on. You pick an image that stands for it, a negative belief such as “I am helpless”, and a belief you would prefer, such as “I am in control now”.
You then give two ratings. Distress is rated from 0 to 10 on the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale. How true the preferred belief feels is rated from 1 to 7 on the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale (Source: EMDRIA, 2024). The numbers give you and your psychologist a way to track change. They are measures, not predictions.
Phases 4 to 6: reprocessing
Phases 4 to 6 are where the memory is reprocessed. Bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps or tones) is used across these three phases (Source: EMDRIA, 2024). You hold the memory in mind while paying attention to the movement, which HANDI calls a dual attention task (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021).
You do not retell the whole story. You notice what comes up between sets and share it briefly. Researchers still debate why the eye movements may help, and the exact mechanism is unknown (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021).
Phase 4: desensitisation
You bring to mind the memory, along with the feeling and the belief, while following a short set of movements, taps or tones. You pause, say what you noticed, and then do another set. Your psychologist repeats this and checks your 0 to 10 distress rating along the way. Results vary, and individual circumstances differ.
Recalling events can be painful, so tell your psychologist if it feels like too much (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021; Lifeline Australia, 2025).
Phase 5: installation
The focus turns to the belief you would prefer. You strengthen it and check how true it feels on the 1 to 7 scale (Source: EMDRIA, 2024).
Phase 6: body scan
You bring the memory and the preferred belief to mind together and notice any tension in your body, such as your chest, jaw or stomach. Leftover sensations can be worked on with more sets. Some psychologists guide this phase with a mindfulness exercise (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025).
Phases 7 and 8: how each session ends and the next begins
Every session ends with closure, and the next one opens with reevaluation. In closure, your psychologist helps you return to steady ground using skills from phase 2, even if the memory is not finished.
You may be asked to note what comes up between sessions, because some processing can continue (Source: EMDRIA, 2024).
In reevaluation, you check whether the work from last time has held and whether anything new has surfaced. Your plan is then adjusted. This is why EMDR works as a loop rather than a straight line. If you want trauma-focused support in this setting, Jacob Jones offers EMDR therapy in Perth.
What the evidence says, and who EMDR may suit
EMDR is among the psychological treatments recommended in Australian guidelines for adults with PTSD. The 2020 guidelines from Phoenix Australia are approved by the NHMRC and endorsed by the APS, the RANZCP and the RACGP (Source: Phoenix Australia, 2020; APS InPsych, 2021). They include EMDR alongside trauma-focused CBT (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). HANDI rates the evidence as moderate (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021).
Some context on how common trauma is:
- Traumatic events are common, but most people who experience one do not go on to develop a mental illness such as PTSD (Source: AIHW, accessed November 2026).
- In a national survey, 7.1% of adults met criteria for PTSD at some point in their lives, and 4.0% were symptomatic in the past 12 months. Among adults who had a traumatic event, 10.1% met lifetime criteria (Source: Kroeger et al., Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2026). These are survey estimates, not clinical diagnoses.
There are limits. Lifeline says the strongest evidence is for PTSD, and evidence for other conditions is less established. It also says EMDR should not be assumed faster or easier than other trauma-focused therapies (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). Its plain-language EMDR guide also advises against doing EMDR on your own.
Results vary, and individual circumstances differ. A GP or registered psychologist can help you decide what suits you.
How to get started with EMDR in Australia
Here is a simple way to begin.
- See your GP. Ask about a Mental Health Treatment Plan if you want a Medicare rebate. A referral is needed for the rebate, but not if you pay privately (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025).
- Find a registered psychologist with EMDR training. Use the APS Find a Psychologist tool or the EMDR Association of Australia therapist directory. The directory shows credential levels.
- Book a first appointment. This is phase 1, so expect questions and planning, not memory work.
- Check the costs. See the fees and rebates details before you book.
- Choose how you attend. Sessions are available in person in East Fremantle and by telehealth across WA.
Basic EMDR training in Australia is 50 hours, and only people who complete all of it are considered fully trained (Source: EMDR Association of Australia, accessed 2026). Questions worth asking any EMDR psychologist:
- What EMDR training have you completed?
- How do you prepare me before any memory work?
- How will I know which phase we are in?
- How can I pause or stop during a set?
- How does each session end?
- What happens if EMDR does not seem to suit me?
If you would like to talk through your situation with a registered psychologist in East Fremantle, Sage Psychological Services is happy to help.
Frequently asked questions
- It varies. Treating one memory can take one or several sessions, and a full course may take several weeks or longer, depending on your history and progress (Source: EMDRIA, 2024; Lifeline Australia, 2025). Your psychologist reviews the plan as you go. Results vary, and individual circumstances differ, so ask a registered health practitioner what to expect.
- Eye movements, taps or tones, known as bilateral stimulation, are used across phases 4 to 6: desensitisation, installation and body scan (Source: EMDRIA, 2024). The early phases of history, preparation and assessment involve talking, learning skills and setting up the target memory. Ask your psychologist how they use movement, taps or tones.
- Usually not. A general outline is enough to identify what to work on, and processing happens mostly inside your own mind between short check-ins (Source: EMDRIA, 2024). Your psychologist may still ask what brings you in. You choose how much to share.
- Tell your psychologist. You can ask questions, request a break or choose to stop, and you should say if distress rises during or between sessions so the plan can be reviewed (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). Strong feelings can come up because recalling events can be painful (Source: RACGP HANDI, 2021).
- A rebate may be available if you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP. A referral is needed for the rebate, but not if you pay privately (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). Rebate amounts and rules can change, so check the current details on the clinic’s fees page before booking.
- Lifeline does not recommend it. Doing it alone may not process a memory fully, and it can feel overwhelming without support (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). EMDR trauma processing should be done with a trained therapist who can assess your needs, help you prepare and support you during treatment.
- Yes. The 2020 Phoenix Australia guidelines include EMDR among the recommended psychological treatments for adults with PTSD, alongside trauma-focused CBT (Source: Phoenix Australia, 2020; RACGP HANDI, 2021). HANDI rates the evidence as moderate. Lifeline advises EMDR should not be assumed faster, easier or more effective than other recommended trauma-focused therapies (Source: Lifeline Australia, 2025). Ask your GP or psychologist what suits you.
This article is general information only and does not replace advice from a registered health practitioner. Results vary, and individual circumstances differ.
