Rupture and Repair in the EMDR Client/Clinician Relationship: Now Moments and Moments of Meeting

This article proposes that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) would be strengthened by being conceptualized as a two-person therapy; that is, a therapy that employs dialogue between clinician and client about the resonance, attunement, and intention of their relationship. Current research on the mirror neuron system provides a hypothetical neurological underpinning to this proposal. Detailed clinical examples illustrate rupture (Now Moments) and subsequent repair (Moments of Meeting) of the therapeutic relationship in the Eight Phases of EMDR. The high potential for relationship rupture during EMDR therapy is discussed. Suggestions are made for improving EMDR practice, training, and consultation by attending to the intersubjective experience between client and clinician, especially when working with clients who have experienced repeated and pervasive disappointments in love and work.