The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett Most Replayed Moment: Can Eye Movements Heal Trauma? Bessel Van Der Kolk Explains EMDR Therapy!
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Sep 19, 2025 
Bessel van der Kolk, a renowned psychiatrist and author of The Body Keeps the Score, dives deep into the effects of trauma on the brain and body. He highlights how traditional methods of reliving trauma often fall short, introducing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a powerful alternative. Bessel explains the science behind EMDR, including its use of bilateral eye movements, and even guides a live demonstration with the host. This conversation reveals new pathways to healing that challenge conventional therapeutic approaches.
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Trauma Is Widespread And Complex
- Trauma is common and exists on a spectrum; many people in a room will viscerally know what trauma means.
- Brain imaging reveals patterns but cannot fully explain the brain's complex responses to trauma.
Trauma Triggers Primitive Brain Responses
- Trauma activates primitive brainstem circuits causing a persistent sense of danger and visceral fear.
- People may shut down bodily awareness to avoid constant fear, which reduces feeling alive.
Reliving Trauma Disables Perspective
- During trauma reliving, right-sided sensory-emotional brain regions hyperactivate while left prefrontal areas go offline.
- Loss of the dorsolateral prefrontal 'timekeeper' makes past trauma feel like it's happening now.