EMDR Therapy Explained: Insights From Dana’s Interview on The Little Brain Campaign
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- 4 days ago
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A trauma-informed conversation about the nervous system, relational trauma, and healing across generations
When people ask for EMDR therapy explained, they are usually looking for more than a definition. They want to understand why their nervous system reacts the way it does, why insight alone has not been enough, and what actually happens inside an EMDR session.
In a recent interview on The Little Brain Campaign podcast, Dana Carretta-Stein joined host Dr. Lauren LaRose, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, for a thoughtful and honest conversation about trauma, EMDR, and relational healing. Together, they explored how trauma reshapes the nervous system, what EMDR looks like in real clinical practice, and why parenting often activates unresolved experiences from our own childhoods.
This blog is an overview of that conversation, written to help clinicians, parents, and curious listeners understand EMDR therapy in a grounded, practical way.
What EMDR Really Means
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. While the name highlights eye movements, the heart of EMDR is much simpler.
EMDR is a trauma-informed therapy that focuses on what happened to you, not what is wrong with you.
The model is based on Adaptive Information Processing, which means our brains and nervous systems are shaped by experience. When experiences are overwhelming, prolonged, or unsupported, they can become stuck in the nervous system. This can show up later as anxiety, depression, emotional reactivity, shutdown, or chronic stress.
From an EMDR perspective, these symptoms are not pathology. They are adaptations that once helped you survive.
How Trauma Shapes the Nervous System
One of the most important points Dana shared in the interview is that trauma is a nervous system issue, not a character flaw.
Humans are wired for survival. When we grow up in environments marked by scarcity, unpredictability, emotional neglect, or chronic stress, the nervous system adapts. It becomes more vigilant, more mobilized, or more shut down in order to keep us safe.
The challenge is that the nervous system does not automatically update when danger passes.
Dana used the analogy of stepping off an escalator but still feeling like you are moving. The environment has changed, but the body has not caught up yet. EMDR helps the nervous system complete that process.
This is why EMDR therapy explained only at a cognitive level often feels incomplete. Healing has to involve the body.
EMDR Therapy Explained: What EMDR Looks Like in Practice
Many people refer clients for EMDR without ever seeing what actually happens in session.
While EMDR follows a structured protocol, it is not rigid. The work adapts to each individual nervous system.
History Taking and Goal Setting
Early sessions focus on understanding present-day symptoms and clarifying goals. Not everything needs to be worked on. Some patterns, even if maladaptive, may still be serving a purpose.
Together, the therapist and client decide what they want to change and how they will know therapy has been successful.
Mapping Symptoms to Past Experiences
Rather than diving into graphic detail, EMDR often involves creating a target map. This means identifying present triggers and gently connecting them to earlier experiences that may be feeding those reactions.
For some clients, targets are specific memories. For others, especially those with complex or relational trauma, targets may be time periods or developmental phases.
Stabilization and Resourcing
Before any reprocessing begins, EMDR prioritizes stabilization.
This phase focuses on building emotional regulation skills and internal resources so the nervous system can tolerate the work. Dana often emphasizes attachment-based resources, such as nurturing or protective figures, to support clients during processing.
Stabilization is not optional. It is what makes EMDR effective rather than overwhelming.
Reprocessing Past, Present, and Future
EMDR works across three channels:
Past experiences
Present-day triggers
Future templates for how a person wants to think, feel, and respond
Some clients begin with past memories. Others start with present triggers if the past feels destabilizing. The sequence is always guided by what the nervous system can handle.
Bilateral Stimulation and the Nervous System
When people hear EMDR, they often think only of eye movements. In practice, bilateral stimulation can take many forms.
These may include:
Eye movements using a lightbar
Tactile buzzers held in each hand
Computer-based programs that split attention and tax working memory
The purpose is not to force focus on distress, but to prevent the nervous system from becoming overwhelmed. By splitting attention, the body can process difficult material while staying regulated.
Over time, this allows traumatic material to be integrated rather than avoided or relived.
Relational Trauma and Attachment Wounds
One of the most common patterns Dana sees in her work is relational trauma.
Rather than one major event, many clients have experienced years of emotional mis attunement, inconsistency, or caregivers who were themselves in survival mode. Dana describes this as “10,000 paper cuts.”
This type of trauma often goes unrecognized because it does not fit the stereotypical image of trauma. Yet it profoundly shapes how people relate to themselves and others.
Relational trauma frequently resurfaces in adulthood, especially in intimate relationships and parenting.
Parenting and Generational Healing
Parenthood is one of the most powerful activators of unresolved trauma.
As discussed in the podcast, nothing brings childhood material to the surface quite like raising a child. Parents often find themselves trying to teach emotional regulation skills they were never taught themselves.
Important reminders from the conversation:
Co-regulation is learned, not automatic
Mistakes are inevitable
Repair matters more than perfection
Being a “good enough” parent is not settling. It is healthy.
Modeling accountability and repair teaches children that relationships can recover from rupture.
How to Know If EMDR Might Be Right for You
A key indicator Dana shared is the gap between knowing and doing.
If you understand what should help but cannot make yourself do it, your nervous system may be stuck. This is often where EMDR is most effective.
EMDR works at the level where insight alone is not enough. It helps the nervous system update old information so new choices become possible.
Common Misunderstandings About EMDR
EMDR is not just eye movements
EMDR does not require detailed storytelling
EMDR is collaborative, not passive
EMDR looks different for every person
Clients are encouraged to communicate openly with their therapist about what feels helpful and what does not. That collaboration is especially important in relational trauma work.
About The Little Brain Campaign Podcast
The Little Brain Campaign is a mental health podcast hosted by Dr. Lauren LaRose, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist based in the New Orleans area.
The podcast features in-depth conversations with experts across mental and physical health, with a focus on supporting children, caregivers, and families through education and compassion.
You can watch or listen to Dana’s full interview here:
Listening to the full episode offers additional clinical nuance, personal reflections, and real-world examples that go beyond what can be captured in writing.
EMDR Therapy Progress Journal
For clinicians and clients navigating EMDR work, tracking patterns and progress matters.
The EMDR Therapy Progress Journal was created to support:
Reflection between sessions
Tracking targets and symptoms
Noticing nervous system shifts over time
It is especially helpful for clients who continue processing outside of session or clinicians supporting complex trauma work.
Meet Dana Carretta-Stein
Dana Carretta-Stein is an EMDR therapist, consultant, and educator. She provides EMDR consultation, training resources, and trauma-informed clinical care grounded in nervous system and attachment science.
She is the creator of The EMDR Coach, a platform dedicated to practical, real-world EMDR education for therapists.
Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling
Dana is also the founder of Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling, a trauma-
informed group practice based in Scarsdale, New York.
PLMHC offers EMDR therapy for children, teens, and adults:
In person in Westchester County
Virtual sessions in NY, NJ, CT, and FL
If you are seeking EMDR therapy, you can schedule a free 15-minute consultation to explore next steps.
If you want EMDR therapy explained in a way that supports real healing, explore Dana’s tools and resources designed to support both clinicians and clients.
👉Start with the EMDR Therapy Progress Journal
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