Does EMDR Work If You Can't Remember the Trauma?
Enduring a traumatic event (or series of events) can often cause lapses in your memory. Your mind struggles to process what happened. In some cases, it could be trying to protect you from re-living the experience. Many people seeking trauma therapy find themselves asking a crucial question: “What if I can't remember what happened to me?”
This concern is particularly relevant for those considering eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, a well-established treatment for trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). The good news is that EMDR can be effective even when specific traumatic memories remain unclear or completely inaccessible.
Memory and Trauma
Traumatic experiences affect memory in a variety of ways. The brain's natural response to overwhelming events can fragment memories, storing them as emotional, sensory, or somatic impressions rather than coherent narratives. This means trauma can live in your body as anxiety, hypervigilance, physical symptoms, or emotional responses without clear accompanying memories of what caused them.
Some people experienced trauma at very young ages, before their brains were capable of forming explicit memories. Others may have dissociated during traumatic events, creating gaps in their recollection. Additionally, repeated trauma can blur together, making it difficult to distinguish specific incidents or timelines.
How EMDR Works Beyond Explicit Memory
EMDR doesn't require you to have perfect recall of traumatic events to be effective. The therapy works by helping your brain process disturbing material through bilateral stimulation—typically eye movements that mimic those during REM sleep. This process can address trauma stored in various forms:
Body memories and sensations: EMDR can target physical symptoms, unexplained pain, or somatic responses that stem from trauma, even when the original event isn't remembered. Your therapist might focus on present-day triggers or bodily sensations that seem connected to past experiences.
Emotional states and triggers: If certain situations, people, places, or environments consistently provoke intense emotional reactions that seem disproportionate to the current situation, EMDR can help process these responses regardless of whether you remember their origin.
Negative core beliefs: Trauma often instills deep-seated beliefs like "I'm not safe," "I'm powerless," or "I can't trust anyone." EMDR can address these limiting beliefs and their emotional charge without requiring detailed memory recall.
Working with Incomplete Memories
Skilled EMDR therapists understand that memory isn't always linear or complete. They can adapt their approach in several ways:
Float-back technique: This involves identifying current triggers or distressing feelings and allowing your mind to "float back" to earlier times when you felt similarly, potentially accessing related memories or experiences.
Resource installation: Before addressing trauma directly, therapists often strengthen your internal resources and coping mechanisms, making the process safer and more effective.
Recent memory protocol: Sometimes working with more recent, accessible memories that connect to older trauma can create healing effects that ripple backward to address earlier experiences.
What to Expect During EMDR Therapy
When working with unclear or missing memories, your EMDR therapist will likely take a careful, gradual approach. They'll help you build safety and stabilization skills first, then work with whatever material feels accessible. You might start by processing current-day triggers, anxieties, disturbing dreams, or body sensations.
EMDR won't force memories to surface. The therapy respects your brain's natural protective mechanisms. Sometimes memories become clearer during processing, but this isn't necessary for healing to occur.
Take-Home Message
You don't need a complete narrative of your trauma for EMDR therapy to help you heal. Your brain and body hold the imprint of difficult experiences regardless of whether your conscious mind remembers them clearly. EMDR can help process and integrate these experiences, reducing their impact on your daily life. To learn more, let’s get you set up with a free and confidential consultation.