If you’ve watched Inside Out 2, you might still be holding onto some of its most powerful moments. What struck me most is how beautifully the film mirrors what happens in our brains and how EMDR therapy works. However, at the risk of oversimplifying the brain’s complex processes, I’ll preface with a caveat:
While Inside Out 2 introduces new emotions like Anxiety, Embarrassment, and Envy as arriving in adolescence, we know from developmental research that complex emotions often emerge much earlier. For children who’ve experienced relational trauma, emotions like anxiety and shame may come online far before the teen years — sometimes as early as toddlerhood.
This has real implications in therapy. In EMDR, we often trace maladaptive beliefs like “I’m a burden” or “It was my fault” back to early childhood experiences, not just adolescent ones. Trauma accelerates emotional complexity — and for many clients, the “control center” inside isn’t shifting for the first time at age 13. It’s been adapting, sometimes defensively, since the earliest moments of life.
So while Inside Out 2 gives us a helpful metaphor, it’s important to remember that the emotional architecture of the brain is both more layered than the film suggests. Let’s continue.
For those unfamiliar, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that helps people process distressing memories and the unhelpful beliefs that get attached to them. Inside Out 2 gives us visual language for something that is often hard to describe: how emotional memories shape our core beliefs and sense of self — and how we can begin to shift that. In many ways, the film offers a metaphor for how EMDR helps the brain process both adaptive and maladaptive information.
Memories and Meaning
In the film, we see how memories are stored as glowing “orbs,” each colored by a particular emotion. We also see how those memories can change — anxiety can coexist with joy, and one memory can hold multiple truths. This beautifully illustrates how our brains are not fixed; they are fluid, meaning-making systems.
This aligns with the Adaptive Information Processing model (AIP) at the heart of EMDR. AIP suggests that our brains are naturally wired to process experiences and move toward healing — but sometimes, when something overwhelming or painful happens, that experience gets stuck. These stuck memories often carry emotional intensity, negative beliefs (like “I’m not safe” or “I’m not good enough”), and body sensations that feel just as real today as they did back then.
How Beliefs Develop
One of the most profound aspects of Inside Out 2 is watching the emergence of Riley’s Sense of Self — a structure that begins to form based on her experiences, emotions, and evolving beliefs. In EMDR, this is very much what we work with. Early painful experiences can give rise to what we call maladaptive beliefs — deeply held, often unconscious ideas about ourselves, others, and the world.
For example, someone who felt unheard as a child may carry the belief “My voice doesn’t matter.” Over time, this belief can shape behaviors, relationships, and emotional responses — even if the original experience is long forgotten. These beliefs are not character flaws; they’re the brain’s way of making sense of overwhelming experiences.
And just like in the movie, where Riley’s self-concept becomes more complex and flexible, EMDR offers a path to transform those stuck beliefs into adaptive ones — like “I matter” or “I am good enough, regardless.”
How Memory Processing Looks in EMDR
Clients often ask, “What exactly does EMDR do?” I sometimes describe it like this: imagine holding one of those memory orbs from the film — not to relive the pain, but to finally let it settle into the timeline of your life. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping) to help the brain access and reprocess these memories. We don’t ‘delete’ anything — instead, we update the memory with new, more empowering information. Essentially, healing is not erasure – it’s integration.
In this way, EMDR doesn’t erase the past; it changes how the past lives in you.
Inside Out 2 reminds us that healing doesn’t mean removing sadness, fear, or anger. It means making space for all parts of ourselves, including the tender ones — and updating our inner story with compassion, context, and truth.
If you’re considering EMDR, know this: you don’t have to carry painful experiences alone or live according to beliefs that no longer serve you. EMDR can support your brain’s natural ability to heal, helping you build a more integrated, adaptive, and resilient sense of self — just like Riley does in her own beautifully messy journey.
Until next time,
Zahra