The blog below was written by Allison Gaydos, LCSW, NBCCH, a New York virtual-only clinician at the Counseling Center Group.
Hello, my name is Allison Gaydos, and I am an EMDRIA-certified therapist and Brainspotting practitioner. When clients ask me what EMDR or brainspotting will be like, I often pause before answering. Not because I don’t know, but because the honest answer is: It depends! It depends on you, on the memory or issue we’re working with, on your nervous system, and on what your brain is ready to process that day. These are two of the most powerful modalities I use in my practice, and they are also two of the most difficult to describe in advance. This is because it is an individual process, unique to you based on your body, your experiences, and the way your nervous system has carried it.
I want to share what these sessions may look and feel like, both from my chair as a therapist and from my own experience as a client. My hope is that if you’re considering either modality, you walk into your first session with a little less uncertainty and a little more trust in the process.
What Is EMDR and Brainspotting?
According to the American Psychological Association, EMDR is a structured therapy process that “encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing…a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories.”
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Brainspotting both work with the body and brain’s deeper processing systems rather than relying primarily on talk and cognitive insight. They are often used to help clients process trauma, anxiety, grief, performance blocks, and stuck emotional patterns. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, typically eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones to support the brain in reprocessing stored material. Brainspotting uses fixed eye positions, or “brainspots,” to access and release material held in the body and subcortical brain.
Both modalities rest on the same underlying principle: the brain has an innate capacity to heal itself when given the right conditions. My role is to help create those conditions and walk alongside you through the process.
My Experience with EMDR as a Client
When I first sat in the client’s chair engaging in EMDR, especially in the first few sessions, the emotions and sensations were intense. They moved through me in waves, strong while they were occurring, and as they released, I felt significantly more peaceful and regulated immediately following the session.
During my initial sessions, so many new memories, thoughts, and insights flashed through my mind at a speed I had no idea it could reach. I processed the material more rapidly than I could articulate it, almost as if my brain were working faster than my language could follow.
It was powerful and an unbelievably quick experience for me. It was an intense but overall tolerable and fascinating experience where I gained a lot of insight and felt I released a lot of stuck emotion.
In the days between sessions, various thoughts and memories surfaced for me, which can be a common part of ongoing reprocessing. The brain sometimes continues integrating in the background once the work has begun.
My Experience with Brainspotting as a Client
Brainspotting was a different experience for me. During sessions, I often did not notice dramatic shifts in the moment. It frequently felt anticlimactic, especially compared to my EMDR experience. However, when I returned to the traumatic event a few days later, the distress had decreased significantly.
In subsequent similar situations where I would usually feel activated, I experienced much less activation. Despite not noticing much during many sessions, I continued to notice positive shifts in daily life within the first few days and thereafter.
Sometimes the cognitive mind does not need to understand how the work is happening while the deeper brain processes and heals.
Both modalities have produced meaningful change for me. Each modality moved material in its own way.
What Clients May Experience
What I see in clients varies widely, and that variation is part of the work. No two sessions look the same, and no two people process treatment in exactly the same way.
Some clients may be more cognitive processors. They may develop insights, gain new perspectives on past experiences, or come to understand a memory in a way that makes sense in their adult body.
Others may have a more somatic experience; they may notice emotions rising and releasing, sense the emotional charge dissipating, or feel tension leaving the shoulders, chest, back, or jaw. Many clients experience some combination of these experiences, and that combination may shift from session to session as memory reconsolidation continues.
Some clients may have larger, more cathartic sessions using either modality. Even though my personal Brainspotting experience was less intense and fewer cognitive insights were gained, this does not mean it is that way for others, and that did not make it any less valuable for me.
Brainspotting can, for some people, be just as intense and insightful as my EMDR experience described above.
Others may notice subtle shifts only days later. Some may not be certain anything occurred during a session and then realize, weeks later, that something they used to react strongly to no longer carries the same charge.
None of these experiences is right or wrong. The underlying theory is that the brain will go where it needs to go in order to heal.
My role is to guide that process, support you in staying within your window of tolerance, and provide intervention if you become stuck or if progress stalls.
EMDR and Brainspotting: How They May Feel Different
Brainspotting is less formal than EMDR.
There is more flexibility in how a session unfolds, and, in my experience, and for many of my clients, it tends to feel gentler than EMDR processing.
That does not mean it is less effective. It can be equally powerful.
Some clients may experience significant shifts in Brainspotting sessions, similar to what they might encounter in EMDR. Others may not be certain that anything changed at all, which is also a completely normal response.
What I Observe with Brainspotting
What I observe most often is that Brainspotting tends to have a lower immediate emotional intensity, and many clients find it easier to remain within their window of tolerance than with EMDR.
For clients who are highly sensitive, easily activated, or new to processing work, brainspotting may serve as a supportive entry point.
EMDR can move material quickly and powerfully, which can be deeply beneficial when the nervous system is resourced for it, and can sometimes be more challenging when it is not. That said, this kind of intensity does not occur for every client, and many experience meaningful change without significant insights or strong emotional waves arising during a session.
Part of my role is helping clients determine which approach best fits where they are in their healing process.
What to Expect Between Sessions
Processing does not always stop when the session ends.
Many clients may notice:
- thoughts
- memories
- dreams
- or emotions
surfacing in the days that follow.
Many do not think of anything we have worked on until the next session. My experience has been mixed; sometimes new developments and insights come up in between my own sessions, sometimes they do not. If new material does come up, usually this is just the brain’s way of continuing the work of integration.
Additionally, I never want to silence anyone between sessions. If journaling, talking with trusted friends, or sharing with loved ones supports your integration, I encourage you to do so.
For clients who may find that bringing up material between sessions is more activating without a therapist present to support regulation, I gently encourage waiting to bring things up until our next session. Week by week, we chip away at what is stored in the body at a pace the client’s system can sustain.
The goal is not to activate everything at once. The goal is steady, paced progress that respects the nervous system.
Final Thoughts
If you are considering EMDR or Brainspotting, the most important thing I can offer is this:
You do not have to understand how it works for it to work.
You do not have to perform a particular kind of experience, and it is okay if your experience varies greatly from others’ experiences; it just means your process is unique to you.
You do not necessarily have to cry, have a breakthrough, or arrive at the right insight to see meaningful change. You can simply show up, and your brain will do much of the rest.
My role is to hold the space, keep you within your window of tolerance, and assist when you are stuck or progress has stalled.
Some sessions may feel anticlimactic; some may feel like waves moving through you. Some may surprise you a week later when you realize something has shifted.
All of it is the work. All of it is part of healing.
Ready to Try EMDR or Brainspotting?
If you’re considering EMDR or Brainspotting, you don’t have to navigate the process alone. Whether you’re working through trauma, anxiety, grief, difficult life experiences, or patterns that feel difficult to move beyond, these therapies can help your brain and body process what has been carrying too much weight for too long.
At Counseling Center Group, our clinicians are extensively trained in evidence-based trauma treatments, including EMDR and Brainspotting. We take the time to understand your unique experiences, goals, and nervous system, helping you find an approach that feels both effective and sustainable. Schedule a free consultation today to learn whether EMDR, Brainspotting, or another evidence-based treatment may be the right fit for your healing journey.
Counseling Center Group provides expert, personalized care designed to help people move beyond surviving and build lives they genuinely love.
