Going through an episode of re-trauma is always a possibility, particularly where the range of triggers are deep. However, if the therapist is professionally trained you will be fine, your therapist is there to support you through your journey to recovery.

It's normal to start feeling worse before noticing feeling better, it doesn't mean that the treatment does not work. If you feel better after the session, that's good however, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting better either. If you have concerns, talk to your therapist, and they will be able to explain why you feel the way you feel and most importantly, what to expect.

If you don’t feel confident to start working on the issue, then your therapist will teach you coping skills first or use EMDR processing on the fear of the EMDR treatment. Then you will look at what you are going to work on followed by setting goals around what you would like to achieve. The processing stage is when you are asked to keep the stressing image in your mind and then memory taxing techniques are applied.

The most frequent sensations include being tired, a heavy head or buzzing sensation. Sometimes tension headaches can also be experienced. If you do experience these things, tell your therapist and they can help you. In between sessions, people usually report more of an effect 2 or 3 days after the session. This includes being emotional, potential new memories popping up, experience vivid dreams and nightmares. In some very severe cases you may experience tremors, weakness, and low moods. These sensations are due to the nature of the material that is processed in the session. In other words, the sensations come to the surface that have been hiding out of sight for years.