Understanding EMDR Therapy — Free Preparation Guide
By Lisa Chen, LMFT | Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy | Hermosa Beach, CA
Most people who come to EMDR are not falling apart. They are highly functional, self-aware, and quietly exhausted by patterns they cannot seem to think their way out of. They have done the work. They understand themselves. And something is still not shifting.
That is not a willpower problem. It is a neuroscience problem.
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing — works at the level where the issue actually lives: in the nervous system, not the narrative. When a distressing experience is not fully processed, the brain stores it in its raw form, with all of the original emotion, meaning, and physical sensation still attached. That unprocessed memory does not stay in the past. It runs in the background of everything you do — shaping your reactions, your relationships, your performance, and your sense of what is possible for you.
EMDR helps the brain finish the job it started. Through bilateral stimulation, the same neural mechanisms activated during REM sleep, the experience is reprocessed, its emotional charge reduced, and its meaning updated. The memory does not disappear. It stops running the system.
This 15-page guide was written to help you understand what EMDR is before you begin — or before you decide whether to. It covers the neuroscience, the research, what happens inside a session, what to expect between sessions, and what EMDR can and cannot do. Written by Lisa Chen, LMFT, founder of Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy in Hermosa Beach, California.
Lisa Chen, LMFT California License #140374
Lisa Chen is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy in Hermosa Beach, California. She specializes in high-achieving professionals navigating burnout, anxiety, trauma, and relationship strain, and holds advanced training in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Her clinical approach is informed by a prior career in investment banking and business development, including education at The Wharton School and Harvard Business School. She provides individual and couples therapy in person in the South Bay and via telehealth throughout California.
Who This Guide Is For
For People Ready to Go Deeper
Written for people who understand themselves
and are still stuck.
This guide is not for people in crisis. It is for people who are functional, self-aware, and carrying something they have not been able to fully resolve through insight alone. The ones who have read the books, done the therapy, and know exactly why they do what they do — and still do it.
- 01 People considering EMDR who want to understand the process before their first session
- 02 Current therapy clients preparing to begin EMDR work with their therapist
- 03 High achievers whose patterns — perfectionism, emotional withdrawal, reactivity, burnout — have a history behind them that talk therapy has not fully reached
- 04 Anyone who has experienced something overwhelming and wants to understand why it is still affecting them now
You do not need to be emotionally fragile for EMDR to be effective. Many people engage in EMDR while continuing to function at a high level.
Lisa Chen, LMFT · Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps your brain process unresolved experiences. Instead of talking through a problem repeatedly, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, to help the brain reprocess memories so they feel less intense and no longer trigger the same emotional response.
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Most people experience EMDR as focused but not overwhelming. You bring attention to a memory while also tracking bilateral stimulation, which helps the brain process it in the background. Clients often notice shifts in emotions, body sensations, or beliefs over time, without needing to force insight or explain everything in detail.
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EMDR is especially effective for people who feel stuck despite being self-aware. It can help with trauma, anxiety, burnout, and recurring emotional triggers. Many high-functioning individuals are drawn to EMDR because it goes beyond insight and helps create real, felt change at a nervous system level.
Continue the Work
The practices in this guide are most effective when supported by skilled clinical care.
At Lisa Chen & Associates, we offer evidence-based approaches for individuals and couples throughout Los Angeles and California.
This guide is a clinical educational resource produced by Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you are in crisis, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
Published March 2026 · Last reviewed March 2026
© 2025 Lisa Chen & Associates Therapy, Hermosa Beach, CA · For personal use only · Not for redistribution · California LMFT License #140374