EMDR Therapy
Manage stress, process experiences, & embrace future growth
“EMDR doesn’t erase what happened; it helps transform how the experience is held in your mind and body as though your body finally catches up with the truth: it’s safe now”
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a comprehensive and action-based psychotherapy designed to help you process distressing memories and experiences.
Rather than relying only on talking, EMDR helps you to connect physical sensations with beliefs, feelings, and memories, unlocking your natural capacity to heal and resolve emotional distress.
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy recognised internationally. It’s recommended by the NHS, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
What to expect during EMDR therapy with me.
EMDR’s a bit different from traditional talking therapy. We’ll still spend time talking and getting to know you, but it’s a more active and focused approach.
EMDR helps us gently resolve the root causes of what’s still affecting you. When those deeper experiences are processed, many people find their current symptoms (e.g. of anxiety, trauma or phobias) begin to ease.
A key part of EMDR is helping your brain do what comes naturally: process and heal from difficult experiences. To do this, I’ll guide you to briefly focus on certain thoughts, feelings, or memories while also engaging in gentle, rhythmic activities, such as moving your eyes from side to side, or tapping. It can feel a bit weird at first, but most people find it becomes comfortable quite quickly.
Throughout our work, I’ll regularly check in on how you’re feeling and what’s changing for you. I’m always guided by your pace, with a steady focus on helping you move forward in a way that feels right for you.
Common questions about EMDR
EMDR isn’t as common as other forms of therapy e.g. talk therapy, so clients usually have more questions about it. I try to answer some common ones here.
You can also read my blogs about EMDR.
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At the heart of EMDR therapy is the idea that present issues (e.g. anxiety or intrusive thoughts) are caused by unprocessed experiences. So EMDR is about helping the brain process memories, so they no longer cause emotional pain in the present.
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One thing I love about EMDR is that it’s an active and experiential type of therapy. That means it involves more than just talking. Talking isn’t always the same as processing, as it’s possible to stay ‘in your head’.
But because EMDR involves taking clear and structured steps, it offers real hope for healing and change.
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No, it’s much more than just a ‘trauma’ therapy. For example, if you feel anxious a lot of the time this normally comes from somewhere. It could be due to experiences that you’ve had and EMDR can help you to find and work through these. That’s why it’s also very helpful for low self-esteem which can also be rooted in some difficult experiences.
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EMDR can be used effectively to help with the following:
The impacts of trauma including PTSD & CPTSD
Impacts of other negative experiences and emotions
Phobias and future fears
Low self-esteem
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EMDR doesn’t have to involve just eye movements. Sometimes it involves physical tapping (where you tap your own body) or other sensory tools.
The thing these have in common is they involve side to side movements that activate your natural ability to process difficult experiences.
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I often work with clients who’ve experienced a sense of feeling uneasy in childhood, but they can’t necessarily pinpoint any specific event as such. So, they can’t see a link between the past and where they are today.
Rest assured, this is very common – I’ve worked with many clients who are not sure where things come from. I’ll work with you to find the best way forward.
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EMDR is a complete therapy, which involves some preparation and planning as well as processing. I have outlined below what you can expect from EMDR therapy with me.
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Clients often tell me that after a processing session they feel ‘weird’ – in a good way!
What happens with EMDR is that I have helped you to activate and process, the emotional charge that often sits around an old experience and – by doing that – reduced its emotional intensity.
Like a filing cabinet, we’ve helped your brain to reorganise itself and ‘file’ the experience in a way that feels less intense.