EMDR as an Adjunct Therapy: Deepening the Healing Process

By Tiffany Todd, LCSW

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is widely recognized as a primary trauma therapy, yet it can also serve as a powerful adjunct to other therapeutic approaches. When woven into an existing therapeutic relationship, EMDR allows clients to break through emotional barriers, process trauma more effectively, and deepen their healing without disrupting the trust they’ve built with their primary therapist. Rather than replacing other forms of therapy, it can enhance and accelerate progress, bridging the gap between intellectual insight and deep, embodied change.

Why Use EMDR as an Adjunct?

Many clients reach a point in therapy where they feel stuck—able to articulate their struggles but unable to fully shift how they feel inside. This is because trauma often lingers in implicit memory, encoded in the nervous system rather than just in conscious thought. While talk therapy helps clients understand their experiences, it may not always access the deeply stored emotional and physiological imprints that continue to shape responses. EMDR offers a way to process these imprints directly, allowing for movement where clients may have felt blocked.

One of the greatest challenges in trauma work is emotional overwhelm. Some memories hold such a strong emotional charge that they feel impossible to approach. Even when clients intellectually recognize they are safe in the present, their bodies may continue to react as if the past is still happening. EMDR provides a structured, titrated way to engage with distressing material, reducing its intensity and making it more manageable to work through. This can be particularly helpful for clients engaged in relational or insight-oriented therapies who struggle to access or tolerate certain emotional states.

Additionally, trauma is not just psychological—it is stored in the body. While cognitive reframing can help change negative thought patterns, lasting transformation requires an embodied shift. EMDR naturally integrates a somatic component, making it an excellent complement to other body-based therapies such as somatic experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy, and mindfulness-based approaches. By working at both the cognitive and physiological levels, it helps clients internalize new beliefs and emotional responses in a way that feels deeply real rather than just an idea.

Beyond processing the past, EMDR also helps solidify positive cognitive shifts. It’s one thing to intellectually challenge a negative belief; it’s another to truly feel the shift in your bones. Many clients struggle with self-worth, trust, or safety, even after identifying and challenging negative core beliefs. EMDR works to rewire these beliefs at a fundamental level, reinforcing new perspectives in a way that feels authentic and embodied. By directly addressing core wounds, it can also accelerate the healing process, often helping clients reach breakthroughs that might otherwise take years to achieve.

The Role of the Primary Therapist

For clients using EMDR as an adjunct, their primary therapist remains a crucial anchor throughout the process. EMDR can bring up deeply held material, sometimes surfacing emotions or memories that have been long suppressed. While the EMDR process itself allows for structured reprocessing, the continuity of an established therapeutic relationship provides an essential grounding presence. This is especially important for those healing attachment wounds or working through complex trauma, as the therapeutic relationship itself plays a critical role in the healing process.

Beyond providing emotional stability, the primary therapist helps clients integrate new insights and shifts that emerge from EMDR. Trauma work does not exist in isolation; after an EMDR session, clients often need time to process new feelings, perspectives, and bodily sensations. The primary therapist helps make sense of these shifts, exploring how they show up in relationships, daily life, and patterns of thinking. This ongoing reflection is key to ensuring that the benefits of EMDR extend beyond the therapy room and into lasting, meaningful change.

At times, trauma processing can feel intense, and balancing breakthroughs with stability is essential. While EMDR can create rapid shifts, healing is a layered process, requiring space for integration. The primary therapist ensures that this balance is maintained, helping clients pace their work, regulate their emotions, and build resilience along the way.

Creating a Collaborative Approach

When EMDR is used as an adjunct, collaboration between therapists can create a more seamless and supportive experience for the client. With client consent, EMDR therapists and primary therapists can coordinate care to ensure alignment in treatment goals and overall pacing. This allows clients to feel fully supported on both ends, knowing that their healing process is being approached with continuity and intention.

The way EMDR is incorporated varies based on individual needs. Some clients engage in EMDR for a short period to target a specific trauma, while others integrate it periodically into long-term therapy. Some find that a few sessions create the movement they need, while others may engage in deeper, ongoing work. The flexibility of EMDR as an adjunct means it can be tailored to fit each person’s therapeutic journey, ensuring that the approach remains client-centered.

Clear expectations are essential for making the most of adjunctive EMDR. Clients benefit from understanding how EMDR fits into their broader therapeutic work, what to expect between sessions, and how to navigate emotions that may arise. This helps prevent confusion or uncertainty and ensures that EMDR becomes an integrated part of the healing process rather than a disconnected experience.

A Pathway to Deeper Healing

Using EMDR as an adjunct means clients don’t have to choose between deep trauma work and the stability of their existing therapeutic relationship. Instead, they receive the best of both—targeted trauma processing within the safety and consistency of ongoing therapy. By addressing trauma at multiple levels—cognitive, emotional, and somatic—EMDR enhances the effectiveness of other therapeutic approaches, allowing for a more holistic and embodied healing process.

Healing is not just about understanding the past but about transforming how we experience the present. When approached collaboratively, EMDR can serve as a bridge between processing trauma and stepping more fully into a life of greater emotional freedom and connection.

InnerVoice Psychotherapy & Consultation, with locations in Chicago, IL, and Skokie, IL, offers counseling services for individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental health concerns. Reach out to one of our licensed professionals today and begin your journey toward healing and well-being.