How EMDR therapy supports addiction recovery

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured psychotherapy. It was developed to help people process memories that have become embedded in a way that continues to cause distress.

Under ordinary circumstances, the brain processes experiences during sleep, including during the rapid eye movement phase. However, some traumatic experiences are too intense to process.

EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain process what it couldn’t on its own. This most commonly involves side-to-side eye movements guided by a therapist, with tapping or auditory tones also used.

According to PTSD UK, brain scans show measurable changes after EMDR therapy, with the brain returning to more typical patterns of functioning. The rhythmic horizontal eye movements reduce activity in the brain’s fear circuits. Painful memories can then be processed and stored with less emotional intensity.

The aim is to reduce the emotional charge a memory carries, not to remove it. A memory that once felt unbearable can still be recalled, but without the same weight behind it.

EMDR at Castle Health is delivered as part of a wider addiction treatment programme. It works in tandem with our rehab therapies with all avenues explored for a full recovery.

At Castle Health, we do not look at EMDR as a trauma therapy that happens to work for those in addiction recovery. For many people, the addiction and the underlying experiences are the same problem, presenting in different ways.

Past trauma and co-occurring conditions like PTSD can drive substance use in ways that talking therapies alone may not be able to address. EMDR therapy works with those drivers directly.

According to EMDRIA, addiction-focused protocols are designed to reduce cravings and disrupt the associations that sustain substance use. This includes the fears that make change feel impossible.

Trauma-focused EMDR reduces the emotional weight of past experiences that have been fuelling use.

A 2025 commentary in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence looked at how addiction-focused EMDR works on the memories that trigger cravings. It draws on research into how the brain encodes and responds to cues linked to substance use.

While EMDRIA is an American association, the evidence base is international, though treatment protocols can vary.

EMDR therapy follows an eight-phase model.

The early phases focus on preparation. Your therapist will get to know your history, build a plan, and make sure you have the tools to manage what comes up. During this phase, you will work with your therapist to develop a mental safe place you can return to during sessions if things feel intense. That groundwork takes as long as it needs to.

The middle phases are where the processing work happens.

The final phases confirm that the memory has been processed and that you’re stable before the session ends.

When the processing work begins, you hold a specific memory in mind while following your therapist’s finger or another object with your eyes. The bilateral stimulation runs in short sets, and your therapist checks in after each one. You’re not asked to narrate the memory in detail.

You stay in the room, awake, with the pace entirely in your control, and you can pause the session at any point.

As the sets continue, the emotional intensity of the memory tends to reduce. New connections form, and the memory begins to feel more distant.

Your therapist won’t guide you towards a particular conclusion. The process works by letting the brain work through what it has been trying to process.

Sessions always end with stabilisation. Your therapist will make sure nothing is left open before you leave the room.

EMDR therapy is only delivered by qualified, certified therapists. At Castle Health, our EMDR therapists work alongside consultant psychiatrists, addiction counsellors and medical staff. What happens in EMDR is connected to every other part of your care.

Most providers that offer EMDR present it as a separate therapy running alongside treatment. At Castle Health, we build it into the programme.

EMDR works on the memories and triggers that underlie addiction. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) build the practical thinking and coping skills that go with them. Group therapy gives you the chance to practise those skills with other people. 12 Step facilitation offers a framework that continues long after the programme ends.

The work done in EMDR is reinforced and supported by the rest of the treatment programme. The memory processing is only one part of the picture. What you do with the insight it produces is the other part.

If you’d like to understand more about the full inpatient treatment programme at Castle Health, that page gives a clearer picture of how all of these elements fit together day to day.

EMDR therapy tends to suit people whose addiction is connected to difficult past experiences. This includes people with a formal diagnosis of PTSD or another dual diagnosis condition, but also people who have not been diagnosed and carry memories or periods of their life that still affect them now.

It’s not right for everyone. Some people do better with other types of therapy, or with EMDR coming later. For some people, particularly those who need a period of stabilisation first, other approaches will come before EMDR. That’s a clinical decision made based on your needs and individual history.

We build treatment plans around you specifically. The free screening is how we work out whether EMDR is right for you, and where it would come in your plan. This is just an initial conversation with a clinician, and you’re welcome to ask questions and take your time.

You can start that conversation by taking our free addiction screening, or by calling us directly.

EMDR therapy is available on the NHS for PTSD. Access varies by region and waiting times are often long. For addiction specifically, NHS provision of EMDR is limited. Most people accessing EMDR as part of an integrated addiction programme do so through private treatment providers like Castle Health.

It depends on your history and on what emerges in sessions. EMDR therapy does not run to a fixed number of sessions because the process is guided by how your brain responds. Your therapist will work at your pace and keep you informed as things develop. A thorough assessment before treatment begins is how we get the sequencing right.

In most cases, we do not begin EMDR processing work during the detox phase. Detox is physically demanding, and memory processing work requires a degree of stability to be done safely. Your treatment plan will sequence EMDR appropriately, and your clinical team will review readiness as you progress through the programme.

There is growing evidence for the use of EMDR in behavioural addictions including problem gambling. According to EMDRIA, addiction-focused EMDR can reduce the pull of addictive behaviour and disrupt the associations that sustain it, in both substance and behavioural addictions. We treat a range of addiction presentations at Castle Health. If your situation involves a behavioural addiction, speak to our clinical team about whether EMDR would be appropriate.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) works with thinking patterns and behaviours in the present. It is excellent for identifying the thoughts that lead to addictive behaviour and developing practical alternatives. EMDR therapy works with the memories and past experiences that may underlie those patterns. In many cases, they are most effective together. You can read more about how we use CBT at Castle Health and DBT alongside EMDR.

EMDR can bring up difficult material, and it’s common to feel emotionally drained afterwards. Some people also notice that difficult feelings or vivid dreams continue for a day or two after a session. This is the brain continuing to process, and it is a recognised part of how EMDR works. It doesn’t mean something has gone wrong.

Your therapist will not leave sessions unfinished, and you’ll always be stabilised before leaving the room. If anything comes up between sessions, your clinical team will be available so you’re not left to manage on your own.