Embodied EMDR: An enactive and dynamic systems perspective on therapeutic reprocessing

This article proposes a conceptual expansion of therapeutic change in EMDR therapy through the integration of enactive cognition, phenomenology of the body, and dynamic systems theory.

Resource Abstract

“Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has experienced substantial growth in recent decades, both in the number of trained clinicians and in its application to trauma treatment. Clinical observations, however, suggest that changes during reprocessing extend beyond the modification of traumatic memory content, involving shifts in physiological regulation, embodied experience, and the individual’s relationship with their environment. These observations raise questions about the adequacy of the prevailing conceptual language, which remains largely grounded in information-processing models. This article proposes a conceptual expansion of therapeutic change in EMDR through the integration of enactive cognition, phenomenology of the body, and dynamic systems theory. From this perspective, traumatic experiences may be understood not only as dysfunctionally stored memories but also as relatively stable patterns in the organization of experience shaped through the history of organism–environment interactions. Therapeutic reprocessing is thus conceptualized as a process of destabilization and reorganization of these patterns. This framework aims to enrich current understandings of therapeutic change in EMDR by introducing a language that integrates bodily, affective, and relational dimensions of experience while fostering dialogue between clinical practice and contemporary developments in cognitive science.”

—Description from publisher

Resource Access

Open Access

Chamorro Gomez, M. (2026). Embodied EMDR: An enactive and dynamic systems perspective on therapeutic reprocessing. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 20, Article 46. https://doi.org/10.34133/jemdr.0046