This might be the eye-deal way to tackle old trauma.
New data from Zocdoc reveals that there has been an 80% increase in the number of US women booking appointments for a unique form of therapy hyped by A-listers.
“Love it. Saved my life,” Miley Cyrus told The New York Times in May.
EMDR, short for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is a type of psychotherapy designed to ease the emotional pain from past trauma.
During a session, the therapist instructs the patient to recall a painful memory while helping the brain to process it using “bilateral stimulation.”
This often involves following the therapist’s fingers as they move back and forth, mimicking the rapid eye movements that naturally occur during sleep — when the brain naturally processes events.
It can also include tactile cues, like small taps alternating between the left and right hands, or auditory stimuli, such as tones playing alternately in each ear.
The stimulation is thought to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories that were stored incorrectly, moving them to a more functional part of the brain so they no longer trigger intense emotional reactions.
The approach, which consists of eight steps, is relatively new compared with other forms of therapy, but dozens of clinical trials show that EMDR is effective and often delivers faster results than traditional techniques, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
One study found up to 90% of single-trauma patients no longer meet PTSD criteria after just three 90-minute EMDR sessions. Another showed 100% of single-trauma patients and 77% of multiple-trauma patients were PTSD-free after only six 50-minute sessions.
“I’ve never had stage fright again. Ever,” Cyrus told the Times.
She’s not the only celebrity finding relief with EMDR. On a recent episode of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” Mikayla Matthews turned to the therapy as part of her journey to heal from sexual abuse she endured as a child.
“EMDR is just more focused on bringing up the trauma layer by layer, and I’ve heard it’s great for sexual abuse,” she said before starting treatment.
Earlier this year, Valerie Bertinelli also praised EMDR, saying it helped her cope with a lifetime of “mental, emotional beatdowns.”
“Our bodies do hold trauma,” the Hot in Cleveland star, 65, said in an Instagram video. “EMDR and talk therapy has helped me immensely, and now I can walk through certain streets without being retraumatized.”
“I encourage you to get help if you need it and I want you to know, it gets better,” she added.
Other celebrities who credit EMDR with supporting their healing include Sandra Bullock, Lady Gaga and Jameela Jamil.
Experts say their openness has likely helped fuel the EMDR boom, which was described in Zocdoc’s third annual What Patients Want report.
“There was particularly strong interest among Millennial and Gen Z women — a pattern that aligns with broader rise in conversations around trauma‑informed care and well‑being,” Jess Aptman, Zocdoc’s chief communications officer, told The Post.
“When public figures speak openly about treatments that have helped them, it can destigmatize care, spark curiosity, broaden people’s awareness of what options exist, and empower them to take action,” she added.
While women are leading the charge, men are also using EMDR to process their pasts.
Prince Harry has shared that it helped him process memories surrounding his mother’s death, which he said was vital for supporting his own wellbeing and his marriage to Meghan Markle.
“One of the biggest lessons that I’ve ever learned in life is you’ve sometimes got to go back and to deal with really uncomfortable situations and be able to process it in order to be able to heal,” he said on an episode of “The Me You Can’t See” on Apple TV.
While a large body of evidence shows that EMDR is safe and effective, it isn’t for everyone. The therapy is designed specifically for people with trauma-related conditions.
If your mental health challenges stem from an injury, an inherited condition, or another physical issue affecting the brain, EMDR is unlikely to help, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
