How to Know If You’re Ready for EMDR Therapy: A Trauma Therapist’s Guide

If you've been considering trauma therapy, there's a good chance you've come across EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It's a powerful therapy approach that can help people reprocess painful memories, reduce emotional reactivity, and shift long-held beliefs rooted in trauma. But if you're wondering, “How do I know if I’m ready for EMDR?”—you’re not alone.

The truth is, EMDR isn’t just something you jump into. And that’s not a bad thing. As a trauma therapist trained in EMDR, I believe readiness is less about being “healed enough” and more about having the right support, resources, and capacity to safely begin the work.

This blog post will help you understand what readiness for EMDR looks like, why preparation is important, and how to know if it’s the right step for your healing journey.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

Before we talk about readiness, let’s briefly revisit what EMDR actually is.

EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps people process unresolved trauma and distressing experiences. Using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping), EMDR helps the brain reprocess stuck memories so they no longer hold the same emotional charge.

EMDR is used to treat:

• PTSD and complex trauma

• Childhood abuse or neglect

• Anxiety and panic attacks

• Grief and loss

• Phobias and fears

• Shame, guilt, or low self-worth

EMDR is effective—and it also asks you to revisit emotional pain. That’s why the foundation you build before processing is so important.

You Might Be Ready for EMDR If...

✅ You’ve built some emotional regulation skills

EMDR brings up memories and sensations that may feel intense. If you’ve done some work to notice and regulate your emotions—like grounding techniques, breathwork, or recognizing your window of tolerance—you’re likely in a good place to begin EMDR.

If you haven’t built those skills yet, don’t worry. A trauma-informed therapist can help you develop them before jumping into reprocessing. Having access to regulation strategies is part of the EMDR process. 

✅ You feel relatively stable 

Readiness doesn’t mean your life has to be perfect. But if you’re in constant crisis or struggling with major instability (like active addiction, unsafe living conditions, or overwhelming emotional distress), you may need more support before beginning EMDR.

Safety and stability come first. Once your nervous system feels a bit more resourced, EMDR can be more effective and less overwhelming.

✅ You trust your therapist and the process

EMDR can feel vulnerable, especially if you're used to protecting yourself emotionally. Feeling safe, seen, and supported by your therapist is one of the most important indicators of readiness.

It’s also okay to feel nervous! EMDR is different from talk therapy, and that can bring up uncertainty. But if you feel like your therapist honors your pacing and has explained the process clearly, that’s a good sign.

✅ You’re open to a new kind of therapy

EMDR isn’t about rehashing every detail of your trauma. In fact, you don’t even have to say everything out loud. Still, it’s a unique process—less conversation, more focus on body sensations, emotions, and images.

If you're open to trying something different—even if it feels a little out of your comfort zone—you’re likely ready to benefit from EMDR.

✅ You’re tired of feeling stuck and want to move through it

Many people come to EMDR after years of weekly therapy that helped them understand their trauma but didn’t necessarily shift it. If you’ve already done insight-oriented work and still feel like certain memories, patterns, or beliefs won’t budge, EMDR might be the next step.

Wanting to go deeper—even if it’s a little scary—is a strong sign of readiness.

Signs You Might Need a Little More Prep First

If some of the following resonate, that doesn’t mean EMDR isn’t for you—it just means some preparation will help ensure the process feels more supportive than destabilizing:

• You’re in early recovery from substance use and still building stability

• You’re in an unsafe or highly volatile relationship or living situation

• You have no current coping tools for overwhelming emotions

• You feel unsure if you can stay present in your body or emotions

• You haven’t had a consistent therapy relationship before

In these cases, a trauma-informed therapist can help you work toward readiness by:

• Building emotional regulation skills

• Establishing internal and external safety

• Learning about your nervous system responses

• Strengthening your connection to your body in safe, tolerable ways

This phase isn’t a delay—it’s an investment in making EMDR more effective and less distressing. Safety in the therapeutic relationship is a top priority. 

What to Expect in the Readiness Phase

Before EMDR reprocessing begins, there’s a preparation phase. This includes:

• History-taking and target planning (identifying memories or themes to work on)

• Creating a calm place (a mental resource you can return to)

• Learning regulation strategies (like grounding, breathwork, or containment)

• Exploring current stressors and developing strategies to manage them

This phase may take several sessions—and that’s okay. Rushing into trauma processing before you feel safe and supported can lead to shutdown, dissociation, or retraumatization.

Your therapist should always work at a pace that feels right for you.

Still Unsure If You’re Ready? That’s Okay.

Readiness isn’t about perfection. You can feel uncertain and still be ready. You can feel fear and still be ready. The key is whether you feel supported, resourced, and able to move through the process in a safe way.

If you're not sure, you don’t have to decide alone. A trauma-informed EMDR therapist will help you assess where you’re at and what you need to feel grounded and safe before reprocessing begins.

Some clients do EMDR in weekly sessions. Others prefer EMDR intensives—longer sessions or multi-day formats designed to help you go deeper without the limitations of weekly therapy. Whichever you choose, EMDR can be a powerful part of your healing journey.

Final Thoughts: EMDR Therapy with Brea Giancaterino in Denver, CO

You don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode. EMDR is a powerful tool, and like any trauma work, it requires care, preparation, and trust. If you’re asking yourself whether you’re ready—you’re already doing the self-reflection that’s part of that readiness.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to be open, supported, and willing to begin.

Interested in exploring EMDR or want to know if you’re ready? Reach out for a free consultation. 

I’d be honored to walk with you through this process—with care, clarity, and at your pace.

Learn more about the EMDR process, here. 

Learn more about EMDR intensives with Brea Giancaterino, here.