Can EMDR help with anxiety?
Written by the clinical team at The Lyceum Clinic. Clinically reviewed by Sanah Younis, Founder and Clinical Director, BABCP-accredited (no. 1000792). Published 28 October 2026. Last reviewed 28 October 2026.
Clinical perspective: The Lyceum's specialist therapist in EMDR.
Where does EMDR fit, and where is it over-sold?
It is brilliant for specific phobias (like a fear of dogs stemming from a bite) and performance blocks (like freezing during public speaking due to a past humiliation). However, it is vastly over-sold for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (free-floating worry) or primary OCD. If the difficulty is driven by an intolerance of future uncertainty or mental rituals, CBT with ERP is usually the more relevant focus. EMDR is directed at past trauma, while CBT can address the present maintenance cycle.
When is EMDR used alongside CBT?
I use CBT for the *present* maintenance cycle and EMDR for the *past* anchor. At this clinic, if a client has severe panic disorder, we use CBT and interoceptive exposure to break the panic cycle right now. But if we discover that the panic is rooted in a specific childhood medical trauma, we will deploy EMDR to neutralise that origin memory once the acute panic symptoms are stabilised.
For more detail, read about trauma-focused CBT.