The 8 Phases of EMDR Therapy

Updated 2026-08-16 · For EMDR-trained clinicians

EMDR is delivered as a structured eight-phase protocol. This is a practical reference to what each phase is for and where sessions most often go wrong — written for clinicians who are trained in EMDR and want a working refresher, not a substitute for training.

Phase 1 — History taking and treatment planning

Assessment, readiness, and building the target sequence: the past events that laid the groundwork, the present triggers that activate them, and the future template the client needs to be able to face. Dissociation is screened here, and comorbidity, substance use and current stability are weighed.

Common pitfall: selecting a target that is emotionally loud rather than clinically foundational. A dramatic recent incident often sits on top of an earlier, quieter event that is doing the actual work.

Phase 2 — Preparation

Explaining the model in plain language, establishing the stop signal, and installing resources — calm place, container, and any grounding the client will need. The therapeutic alliance is built here, and so is the client's confidence that they can interrupt a set at any point.

Common pitfall: moving on because the resources were described rather than because they were tested. A calm place that has never been felt in the body will not hold under load.

Phase 3 — Assessment

The target is specified precisely: the image that represents the worst part, the negative cognition, the desired positive cognition, the VoC rating, the emotions, the SUD rating, and the body location. This phase creates the baseline everything afterwards is measured against.

Common pitfall: accepting a negative cognition that describes the event rather than the self. "It was dangerous" is a fact; "I am not safe" is a belief — only the second is workable.

Phase 4 — Desensitisation

Sets of bilateral stimulation with brief checks between them, following the associative chain wherever it leads, returning to target when a channel is exhausted, and continuing until the SUD reaches 0 or an ecological floor.

Common pitfall: interpreting between sets. The instruction is to notice and to let whatever comes up, come up; therapist commentary during Phase 4 reliably narrows the channel. This is also where BLS parameters — speed, set length, tone — are adjusted continuously in response to what the client reports.

Phase 5 — Installation

The positive cognition is strengthened and linked to the target, with sets continuing until the VoC reaches 7 or plateaus for reasons that make sense given the client's life.

Common pitfall: installing a positive cognition the client wants to be true rather than one they can currently feel to be true. A VoC that will not rise is usually information about a blocking belief, not resistance.

Phase 6 — Body scan

The client holds the target and the positive cognition together and scans the body for residual disturbance. Anything found is processed with further sets.

Common pitfall: treating this as a formality. Residual somatic activation is the most reliable sign that a channel remains open, and it is easy to skip when the session is running long.

Phase 7 — Closure

Returning the client to equilibrium whether or not the target is complete, using the container or calm place for incomplete sessions, briefing the client on continued processing between sessions, and agreeing what they will do if disturbance rises.

Common pitfall: starting closure too late. Closure is not the last two minutes; an incomplete session needs more closure time, not less. This is a particular risk in remote sessions, where the client leaves the frame instantly.

Phase 8 — Re-evaluation

Opening the next session by checking what happened to the previous target, whether the gains held, and what emerged in between — then deciding whether to continue the channel, return to target, or move to the next item in the sequence.

Common pitfall: starting a new target without re-evaluating the previous one. The treatment plan is a live document, and what surfaced during the week frequently reorders it.

Where the tooling fits

Phases 4 through 6 are where bilateral stimulation is actually delivered, and they are where the practical quality of your tooling shows. Being able to change speed or tone without breaking the client's focus, and — in remote sessions — being able to make that change on the client's device rather than instructing them to make it themselves, keeps the adjustment clinical rather than technical.