Working Memory Theory of EMDR

The working-memory theory proposes that bilateral stimulation contributes to EMDR outcomes by competing with the target memory for limited working-memory resources during recall, reducing the vividness and emotionality of the recalled image.

A large body of experimental work by Van den Hout, Engelhard and colleagues supports this account: taxing working memory during recall — whether by eye movements, tones, mental arithmetic or other dual tasks — reliably reduces memory vividness and emotionality, and effects scale with cognitive load.

The working-memory theory has direct practical implications: sets should be long and effortful enough to genuinely tax working memory, and speed and modality can be adjusted to maintain effortful attention. It also underpins the EMDR 2.0 approach, which explicitly layers additional dual tasks to intensify working-memory taxation.