EMDR and Spirituality: Finding Peace When the World is Hard

"We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world." Jack Gilbert

A lot of us are reeling right now. No matter your political or religious beliefs, I can confidently say we are all a bit scared. There's war, climate change, deep rifts between families over politics and values, and a lot of hate in the air.

How do we find peace in any of this?

That question sits at the heart of what I do. And after years of working with clients through EMDR, I've come to believe that the connection between EMDR and spirituality holds part of the answer. Not all of it. But part.

Honestly, I don't really know the full answer. That's the truth. I don't have a perfect answer for you. But I do know some things, deep in my bones, deep in my soul.

Here is what I know

There are powers at play that we don't fully understand. One of my favorite quotes comes from Sir Arthur Eddington, an astrophysicist: "Something unknown is doing, we don't know what." A science guy. Even he knew that something was at play we may never fully grasp.

Whatever you believe in, and truly, we all need to believe in something. I think most of us can agree there is some kind of higher power at work. If you don't believe in anything, you are still welcome here. You may just disagree with me on this one.

What Does Spirituality Have to Do With EMDR?

Nothing and everything.

Spirituality is not a formal part of the EMDR protocol. There's no rule that it needs to be included in treatment. But it is one of the first things I assess when I begin working with a new client. I always ask: "Do you believe in something?" If the answer is "I don't know," which happens often, we talk about it again and again.

Because as EMDR heals you, it wants you to believe in something. With every client, as they work to make meaning of the trauma and the hard stretches in their lives, EMDR points them toward something spiritual or magical. Your mind, your soul, will ask you to believe. Whatever that looks like for you.

Through my work, it has become clear that the clients who make the most progress tend to have some form of spiritual belief. God, nature, the universe, science, aliens, whatever. Having a sense that something is at play brings peace.

The research supports this:

"Spirituality in mental health is vital to self-perception, resilience, and coping. Studies show that spirituality can provide meaning and security, contributing to mental well-being. Spirituality can decrease depressive symptoms, and religiosity is associated with resilience, improved quality of life, and improvement in facing difficult life dynamics."

Alcantara, 2025, Journal of EMDR Practice and Research

How Can EMDR Help You Feel Better About the World?

This will look different for each of you, because we all wear different colored glasses, and that shapes how we see things.

But at minimum, EMDR can give you hope. And hope is different from expectation. When we expect things to be a certain way, we will be disappointed. But we can hope, and we can hope hard.

Looking at the arc of human history, going all the way back to the beginning, there has always been war, suffering, and people who wreak havoc on others. And then something amazing happens. People get angry. People demand change. People band together and build something new. Sometimes things need to burn to the ground before that happens, and people suffer in the process. But something new always begins. This has been cyclical throughout all of history.

You may be disappointed in people right now. But that is exactly where the hope lives. Because humans are built to believe in something good, something great, and we will move toward it eventually. It's only a matter of time.

I believe in each and every one of you. I couldn't do this work if I didn't. I believe that people can be kind and can help each other. I don't expect you to be kind. I just hope you will be. It comes down to each of us deciding what matters in our short lives. How are we going to make an impact? What is our purpose? My guess is that a higher power has something to say about that. Just a thought.

If you need immediate mental health support, please call or text 988.