Difference IEMT & EMDR

Many people know EMDR as an effective treatment for trauma. IEMT, its innovative sister, goes several steps further. IEMT consists of 8 change modalities. EMDR is only 1 of them. Both methods use eye movements to process emotions, but the approach and focus differ significantly.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): focuses primarily on processing a specific, fixed traumatic situation. The image of the event is central and is recalled during the session to neutralize.

IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy): focuses on the feeling you are experiencing in the present and looks back at all the emotions, persons, patterns, thoughts, coping boundaries, self-image issues what is tied to this. We explore the question, “How did you learn to have this feeling?” and do so without the story.

1. No reliving required: if talking about the event is too painful, IEMT makes a less stressful method for many and therefore feels safer and more accessible to them.

2. Also works on identity, thoughts and relationships: in addition to neutralizing emotions, IEMT works powerfully on changing deep-seated elements related to the trauma that may have predated a particular traumatic event. For example, think about how you learned to deal with boundaries from your parents.

3. Wider application: IEMT is used not only for trauma and PTSD, but also highly effective for personality development and everything in between: anxiety, depression, identity, unconscious behavioral patterns, etc.

Whereas EMDR clears a specific event and its emotion, IEMT can also change the underlying structure and related issues of your emotional issues. You can read more about how a session is structured on the Session & Methods page.