EMDR and Talk Therapy Together: What to Know

Yes, EMDR and talk therapy work well together, and combining them is common. Some therapists fold EMDR into ongoing talk therapy themselves. Others work concurrently with a separate EMDR-trained therapist, coordinating with your consent. Some people complete one, then start the other. The right model depends on your goals and your current therapist’s training.

Maybe you’ve been in talk therapy for a while, and it’s helping, but one memory or reaction still doesn’t budge no matter how much you talk about it. Or you’re starting EMDR, a structured therapy that pairs a distressing memory with bilateral stimulation like eye movements or taps (EMDRIA), and you don’t want to lose the talk therapist you already trust in the process. Either way, you don’t have to choose one and drop the other. Here’s how people actually use EMDR and talk therapy together, and how to bring it up with the therapist you already see.

What are the different ways to combine EMDR and talk therapy?

“Talk therapy” here means the broad category the American Psychological Association separates from structured approaches like CBT (APA). It includes psychodynamic work, rooted in how past experience shapes you now, person-centered counseling, and general supportive therapy. EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association and the field’s professional body, has specific guidance on combining EMDR with exactly this kind of ongoing therapy. It calls the two-therapist version concurrent care: seeing a separate EMDR-trained therapist alongside the talk therapist you already see (EMDRIA, 2025).

Concurrent care is one model, but not the only one. In practice, people combine EMDR and talk therapy three ways: one therapist trained in both, two separate therapists working concurrently, or a sequential approach where you finish one before starting the other. None is automatically better. Each fits a different situation.

Three ways to combine EMDR and talk therapy

Model	What it looks like	Tends to fit when
One therapist, integrated	Your talk therapist is also EMDR-trained and brings in bilateral stimulation when a specific memory comes up	You want a single relationship and one treatment plan, with nothing to coordinate
Concurrent, two therapists	A separate EMDR-trained therapist works alongside the talk therapist you already see, with your consent to share updates	Your current therapist isn’t EMDR-trained and you don’t want to leave them
Sequential	You complete a course of one approach, then start the other, in either order	Your goals are clear enough to tackle one at a time

EMDRIA’s own guidance is candid that concurrent care with two therapists isn’t automatically the right call. Not every situation divides neatly into two treatment tracks. Sometimes a single integrating therapist, or a sequential course instead of parallel ones, serves you better (EMDRIA, 2025).

Which model fits you?

One therapist, integrated, may fit better if:

• Your current therapist is already EMDR-trained, or open to getting trained
• You’d rather not repeat your history and goals to someone new
• Your day-to-day concerns and the memories underneath them feel closely tangled together
• You’d find it easier to process a memory with someone who already knows your full story

Concurrent, two therapists, may fit better if:

• You trust your current therapist and don’t want to leave them
• Your concern is specific enough to hand to a specialist without losing the bigger picture
• You and both therapists are genuinely willing to coordinate
• You want a specialist’s focused attention on one memory without pausing your broader ongoing work

Sequential may fit better if:

• EMDR itself tends to run more time-limited than talk therapy, since processing one memory can take just one or several sessions rather than months (EMDRIA), which makes finishing it as its own block realistic
• A provider has recommended a specific order, like stabilizing first
• You’d rather give each approach your full attention, one at a time
• Cost or scheduling make two ongoing therapy relationships hard to sustain (our EMDR cost guide has real numbers)

What can go wrong without coordination?

Combining approaches works best when the people involved actually talk to each other. EMDRIA is direct about this: therapists carry different training, theoretical orientations, and working styles, and that shapes how well concurrent care goes (EMDRIA, 2025). Without a shared plan, it’s possible to cover the same ground twice, or get subtly different guidance from each provider.

That’s not a reason to avoid concurrent care. It’s a reason to set up communication early. With your written consent, a release of information lets your two therapists confirm goals and flag anything that isn’t working. EMDRIA’s guidance recommends checking in periodically to review how things are going and adjust the plan if needed (EMDRIA, 2025).

One risk of skipping that coordination is emotional overlap: processing the same memory in detail with two different methods in a short window can leave you feeling flooded rather than helped. A shared treatment plan is exactly what catches that kind of overlap before it happens, which is the real value of the check-ins EMDRIA recommends.

