Reprocessing: what ‘processing a memory’ actually means
Reprocessing is the “R” in EMDR: the shift a distressing memory goes through when the brain’s normal information-processing system, temporarily overwhelmed, finally finishes the job. The memory moves from a raw, easily-triggered state to one that feels resolved and connected to what you know now. Bilateral stimulation drives that shift; the facts of what happened don’t change.
What does ‘processing a memory’ actually mean?
Per EMDR’s own theory, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, your brain has a built-in system for digesting disturbing experiences: sorting out what’s useful, filing the rest, and moving on. A 2017 paper in Frontiers in Psychology by Hase and colleagues describes how, under enough distress, that system can get overwhelmed. The experience gets locked in “raw” form, still carrying its original images, body sensations, and beliefs, instead of settling into ordinary memory.
Reprocessing is what happens when a therapist helps that same memory finish the trip. Bilateral stimulation, eye movements, tones, or taps, runs while the memory is briefly held in mind, and the emotional charge attached to it eases.
Where does reprocessing happen in EMDR’s 8 phases?
According to EMDRIA, the EMDR International Association, phases four through six of the 8 phases of EMDR, desensitization, installation, and body scan, are collectively called the reprocessing phases. All three run on bilateral stimulation, aimed at one target memory at a time.
Desensitization is the first and best-known slice of that work: the phase where a memory’s disturbance rating drops. Reprocessing is the wider term for what all three phases do together: easing distress, strengthening a more helpful belief, and clearing leftover body tension.
Does reprocessing erase or change the memory?
Neither, exactly: the facts stay, and you’ll still remember what happened. What changes is how loud it feels. Per the American Psychological Association, the bilateral-stimulation component reduces a memory’s vividness and emotional intensity without deleting its content. See does EMDR erase memories for a fuller answer to that common worry.
Can you reprocess memories on your own?
Reprocessing a significant trauma is a therapist-guided process, built on careful preparation most people can’t safely arrange alone. What you can practice is the ingredient inside it: bilateral stimulation, used as a self-guided wellness technique for everyday stress rather than deep trauma work. EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, offers that guided practice at app.emease.com.
Frequently asked questions
What does reprocessing mean in EMDR?
Reprocessing is the shift a distressing memory makes from a raw, easily-triggered state to one that feels finished and connected to what you know now. It's driven by bilateral stimulation, and it's the work phases four through six of EMDR are built around, per EMDRIA.
Is reprocessing the same as desensitization?
No. Desensitization is one specific phase: the one where a memory's disturbance rating drops. Reprocessing is the broader term EMDRIA uses for the three phases built on bilateral stimulation, desensitization, installation, and body scan, working together on a single target memory.
Does reprocessing erase the memory?
No. You'll still remember what happened; reprocessing changes how intense it feels, not the facts. Research on the eye-movement component finds it reduces a memory's vividness and emotional charge, but the memory itself isn't deleted or rewritten.
What theory explains why reprocessing works?
EMDR's own framework, the Adaptive Information Processing model, holds that distressing experiences can get stored in a raw, unprocessed form when they overwhelm the brain's usual coping. Reprocessing, aided by bilateral stimulation, helps that stuck memory finish integrating with what you already know.
Can you reprocess a memory without a therapist?
Significant trauma is safest to reprocess with a trained professional, since it depends on careful preparation. Everyday stress is different: you can practice bilateral stimulation, the technique inside reprocessing, on your own, which is what EmEase, a self-guided EMDR app, is built around.
Sources
- Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model — EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)
- The Eight Phases of EMDR Therapy — EMDR International Association (2021)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy — American Psychological Association (2017)
- The AIP model of EMDR therapy and pathogenic memories — Frontiers in Psychology (Hase et al.) (2017)