Getting Started: Recommended Settings for Your EMDR Kit

The effectiveness of EMDR is largely attributed to taxing the client’s working memory while they focus on a traumatic memory. When the brain is busy processing bilateral stimulation (BLS), the traumatic memory becomes less vivid and less distressing.

As an EMDR professional, your goal is to find the "sweet spot": taxing the memory enough to facilitate desensitization, but not so much that the client loses contact with the memory.

1. Choosing the Right Speed

The speed is your primary tool for adjusting the cognitive load.

High Speed (Desensitization): During Phase 4, a faster speed is generally required to sufficiently tax the working memory. If a memory remains highly vivid, increasing the speed can help "blur" the image. For the first time, start on speed 20 for the EMDR Kit Wireless and and increase or decrease from there based on how your client responds. For the EMDR Kit Classic, set the speed so that the speed bar is around 75% full.
Lower Speed (Installation): In Phase 5, we shift from desensitization to installation. A slower, more rhythmic speed is often more effective for integrating positive cognitions.
Clinical Marker: If a client is "looping" or shows no change in SUDs, the task may not be taxing the working memory enough. Increase the speed.

2. Pulsator Intensity: Tactile Grounding and Working memory tax

Pulsator intensity serves two primary clinical functions: providing a physical anchor and increasing the cognitive load on the client’s working memory.

Working Memory Tax: Tactile stimulation acts as an additional "task" for the brain to process. When used alongside the LightTube, the rhythmic vibrations increase the total tax on the working memory. If a client finds it too easy to maintain a vivid, distressing image of the trauma despite visual tracking, slightly increasing the pulsator intensity can help "crowd out" the memory by occupying more of the brain's limited processing capacity.
Grounding: For clients prone to dissociation, a higher tactile intensity can provide a strong physical "anchor" to the present moment, helping them maintain the necessary "dual awareness" (keeping one foot in the present while revisiting the past).

Overload Check: If the intensity is too high, it can become a "startle" stimulus rather than a rhythmic one. This can break the flow of processing. Start at a Medium-Low setting; the vibration should be clearly felt and noticed by the brain, but never distracting or audible.

Tip: If a client is highly dissociative, a slightly higher intensity can help keep them grounded. Conversely, if a memory is particularly "stubborn" or vivid, use the pulsators at a firm but comfortable level to maximize the tax on the working memory.

3. Choosing a Light Color: Ownership and Cognitive Load

While there is no "correct" color for EMDR, the choice of light can be used as a deliberate clinical tool to improve rapport or increase the taxation on the working memory.

Client Ownership: Inviting a client to choose their preferred color is a simple way to give them a sense of control and "ownership" over the session. This can be especially helpful for clients who feel vulnerable or overwhelmed by the process. Also children like to choose their own color.
Contrast & Visibility: From a technical standpoint, the only requirement is that the color provides enough contrast against your office background for the eyes to track it easily.
Fixed Color (Standard): Most therapists stick to a single, fixed color (such as Green, Cyan, Blue, or White) to keep the focus entirely on the rhythmic movement without adding unpredictable visual changes.

Pro-Tip for Extra Taxation: If a memory is particularly resilient or vivid, you can switch the Light Tube to Random Color mode. Ask the client to call out the name of the color every time it changes while continuing to process the memory. This "dual-tasking" significantly increases the tax on the working memory, helping to further "blur" the traumatic image.

4. Sound & Volume

Adding auditory bilateral stimulation (BLS) creates a multi-modal experience. When the brain has to process sight, touch, and sound simultaneously, the working memory is more heavily taxed, which can accelerate the desensitization of particularly vivid or "stubborn" memories. With the Wireless you have some more options to adjust sound type or even use custom sound/music files. The Classic EMDR Kit only has one sound but you can increase, decrease the pitch.

Volume & Safety: Start with the volume at a low, comfortable level. It should be clearly audible to the client but must never drown out your voice. You need to be able to give instructions or "interweave" prompts without the client straining to hear you. Always ensure the volume is at a safe, non-startling level to maintain the therapeutic window.
The Baseline Tone: For most sessions, the standard "Ping" or "Click" is ideal. These are short, sharp sounds that provide a clear "left-right" marker for the brain to track.
Clinical Variety: If a client finds the standard click distracting or "clinical," you can switch to a softer tone. Some therapists prefer softer different sounds for installation (Phase 5) while sticking to the rhythmic "Click" for the heavy lifting of Phase 4.

5. Motion: Sweeping vs. Blinking

Our equipment offers different ways for the light to move.

Sweeping (Recommended): The light dot moves smoothly from left to right. This is the most natural motion for eye movement desensitization and is used in 95% of sessions.
Blinking: The entire tube (or the ends) flashes alternately. This is usually reserved for clients with visual impairments or those who find tracking a moving dot difficult.
Chaos: The light dot behaves in unpredictable patterns. Only use this when you are comfortable with using sweeping (or blinking). Chaos mode is used for extra taxation.
Starting Baseline: Always start with Sweeping at a comfortable width.