Wired for Healing

A trauma-informed lens on what our brains are meant to do

As therapists, we often witness moments that feel like magic—when a client shifts, softens, or suddenly sees themselves through a more compassionate lens. Sometimes my clients even say it feels like magic.

One client comes to mind. She was processing a childhood memory of being hospitalized and separated from her parents. In the middle of an EMDR reprocessing session, she looked at me with wide eyes and a huge smile and said, “It’s like magic! Where were you when I was 8?”

We had started by targeting early separation anxiety—part of the foundation that was keeping her stuck in grief after the death of her husband of 40 years. For years, she couldn’t move forward. But now, something was shifting.

And yet… that shift wasn’t magic.
And I’m certainly no magician (I leave that to my magician friends!).

So if it’s not magic, what is it?

It’s the brain doing what it was always meant to do: heal.

But is healing truly wired into us? Is the idea that we “move toward wholeness” just hopeful language—or is it something we can trust?

The Science Behind Healing

Let’s start with what we know from biology: your body is designed to heal. Your nervous system constantly seeks balance—something we call homeostasis. When you get a cut, the bleeding stops, new tissue grows, the wound closes, and your immune system kicks in to protect and repair.

Smaller wounds heal quickly. Deeper wounds take longer—and may leave a lasting mark. But the body always tries to repair.

This drive to heal isn’t limited to physical wounds.

The brain works the same way. It naturally processes experiences and works to integrate experience. We sleep, we dream, we reflect. When trauma blocks that process, healing can feel out of reach—but the drive to heal is still there, waiting for the right support.

Trauma: When the System Gets Stuck

When someone experiences trauma—especially events that are overwhelming, chronic, or occurred in early development—the brain may not be able to fully process what happened. Instead of integrating the experience, it stores it in a “stuck” form, complete with the same body sensations, emotions, and beliefs that were present at the time of the event.

This is where EMDR therapy comes in.

EMDR and the Brain’s Drive to Heal

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which proposes something incredibly hopeful:

The brain has an innate ability to move toward mental health. Trauma simply blocks that process.

This isn’t just theory. We see a version of this natural processing every night during REM sleep, when the brain uses rapid eye movement and neural activity to integrate daily experiences and emotional material. EMDR replicates some of these mechanisms—specifically through bilateral stimulation (BLS)—to help the brain access and process unintegrated traumatic memories.

EMDR doesn’t force change. It removes the block so that change can happen.

That might sound like a subtle difference—but it’s everything. It’s the difference between “fixing” a client and supporting their system’s own wisdom. In EMDR therapy we trust the client’s brain has the power to heal.

Through structured reprocessing phases—Desensitization, Installation, and Body Scan—and the use of BLS, EMDR provides the framework that helps the nervous system “unstick” and re-engage in the healing process.

It’s not about fixing—it’s about facilitating what the brain already knows how to do.

What This Looks Like in Practice

In my EMDR training program, we talk about this idea a lot. We learn how EMDR provides a framework—through its 8-phase, 3-pronged model—to support the brain in reprocessing traumatic memories. Therapists discover how to:

• Recognize when the system is stuck

• Create safety and stabilization first (especially with complex trauma)

• Activate memory networks with care through foundational memories

• Stay present and attuned while the brain does the work

And the best part? You don’t have to force insight. EMDR allows adaptive information to emerge naturally—often in unexpected ways. Clients begin to say things like, “I don’t feel that way anymore,” or “I can finally see it differently.” They’re not trying to change their thoughts. Their nervous system has shifted.

We Are Wired for Connection Too

Healing isn’t just biological—it’s relational. Trauma disconnects us. Healing happens in safe connection—with a regulated therapist, with the present moment, with the self.

Healing isn’t just biological—it’s relational. Trauma disconnects us. Healing happens in safe connection—with a regulated therapist, with the present moment, and with the self.

The therapeutic relationship plays a vital role in creating the safety needed to revisit painful memories. It offers a space where emotions are welcomed, not avoided—and where clients feel supported enough to stay engaged, even when the work is hard.

As EMDR therapists, we hold space for clients to feel what needs to be felt and access what needs to be accessed. We support them as their nervous system moves through channels of association connected to a memory. We trust the process. The structure and repetition—like the rhythmic cadence of BLS—holds both the client and the therapist.

And in that space of safety, structure, and trust, we allow healing to unfold in a way that honors the system’s own intelligence.

Want to Learn More?

If you're a therapist who wants to support clients in doing this powerful work, EMDR training might be your next step. My 2-part training offers a clear, comprehensive path to learning EMDR—from the foundation of the AIP model, to practical tools you can begin using right away. And it doesn’t stop there—you’ll also be part of a community of trauma-informed clinicians who care deeply about doing good work.

Because yes—humans are wired to heal.
And when we trust that truth, we can do some beautiful work.