EMDR vs. Hypnotherapy: What’s the Difference?
If you’ve been exploring options for trauma healing or nervous system regulation, you may have come across two popular modalities: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and hypnotherapy. Both are often seen as alternatives to traditional talk therapy—and both can bring relief where “just talking about it” hasn’t worked. But while they can look similar on the surface (they both involve nontraditional techniques and can feel a little mysterious at first), they’re actually quite different in how they work and what you can expect.
As a trauma therapist who specializes in EMDR, I often get asked, “Is this like hypnosis?” So let’s clear that up. This blog will walk you through the key differences between EMDR and hypnotherapy—how they work, what they’re best suited for, and how to choose the right fit for your healing journey.
What Is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trauma-focused psychotherapy developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s.
It’s best known for its use of bilateral stimulation (like eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones) to help the brain reprocess stuck or disturbing memories.
At its core, EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which says that psychological distress happens when experiences aren’t fully processed by the brain—usually due to overwhelming stress or trauma. These unprocessed memories get “stuck” in their raw, emotional form, often leading to symptoms like anxiety, flashbacks, shame, hypervigilance, or negative self-beliefs (like “I’m not safe” or “I’m not good enough”).
In EMDR therapy, we don’t just talk about these memories—we help your brain actually digest them. By stimulating both sides of the brain while revisiting key moments (with your permission and at your pace), EMDR helps shift the memory from a distressing emotional charge into a more resolved and integrated state. You’re not forgetting what happened—you’re healing how it lives in your body and nervous system.
Click here to learn more about EMDR!
What Is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, uses hypnosis as a tool to access a more focused, relaxed, and suggestible state of consciousness. While many people associate hypnosis with stage shows or losing control, therapeutic hypnosis is actually a collaborative and gentle state of inner attention. You’re not unconscious or out of control—you’re simply deeply relaxed and more open to insight or suggestion.
Hypnotherapists may guide you to imagine certain scenes, access inner resources, or connect with unconscious material. They may use positive suggestions or imagery to help you shift behaviors or beliefs, whether around anxiety, phobias, smoking cessation, or self-esteem.
Where EMDR is about reprocessing past experiences through bilateral stimulation, hypnotherapy is about reframing experiences or beliefs through guided relaxation and visualization. Both can help reduce distress—but they do so through very different mechanisms.
EMDR Is Not Hypnosis
Because EMDR involves focusing on internal experience and often includes deep emotional processing, some people assume it’s a form of hypnosis. It’s not.
Here’s why:
You remain fully alert and in control during EMDR. You’re not in a trance or altered state—you’re simply tracking your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations as they arise.
There’s no suggestion or scripting. The therapist doesn’t implant ideas or guide you toward specific outcomes. Your brain does the healing, and your system leads the way.
It’s grounded in neuroscience and memory research, with dozens of randomized controlled trials supporting its effectiveness for PTSD and related symptoms.
In other words: EMDR is less about “influencing the subconscious” and more about giving the brain the conditions it needs to resolve unfinished business.
How EMDR Works in Practice
If you're new to EMDR, here's what to expect:
Preparation & Safety First
We begin by building trust, identifying resourcing techniques, and making sure your system feels safe enough to approach deeper material. EMDR is titrated and gentle when done well—nothing is forced.Targeting Stuck Memories
We’ll identify core memories or emotional themes that are linked to current distress. These might be big “T” traumas or subtle, chronic emotional wounds from childhood.Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)
As you bring up aspects of the memory, we’ll add bilateral stimulation—this might look like tracking fingers with your eyes, holding buzzers, tapping, or using headphones with alternating tones.Processing & Integration
The BLS helps your brain shift the memory from a raw, emotional experience into a more integrated narrative. Clients often report “lightbulb moments,” emotional release, or a sense of relief and closure.
Why EMDR Is a Great Fit for Trauma, ADHD, and Chronic Anxiety
In my work, I specialize in helping adults who have:
Relational trauma and attachment wounds
ADHD, anxiety, or high-functioning overwhelm
A tendency to overthink or shut down emotionally
Difficulty feeling safe, settled, or self-compassionate
EMDR can help calm the nervous system, clear inner obstacles, and build a more stable sense of self. And because it works on both the emotional and somatic (body-based) level, it tends to go deeper than insight alone.
Where Hypnotherapy Shines
Hypnotherapy can be helpful for clients who:
Struggle with phobias, habits, or behaviors they want to shift
Need support regulating stress or sleep
Are seeking guided imagery work or inner child visualization
Are open to suggestion-based interventions for behavior change
It may not be ideal for clients with complex trauma unless the practitioner is trauma-trained and deeply attuned. Some clients may not feel comfortable entering that deeply relaxed state, especially if they associate “losing control” with danger.
That said, some trauma therapists do use hypnotherapy ethically and effectively—particularly when combined with parts work or somatic grounding.
Choosing the Right Fit for You
So, how do you know if EMDR or hypnotherapy is right for you?
Here are a few questions to consider:
Are you looking to process painful or unresolved experiences that still live in your body or emotions? → EMDR may be the better fit.
Do you want help changing habits, reframing beliefs, or building confidence through visualization or guided relaxation? → Hypnotherapy may be more aligned.
Do you want to stay fully conscious and in the driver’s seat throughout the healing process? → EMDR is designed for that.
Are you drawn to a body-based, neuroscience-informed approach to healing trauma or anxiety? → EMDR paired with Sensorimotor Psychotherapy or IFS is likely ideal.
Why I Use EMDR (and Why Clients Love It)
In my practice, EMDR is a cornerstone modality—often woven together with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to create a deeply attuned, individualized experience.
Many of my clients are sensitive, thoughtful, creative, and driven. They’ve done the journaling, the talk therapy, the reading—and they’re still stuck. EMDR helps them move through the blockages that insight alone couldn’t touch.
I also offer therapy intensives, which are extended sessions (90 mins or longer) that allow us to stay with what’s coming up and follow it through—without rushing the process. For folks with ADHD, trauma histories, or big internal shifts happening, intensives can be a game-changer.
Click here to learn more about therapy intensives!
Ready to Try EMDR?
If you’ve been wondering what’s really keeping you stuck—or why talk therapy hasn’t gotten to the root—EMDR may be worth exploring. It’s not about being hypnotized, reprogrammed, or “fixed.” It’s about giving your system the space and support to resolve what’s been unresolved.
I offer trauma-informed EMDR therapy in Washington, DC and Virginia, including therapy intensives for those who want to make meaningful progress without waiting months to feel it.
Let’s stop circling the same insight. Let’s move into transformation.
Looking for a therapist in Washington, D.C. who specializes in EMDR therapy for deep, body-based healing at your pace?
Take your first step towards clearing what’s been stuck and finding real relief.
(Washington, D.C. and Virginia residents only)
About the author
Margot Lamson, LICSW, is a licensed psychotherapist offering in-person and virtual therapy in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. She is trained in multiple trauma-focused approaches, including EMDR, IFS, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to support clients seeking meaningful and lasting healing. Margot also provides intensives, combining evidence-based and holistic techniques, to help clients achieve significant progress and feel better faster in a focused, supportive setting.
