EMDR Therapy

I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and a member of EMDR UK, adhering to their Code of Conduct. EMDR is a powerful therapy which can help people recover from problems triggered by traumatic events in their lives.

Before proceeding, you will be given a thorough assessment and all options discussed. I may suggest EMDR as a focused treatment or part of a longer psychotherapy programme.

You will receive reassurance and support throughout your journey in a safe, supportive and non-judgemental environment.

Natural Process

EMDR itself is a natural process and can feel very empowering. It is not a form of hypnosis and you will remain in control throughout, and thus able to stop at any time.

You can read more about the process below.

Other Uses

In addition to treating PTSD as part of trauma counselling, EMDR can be used to treat the following:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Stress
• Phobias
• Sleep Problems

• Panic Attacks
• Complicated Grief
• Addictions
• Self-Esteem
• Performance Anxiety

The Effects of Trauma

Like our body, the mind can often heal naturally, with much of this natural coping mechanism occuring whilst we are asleep and linked to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.

During everyday life, our body routinely manages new experiences and information without us being aware. However, when a traumatic event occurs such as an assault or a car crash or when we are repeatedly subjected to distress as with child neglect or domestic abuse, our natural coping mechanism can become overloaded.

When overloaded, such disturbing experiences remain unprocessed and frozen in the brain. These unprocessed memories and feelings are stored in the limbic system of our brain in a raw and emotional form, rather than in a verbal story mode.

Traumatic memories are maintained in an isolated memory network associated with emotions and physical sensations, disconnected from the brain's cortex where we use language to store memories.

These memories can be triggered when you experience further trauma, but often the initial traumatic memory itself is long forgotten or buried and feelings of anxiety, panic, anger and despair are triggered in the present seemingly without reason.

What Can You Expect?

EMDR helps connect the brain's memory networks, enabling the unprocessed traumatic memory to be processed by using your body's natural healing ability.

Following assessment, you will be asked specific questions about the traumatic memory. At the same time, eye movements, like those that occur in REM sleep, will be recreated.

This may done by asking you to follow a therapist's finger moving backwards and forwards or a bar of moving lights or similar.

After each set of eye movements, you will be asked to report back on the experiences you had whilst moving them. Such experiences may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings.

With repeated sets of such eye movements, the traumatic memory tends to lose its painful intensity, such that it becomes a processed neutral memory of a past event.

My Approach

I offer both counselling and psychotherapy and can do one-to-one work or work with couples.

I am trained in Person-Centred Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) ^{Shapiro, 1987} therapy and have been a Registered Mental Nurse since 1984.

My experience is with all aspects of mental health with specialisms in trauma.

I have professional indemnity insurance and am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP Registered Member: 402271), EMDR UK (Membership No.: BO600) and registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council UK (89i2564e).

To read more about me and what I offer, please take a look at my about me page.