Can EMDR really make things worse?

It can feel worse temporarily while you're actively processing a difficult memory, and that's common and usually settles within a day or two. Lasting harm is uncommon with proper preparation, but research directly measuring adverse effects is still thin, so 'no proof of harm' isn't the same as 'proven safe.'

What makes EMDR more likely to backfire?

Skipping preparation, working on heavy trauma without a trained clinician's screening and pacing, and unmanaged dissociation are the main risk factors. EMDR's founder, Francine Shapiro, has warned that EMDR without adequate screening and preparation can be genuinely dangerous, which is why professional guidance matters most for the heaviest material.

Is self-guided bilateral stimulation risky?

For everyday stress and mild, recent upsets, it's generally low-risk. The risk rises if you aim it at significant trauma alone, since nobody is there to screen you first or pull you back if you get flooded. Keep solo practice to manageable, everyday material and save heavier work for a professional.

What are signs a session or practice isn't going well?

Watch for distress that keeps climbing instead of settling, feeling foggy, unreal, or disconnected, or being flooded by memories you didn't choose. Any of these is a cue to stop, ground yourself, and consider working with a professional on that material rather than pushing through alone.

Does feeling worse mean EMDR isn't working?

Not necessarily. A temporary rise in distress while you approach a hard memory is a normal part of processing, not a sign of failure. What matters is whether it settles again afterward. If distress keeps building instead of easing, that's the real signal to slow down.

Can EMDR make things worse?

Yes, but usually only temporarily and predictably: reprocessing a distressing memory can raise emotional intensity before it settles, and that discomfort is common and expected. Lasting harm is uncommon when EMDR is delivered with proper preparation. The real risk shows up when heavy trauma material gets processed without screening, pacing, or support, especially alone.

What counts as “worse” here?

People usually mean one of two different things by this question. The first is a temporary spike in distress while you’re actively working on a memory, or feeling unusually raw or emotional for a day or two afterward. That’s common, and we cover it on its own in is it normal to feel worse after EMDR at first?

The second meaning is what this page is actually about. Does EMDR ever leave someone genuinely worse off, not just uncomfortable for a day, but destabilized or harmed in a lasting way? That’s rarer, and it depends heavily on how EMDR is used and by whom.

What does the research say about lasting harm?

Here’s the honest complication: almost nobody has studied this carefully. A 2025 review in Current Opinion in Psychology by Boterhoven De Haan, Lee, and colleagues looked at 51 randomized controlled trials of EMDR for PTSD. Only nine even mentioned adverse effects, and just one used a systematic protocol to track them. Five of those nine did report some adverse effects, and the researchers described them as mild and temporary.

So “no evidence of serious harm” is a fair summary, but it isn’t the same as “proven safe.” Mostly, it means adverse effects simply aren’t being tracked well, which the review’s own authors flag as a real gap, not a clean bill of health.

When does the risk of real harm go up?

The risk climbs around the same few gaps almost every time: skipping preparation, opening material that’s too heavy too soon, and having nobody there to pull you back if it goes sideways.

EMDRIA, the field’s professional association, is blunt about this. EMDR “should only be offered by properly trained and licensed mental health clinicians,” it states, adding that it does not condone “indiscriminate uses of EMDR therapy such as ‘do-it-yourself’ virtual therapy” (EMDRIA). A 2020 commentary in BJPsych Open goes further, citing EMDR’s founder, Francine Shapiro, on record warning that EMDR without adequate screening and preparation can be genuinely dangerous.

A trained clinician’s role is largely risk management. They check whether you’re stable enough to start, choose targets you can actually handle, and watch for you slipping out of your window of tolerance into dissociation instead of settling back down.

Does that make self-guided practice risky?

It depends entirely on what you point it at. That same BJPsych Open commentary found no published evidence that self-administered EMDR actually causes harm, but it also called the research too thin to be reassuring, and it didn’t soften Shapiro’s warning either.

The practical line: everyday stress and mild, recent upsets are a reasonable target for solo practice. Significant trauma generally is not, precisely because nobody is screening or pacing you. We walk through exactly where that line sits in is self-guided EMDR safe? and can you do EMDR on yourself?

How do you keep the odds in your favor?

Three habits do most of the safety work if you’re practicing on your own.

Stabilize before you process. Start with a calm-place or grounding exercise, not the hard thing. Our safety plan guide helps you build this in before you need it.

Go slow. Pick one small, everyday target, not a life chapter, and keep sessions short.

Know your stop conditions. If distress rises above a 7 out of 10 and won’t settle, stop and use grounding; consider working with a professional on that material.

EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, is built for exactly this lane: paced bilateral stimulation sessions for everyday stress and difficult emotions, practiced on your own time. Save heavier trauma work for a professional. You can try EmEase at app.emease.com.

When should you stop and get support?

Pause and reach out to a professional if distress keeps climbing instead of settling, if you feel foggy or disconnected from yourself, or if memories you didn’t choose keep surfacing. None of that means bilateral stimulation is off-limits to you. It means the heaviest material deserves a trained guide, while self-guided practice stays safest kept to the everyday.