How do you bring this up with your therapist?

You don’t need a script, but a few concrete steps make the conversation easier. Most therapists are used to this question and won’t be offended that you’re asking.

1. Name what isn’t resolving. Tell your therapist specifically what still feels raw: a memory, a reaction, a moment that talking it through hasn’t settled.
2. Ask about their training. Some talk therapists are already trained in EMDR and can add it directly. If not, ask whether they’d refer you to someone who is.
3. Ask how they’d coordinate. If you’ll see two therapists, ask how they’d communicate, and sign a release of information so they legally can.
4. Agree on a check-in rhythm. Even a brief update every few sessions keeps both providers working from the same plan.

What if you don’t have a talk therapist yet?

Plenty of people land here already mid-way through therapy. Just as many don’t have a talk therapist at all and are trying to figure out where to start. If that’s you, you don’t need one before you can start EMDR. Many people begin with EMDR alone, especially when one or two specific memories are the main concern, and add broader talk therapy later if other patterns surface. Our guide to finding an EMDR therapist walks through what to ask when you’re starting from scratch.

The reverse is also common. Start with talk therapy to build a working relationship and some stability, then bring in EMDR later, either with that same therapist or a referral. Neither order is required. What matters more is that whoever you start with is a licensed professional. If you add a second provider later, make sure the two of them know about each other.

Is EMDR and CBT together the same idea?

Similar logic, different specifics. CBT is one particular, structured therapy, not the broad “talk therapy” category this page covers. If CBT is what you’re actually weighing, our EMDR and CBT page covers that pairing directly, including how the two structure a session differently. What holds true here holds there too: you don’t have to pick a lane.

Can you use bilateral stimulation on your own, between sessions?

Regardless of which model you use, bilateral stimulation itself, the technique at the center of EMDR, is simple enough to practice alone for everyday stress between appointments. It isn’t a replacement for the processing work happening with a therapist, and it isn’t how deeper trauma memories get resolved. But for the tension that builds up between sessions, a mind that won’t quiet before a hard week, a moment that keeps replaying, it’s a genuine option.

EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, guides that practice with visual and audio bilateral stimulation. It’s a wellness practice inspired by EMDR therapy, not a substitute for either the talk therapy or the EMDR happening in your sessions. It’s also roughly 90% cheaper than traditional therapy, a difference in cost of access rather than outcome. That makes it a low-stakes way to keep practicing the technique on your own time. Our page on using a bilateral stimulation app between sessions goes deeper on how that fits around a therapy schedule you already have.

Does combining EMDR and talk therapy work better than either alone?

Here’s the honest answer: there isn’t much direct research testing the combination itself. What guides this page mostly comes from EMDRIA’s professional practice guidance, not head-to-head trials measuring “EMDR plus talk therapy” against either approach alone (EMDRIA, 2025). Each modality has its own separate evidence base; see our EMDR vs talk therapy comparison for what’s known about each individually.

What’s plausible, even without a trial proving the combination itself, is that the two work through different mechanisms. Talk therapy’s benefit leans heavily on the relationship itself: the alliance, empathy, and trust between you and your therapist. A 2015 review in World Psychiatry found these factors predict outcomes across nearly every therapy type. EMDR works more directly on a specific memory’s emotional charge. Its own theory holds that today’s reactions are often rooted in earlier, unprocessed experience, patterns that talk therapy alone can bring into view without fully settling. Pairing one approach that works on the relationship with one that works on the memory underneath it isn’t unreasonable, even without a trial that proves it.

The bottom line

Combining EMDR and talk therapy is a normal, well-supported choice, not a fringe one. Whether that means one therapist doing both, two therapists coordinating, or a sequence of one then the other depends on a few things. Your therapist’s training, your goals, and how much coordination you want to manage all play a part. Talk to your current therapist first, and ask directly what they’re trained in and what they’d recommend. If what’s coming up between sessions is everyday tension rather than the deeper work itself, a self-guided bilateral stimulation practice is a reasonable way to keep using the technique on your own time.