About EMDR Therapy
Manage current stress, process the past, and embrace future growth
EMDR unlocks your natural capacity to manage stress and heal trauma.
EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy is a specialist, comprehensive, and effective way of resolving any current issues caused by stressful or traumatic life experiences.
It works from the bottom-up, so instead of just thinking and talking – like traditional talk therapy – it works by linking your physical sensations to your beliefs, feelings, and memories. This is crucial because our minds and bodies are closely linked, and we often experience stress, anxiety and trauma physically.
EMDR helps unlock your natural capacity to resolve emotional distress, reducing the intensity of any disturbing thoughts, memories and feelings.
Research shows that EMDR is effective over shorter numbers of sessions than traditional talking therapy, with repeated studies showing how EMDR therapy helps people experience the same benefits that traditional therapy takes years to achieve.
The therapy is widely recognised as effective, including by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the NHS.
What to expect during EMDR therapy with me.
EMDR is very different to traditional talk therapy. It’s much more interactive and focused. EMDR’s all about resolving the root causes of what bothers us in the present. And when we do that, present symptoms tend to disappear.
EMDR is focused, but I apply it in a human way, guiding you through the process of understanding, processing, and healing from difficult and traumatic experiences.
Therapy involves getting to know you, your experiences, what you want to focus on, and creating a plan tailored to your needs.
I help you to learn coping skills, ensuring you feel safe and supported during the therapy process. And I address your questions or concerns about the approach.
We work together to identify the specific experiences that you’d like to process, along with any negative beliefs, emotions and physical sensations linked to them.
A major part of EMDR therapy is activating your brain’s natural ability to process information. To do this (and this is the slightly weird bit!) I ask you to focus on your experience while moving your eyes, tapping, or using sensory and auditory equipment.
These side-to-side movements are known as alternate bilateral stimulation (another example is the butterfly hug pictured above), and it’s thought that they activate the same processing which occurs naturally during REM sleep.
But EMDR is NOT hypnosis as you remain awake and aware throughout. There’s no need to be frightened. I guide you through the process, and you’re in control so can stop at any point.
I consistently review your progress, addressing any remaining distress, and continually working toward your healing and growth.
More detail on how EMDR works
These videos explain how EMDR:
Is an effective therapy for processing difficult experiences and emotions.
Helps you to process experiences while staying in the present.
Is a gentler way of working with traumatic experiences that doesn’t need you to describe them in detail.