Can You Switch Targets During Self-Guided EMDR?

Can You Switch Targets During Self-Guided EMDR?

Short Answer

Yes. A different memory, thought, feeling, or related experience can come up while you are working with a target during self-guided EMDR. That does not always mean you need to deliberately switch targets. EMDR processing often brings up associations connected with the original target, and you can notice what appears while keeping the session anchored to the experience you started with. If a different memory becomes clearly more relevant, you can make a deliberate choice about whether to work with it now or save it for a later session.

Key Takeaways

• New memories, thoughts, emotions, and sensations can naturally come up while you are processing a target.
• Noticing a related memory is not necessarily the same as deliberately changing the target of the session.
• Staying with one clear starting target can help keep a self-guided session focused and easier to follow.
• If another memory becomes more important, you can note it and decide whether it belongs in the current session or a future one.

What Does It Mean to Switch Targets?

A target is the memory, experience, thought, feeling, or situation you have chosen as the starting point for EMDR processing. At the beginning of a session, you identify what you want to work on and bring the relevant parts of that experience to mind.

Switching targets means making a deliberate change from that starting point to a different experience that you now want to treat as the main focus. That is different from simply noticing another memory or thought that appears while processing is underway.

This distinction matters because EMDR is associative. One experience can connect with other images, beliefs, emotions, body sensations, or memories. Those connections can appear without requiring you to stop the process and formally choose a new target each time something different enters your awareness.

Why Do Other Memories Come Up?

Memories are not stored as completely isolated stories. An experience can be connected with other events through a similar emotion, belief, physical sensation, person, place, or theme. When you focus on one target, another experience with a similar connection can come to mind.

For example, you might begin with a recent interaction that left you feeling rejected and then remember an earlier experience that carried a similar feeling. Or you might start with one upsetting event and notice another memory involving the same belief about yourself.

In EMDR, these shifts are often part of the material that comes up during processing. The appearance of another memory does not automatically mean the first target was wrong or that the session needs to change direction.

A New Association Is Not Always a New Target

This is one of the most useful distinctions to understand in a self-guided session. Something new can come into awareness while the original target remains the anchor for the work.

You might notice a different image, a sentence in your mind, a body sensation, or another event from a different time in your life. You can notice it, allow the structured process to continue, and see what comes up next. You do not have to label every new association as a separate target.

EMDR terminology sometimes refers to these connections as channels of association. The practical point is simple. Processing can move through connected material while still being organized around the target you selected at the beginning.

When Might You Deliberately Change the Target?

Sometimes a different memory does more than briefly appear. It may become clear that another memory is more directly connected with what you want to work on. In that situation, changing the target can be a deliberate decision rather than an automatic reaction to every new thought.

For example, you may realize that the event you started with is closely tied to an earlier experience that carries more of the emotional weight. You may also recognize that you chose a target that was too broad and that one specific moment would give the session a clearer focus.

A deliberate change is easier to follow when you can clearly identify what the new target is and why you are choosing it. If you are unsure, you do not have to make the switch immediately. You can note the memory and return to it in another session.

Why Staying With One Target Can Be Helpful

A clear target gives a self-guided session structure. It gives you a starting point and makes it easier to notice how your thoughts, feelings, images, and physical reactions change as processing continues.

If you repeatedly move from one unrelated issue to another whenever something new appears, the session can become harder to follow. You may spend more time choosing what to work on than actually following the process connected with the target.

Staying anchored does not mean forcing yourself to think about exactly the same image throughout the entire session. Your attention can move naturally. The goal is simply to avoid repeatedly abandoning one target for another without a clear reason.

What If the New Memory Feels More Important?

You can acknowledge that shift without feeling that you have to resolve it immediately. One option is to make a brief note of the new memory so you can return to it later. This can be especially useful when you are already well into the current session or approaching your planned stopping point.

Another option is to use the new memory as the focus of a future session. That gives you the chance to begin with a clear target rather than changing direction late in the process.

If the new memory clearly becomes the central material you are already working with, you may decide to continue with what is coming up. The important part is that the shift makes sense within the process rather than becoming a series of rapid changes between unrelated experiences.

What If You Picked the Wrong Target?

Choosing a target does not mean you have made a permanent commitment to it. Sometimes you begin a session and realize that the memory is not the issue you actually wanted to address, or that another part of the experience is more specific and relevant.

You can adjust. The purpose of selecting a target is to create a useful starting point, not to trap you into continuing with something that no longer fits what you intended to work on.

It can help to distinguish between changing the target because you have gained clarity and changing it simply because the current material has become uncomfortable. A target can still be relevant even if some uncomfortable feelings come up while you are working with it.

What About Switching Between Related Memories?

Related memories can sometimes form a cluster around the same theme. They may involve the same belief, similar situations, or experiences that seem linked when you think about them.

You do not need to decide in advance that every memory in the cluster must be handled separately during the same session. Processing one target can bring related material into awareness, and sometimes the way you feel about related memories can shift as well.

For a self-guided session, a simple approach is to begin with one clearly identified target and allow related material to appear naturally. If another memory needs its own focused work, it can become the starting target for a later session.

How This Works in Self-Guided EMDR

In a self-guided format such as Virtual EMDR, structured instructions and prompts provide the framework. This makes it especially useful to begin with a clear target and avoid changing direction every time a new association appears.

You remain in control of what you work on. If a different memory comes up, you can notice it, continue with the current process, or save it for later. You do not need to chase every memory that appears in order for the session to be meaningful.

What If You Keep Wanting to Change Targets?

If you repeatedly feel pulled toward different targets, it can help to look for the connection between them. Several memories may share the same emotion, belief, situation, or recurring theme. Recognizing that connection can make it easier to choose one clear starting point.

You can also keep a short list of other targets that come to mind. Writing down a few words is often enough to remind you of them later without interrupting the current session to explore each one immediately.

You do not need to organize every memory into a perfect sequence. The goal is to give each session enough structure that you know what you are working on while still allowing the natural associations of EMDR processing to unfold.

Do You Have to Finish One Target Before Working on Another?

Not every target has to feel completely finished before you can ever work on something else. EMDR work can continue across sessions, and priorities can change as new connections become clearer.

At the same time, repeatedly leaving targets unfinished simply to move to whatever appears next can make self-guided work harder to organize. A useful approach is to notice where you are with the current target, complete the closing steps for the session, and then decide what you want to focus on next time.

This keeps the choice intentional. You can return to the original target, begin with the newer memory, or choose another relevant issue based on what now seems most useful to work on.

Conclusion

You can switch targets during self-guided EMDR, but you do not need to change targets every time another memory, thought, emotion, or sensation appears.

New associations are a normal part of EMDR processing. Often, you can notice what comes up while staying anchored to the target you chose at the beginning. If another memory becomes clearly more relevant, you can deliberately make it the focus or save it for a future session.

The aim is not to follow a rigid rule about never changing targets. It is to keep the process clear enough that you know what you are working on without turning every new association into a separate direction for the session.