Rewiring Trauma – EMDR at the Intersection of Psychology and Neuropsychology
- Brainz Magazine
- Oct 31
- 5 min read
Viviana Meloni is the Director of Inside Out multilingual Psychological Therapy, a private principal psychologist, HCPC registered, chartered member of the British Psychological Society, EMDR UK member, with recognition for her clinical leadership, and author of specialist trainings in trauma, emotional dysregulation, and personality disorders. She also holds a Leader Senior Psychologist role in the National Health Service in United Kingdom at SLaM, a globally recognized leader in mental health research. Moreover, she is reviewing institutional partnerships in the United Arab Emirates.
Imagine waking in the middle of the night, heart racing, your body tense, as a memory you thought was long buried floods your mind. A car backfiring, a sudden scream, a gesture that mirrors a moment you wish you could erase suddenly, the past feels as real as the present. The heart pounds. The body freezes. A single sound, a slammed door, hurls you back into a moment you thought was behind you.
Trauma is a thief of the present. It hijacks the brain, bypassing reason and embedding itself in the neural circuits of fear. The amygdala, hyperactive and vigilant, shouts danger. The hippocampus, overwhelmed, cannot place memories in time. The prefrontal cortex, usually the voice of reason, is drowned out by emotional chaos. Every step, every thought, feels shadowed by the past.
For millions of trauma survivors, this is daily life, memories trapped in the brain, triggering fear and panic even years after the event.
The neuropsychology of trauma: When the brain can’t let go
Trauma is not only remembered, it is relived. Neuroscience has revealed that traumatic experiences alter how the brain processes emotions, memories, and threat signals, leaving psychological traces that can persist for years. At the heart of trauma’s impact lies the amygdala, the brain’s fear center. When danger occurs, this small structure activates instantly, triggering survival responses. After trauma, the amygdala can become hypersensitive, interpreting neutral cues as threats and keeping the body in a state of constant alert. This explains why trauma survivors often experience hypervigilance or sudden panic in seemingly safe situations.
In contrast, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the region responsible for rational thinking, self-control, and emotional regulation, tends to underperform. Its weakened ability to “quiet” the amygdala means emotional reactions dominate over reasoning, contributing to impulsivity, flashbacks, and difficulty distinguishing past danger from present safety.
The hippocampus, crucial for organizing memories in time and context, also shows reduced volume and activity in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This may explain why traumatic memories are often fragmented or feel as if they are happening in the present. Rather than being stored as a coherent story, the trauma is encoded as vivid sensations or emotions. Other regions, like the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, involved in self-awareness and emotion integration, also exhibit disrupted activity. Such changes can produce emotional numbing, dissociation, or difficulties in feeling connected to one’s body.
Although stress hormones such as cortisol influence these processes, the central story is neuropsychological, trauma reshapes the brain’s regulatory networks. Recovery, therefore, involves more than remembering, it requires retraining neural circuits to re-establish safety and control.
EMDR and the echo of the past
This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) enter. EMDR does not demand that survivors simply recount their pain. Instead, it engages the brain’s remarkable ability to rewire itself. Through bilateral stimulation, eye movements, taps, or auditory cues, EMDR facilitates integration of traumatic memories into the broader neural network, reducing their emotional charge while preserving memory. Fear becomes context, distress becomes manageable, and memories that once paralyzed become experiences that inform rather than dominate.
The body tells its own story. Trauma tightens muscles, accelerates the heartbeat, disturbs sleep, and keeps the nervous system in a state of hypervigilance. EMDR leverages neuroplasticity to guide the nervous system toward recalibrated safety. The tension eases, breathing slows, and the physiological echoes of fear are softened. Mind and body begin to speak the same language again, a language of balance and regulation rather than panic and avoidance.
At the psychological level, trauma engrains beliefs, “I am powerless,” “I am unsafe,” “I am not enough.” EMDR works subtly, restructuring these narratives. Survivors find that intrusive thoughts no longer dominate their consciousness. Emotional reactions that once felt uncontrollable are tempered. A sense of agency emerges, empowering individuals to reclaim their story. Trauma is not a life sentence, the mind can heal when neural pathways are guided toward integration.
Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity, in the context of EMDR, is the key to transformation. Trauma imprints patterns of fear, but these patterns are not permanent. The therapy helps the brain to reorganize, replacing circuits that amplify fear with networks that support emotional regulation, resilience, and cognitive clarity. Each session taps into the brain’s innate adaptability, demonstrating that healing is not only psychological, it is biological. Memories remain, but their power to immobilize diminishes. Fear becomes manageable, and the mind regains control.
Ultimately, EMDR illuminates the profound capacity of the human brain and mind to heal. Even the deepest wounds, etched into neurons, carried in muscle memory, and whispered by fear, can be rewired, integrated, and transformed. Survivors learn not only to survive, but to thrive, reclaiming their emotional balance, mental clarity, and the agency to live fully in the present. In the interplay of psychology and neuroplasticity, EMDR is more than therapy, it is a testament to human resilience, a scientifically grounded path to reclaiming life from the shadows of trauma.
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Viviana Meloni, Private Chartered Principal Psychologist
Viviana Meloni is the founder and the clinical Director of Inside Out Multilingual Psychological Therapy, a London-based private psychology consultancy across popular locations including Kensington, Wimbledon, Chiswick, West Hampstead, and Canary Wharf. Viviana Meloni provides psychological consultations, assessments, formulations, and treatment in English, Italian, Spanish, and her company’s extensive network enables multilingual collaborations and liaison with Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi, and Russian languages. She firmly believes that in every challenge lies an opportunity to grow, heal, and inspire.
References:
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Shin, L. M., & Liberzon, I. (2010). The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(1), 169–191. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.83
Hayes, J. P., Vanelzakker, M. B., & Shin, L. M. (2012). Emotion and cognition interactions in PTSD: A review of neurocognitive and neuroimaging studies. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 6, 89. doi:10.3389/fnint.2012.00089
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy. Guilford Press.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score. Penguin.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.).
Levin, P., et al. (1999). Neurobiological mechanisms in EMDR: Implications for therapy. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 12(2), 133–145.l dominance and subordination (2023). Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, n=267.
