Desensitization: what it means (and doesn’t mean)

Desensitization means a reduced emotional or physical reaction to something that once caused a stronger one, usually built up through repeated exposure. In EMDR, it’s also the name of a specific treatment phase: bilateral stimulation applied to a memory until its distress rating drops close to zero. It doesn’t mean becoming numb or forgetting what happened.

What does desensitization mean, generally?

The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines desensitization as a reduced emotional, physiological, or behavioral response to a stimulus that once provoked a stronger one. It’s a broad term, covering fear responses, habituated reactions, and even allergy treatment.

What does desensitization mean in EMDR?

In EMDR, desensitization is phase four of the eight phases of treatment. Per EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association, a therapist runs sets of bilateral stimulation, eye movements, tones, or taps, while the client briefly holds a target memory in mind. Sets continue until the memory’s rating on the SUDS scale, a 0-to-10 distress measure, drops to zero or one.

The word sits right in the therapy’s name for a reason. Francine Shapiro’s original 1989 paper, published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, called the technique “eye movement desensitization.” She added “and reprocessing” only once later versions of the protocol built in cognitive and body-based elements too.

What doesn’t desensitization mean?

Two mix-ups are common. First, EMDR’s desensitization phase isn’t systematic desensitization, the behavior-therapy technique Joseph Wolpe developed in the 1950s by pairing gradual, imagined exposure with relaxation. EMDR’s phase shares the name and general goal, not the method. It uses bilateral stimulation and a memory held in mind, not relaxation paired with exposure.

Second, desensitizing a memory doesn’t mean numbing yourself to it. The APA Dictionary of Psychology uses the same word for an unwanted version of that effect too: reduced sensitivity to real suffering after heavy exposure to violence. EMDR’s desensitization phase is meant to lower a memory’s emotional charge while its facts and meaning stay intact. See does EMDR erase memories for more on that distinction. The goal is a memory that no longer hijacks your body, not one you can no longer recall.

Can you desensitize yourself to everyday stress?

To a point. Self-guided EMDR leans on the same core mechanism, bilateral stimulation held with a lighter, present-day target, to ease the charge around everyday stress, closer to reprocessing in miniature than to full trauma work. EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, offers this practice at app.emease.com. Older or heavier memories need a therapist’s judgment about pacing, which is why that deeper work stays outside what you’d do alone.