What to Do if You Can’t Remember Trauma During an EMDR Session?

Just about everyone will experience trauma during their lifetime. For some, they are able to move on and resume life minimally affected. For others, that trauma goes unresolved and can fester until it is triggered later. 

Living in fear of the past or your symptoms is no way to live. Many treatment options exist to heal from your past trauma. One of the preferred methods for trauma is EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. 

Whether your trauma was experienced as an adult or a child, it is essential to explore treatment if symptoms interfere with your life. Fear not if you’re concerned about remembering the specifics of your trauma or the situation itself. The following information is for you.

EMDR Overview

EMDR is a technique that was developed to treat PTSD and allow for the processing of memories from a traumatic experience. Under the guidance of a therapist, you travel down a path of triggering a past memory and re-associating a new, positive thought with it. 

Over multiple sessions, you will reprocess and rebuild responses to your traumatic memories. The entire process follows structured steps, incorporating bilateral stimulation and talk therapy. By the end of the process, you will gain a new understanding of your experience and hopefully no longer be triggered into a negative spiral. 

When You Can’t Remember Trauma

EMDR therapy, as advertised, revolves around memory recall and working through specific points in past trauma. The good news is that you can still participate in EMDR if you don’t remember your trauma.

The accuracy of your memory isn’t the most important part. In order to begin EMDR, all you need to have is some sense of your experience or memory. Even a vague idea can trigger a response for the treatment to work. 

Things to Consider

If you’ve experienced trauma and think EMDR is a method that can help, you should explore it. Never worry or feel bad that you can’t recall your trauma. It’s human nature to enter self-preservation mode. Many people share the same inability to fully remember their memories. 

When participating in EMDR, you will be working with a professional therapist who is experienced in working under such conditions. They are more than prepared to help guide you and use different prompts to evoke memories and elicit a reaction. This is also why there is a screening process as part of the initial steps of EMDR. They will be able to see if any dissociation will be a barrier.

The Benefit

EMDR is a preferred method due to the window of time it takes for the process to work. When you’re having trouble recalling specific memories about your trauma, the timeline may just take a little longer. There still are benefits to help you regardless.

When you’re in session, your therapist will work with any information you are able to give them. Odds are, there is something that can be uncovered. Knowing that trauma occurred, they can find healing once they have that information.

You will be able to find symptomatic relief after however many years of suffering. Whether it is specific memories or not, you are releasing something painful and processing that. Some symptoms may still occur, but they should be on a much less significant basis. 

As you process whatever information you are able to recall, you’re creating a new mindset and establishing a healthy way to perceive the world around you.

If you are interested in exploring EMDR therapy for your situation, reach out.