EMDR, like the surgeon's scalpel or the dentist's drill, opens and removes the problem, allowing counselees to heal on their own. Most people may not have painful memories to hinder their spiritual and psychological development. David Seamands addresses painful memories by practicing what he calls the healing of damaged emotions. In a careful fashion, Seamands enters into the counselee's past, primarily assisting the counselee into prayers of confession and petition for God's help with the painful memory. This kind of intervention allows counselees to view themselves, others, and the world differently.
Cognitive change accompanies the healing of the memory.
EMDR as used by an unbelieving therapist functions in a similar way without the religious practices of prayer and confession. I include prayer as part of the EMDR protocol, and I have repeatedly found my Christian counselees turning toward the Lord Jesus or discovering he is right there with them in the painful moment. Obviously EMDR, like many other modern psychological interventions, is not found in the Bible. Yet, the is biblical warrant for forgetting and that is what EMDR helps people to do. We can not fully look to the future while we cling to the past.