Can You Have a Bad Experience from EMDR?

I’ve been discussing the possibility of starting EMDR with a current client for a few weeks now, and she asked the question that I’ve gotten many times before. “Can you have a bad experience from doing EMDR? I saw on reddit that some people’s symptoms get worse.”

Fair question. I’d want to know too before jumping in! If you’ve asked this question yourself, or if you’re an EMDR therapist who isn’t sure how to answer this question with clients, here’s my answer. I hope it helps.

The short answer? Yes. But there are a few very different reasons why.

1. Physical Therapy

The first reason is the most common and the most normal. These are temporarily increased negative symptoms that are experienced because you are intentionally paying attention to traumatic wounds. That hurts. But it’s like going to physical therapy after having surgery for a broken leg. You have to go through some temporary pain in order to heal the injury. It’s temporary, manageable, and purposeful. A well-trained EMDR therapist is prepared for these types of negative symptoms and will support you through it.

Sometimes, these symptoms are very brief, not even lasting for a few minutes. Other times, they stick for a little while after sessions. You might need to adjust to the new process of therapy for a little while, and that can feel sore, just like exercising new muscles. Have any of my clients had these types of negative symptoms? Yes, many times. And we have always worked through them.

2. Complications

The second reason is a little less common, but still manageable, and a part of the EMDR process that therapists are trained to expect. These negative symptoms come from complications. Just like when there are unexpected complications in a surgery, unexpected complications come up in EMDR sometimes. Before you start the bilateral stimulation and desensitization part of EMDR (the part that everyone thinks about when you hear “EMDR”), there is a lot of prep work. During those early phases, you and your therapist will talk through your treatment goals, previous therapy experiences, mental health history, trauma history, medications, medical history, family history, cultural background, social history, substance use, coping skills, all that kind of stuff. You’ll also work on some different skills to help prepare you for the EMDR process, and you may identify the specific memories and experiences you want to address through EMDR.

During all of that, your therapist is also assessing what potential complications could arise, doing their best to proactively keep you safe and ensure that you're as ready as possible to start desensitization. And yet, sometimes an unexpected wrench gets thrown in the mix. Humans and their brains are complex. We are not robots, spreadsheets, or formulas. Even the most seasoned EMDR therapist gets surprised sometimes. And that’s okay. A good EMDR therapist will help you stabilize, regulate, pivot, and get back on track, even if that takes a little bit of time. These negative symptoms might feel like they’re setting you back a little bit, and that might objectively be true. But the reality is that they are generally out of everyone’s control, and it’s just a harder part of the journey.

The more severe end of this spectrum would be someone who hits enough complications that it’s decided that EMDR isn’t a good fit for them. I think a responsible EMDR therapist would be able to assess this with the client and help them make that decision. Have I had clients experience complications? Yes, I have. We have worked through them. Sometimes, it was as simple as pivoting during a single session. Other times, we had to shift or add protocols, introduce new targets, and extend the overall EMDR process. Still other times, it involved pausing EMDR for a while to reassess. Transparency, collaboration, and mutual respect with my clients has always allowed these situations to be manageable and a normal part of the EMDR process.

3. No Anesthesia

The third reason is the worst, but thankfully by far the least common. These negative symptoms are caused by something like a Day 1 med school student deciding to do a unassisted brain surgery without anesthesia. Essentially… this is when a client has a bad experience that is truly a bad experience. And that is because they, unfortunately, were exposed to EMDR by a therapist who had no business performing EMDR in the first place. Perhaps they weren’t properly trained, or they didn’t assess the client well and just jumped in recklessly, or there was some other clinical negligence or unethical behavior happening. Whatever the reason, it likely wasn’t coming just from appropriately administered EMDR therapy.

The worst experiences people tend to have if EMDR just isn’t the right modality for them is that they don’t experience much benefit. Having truly negative, increasingly bad symptoms of mental illness as a result of EMDR therapy is likely due to something gone very wrong. Have I ever had this happen? Nope.

There are plenty of modalities out there that you can learn and administer well from doing your own research. I strongly believe that EMDR is not one of them. It is a complex, structured, 8 phase treatment protocol that is an evidence-based practice for the treatment of PTSD, and is well-researched for the treatment of many other conditions. It shouldn’t be that easy to learn, honestly. If you’re a therapy seeker, just know that you are allowed to ask your therapist about their training (in EMDR or anything else!). If they say they were trained in EMDR with a 4 hour online class, run far, far away. A little vetting at the beginning can help you avoid the vast majority of bad experiences.

If you’re thinking about EMDR, I hope that answers your question about whether clients can have a bad experience. Interested in working with me? I only offer EMDR Intensives currently, which are 1, 2, or 3 days of 4-hour sessions. I can work with clients in Colorado, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Florida, both virtually and in-person through travel retreat weekends. Check out the Details and Pricing page for more info! 

Thanks for reading! Laura