Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing therapy

I utilise Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as an evidence based and highly successful psychotherapy treatment. It will help you to process and recover from traumatic past experiences that are affecting your mental health and wellbeing in the present.

In my therapy practice I draw on EMDR to help you re-process the negative emotions, beliefs, images and body sensations associated with your traumatic memories that seem to be “stuck” or leave you feeling stuck in past sensations brought into the present. With EMDR therapy, I will be able to support you with a wide range of mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, addictions, behavioural difficulties, relationship issues.

With EMDR, the change in perspective comes from within and the transformative changes can be remarkable in how you will feel; from feelings of terror or shame to calmness and empowerment.

I encourage the EMDR approach where I feel it to be useful as it tackles such a wide range of presenting issues and has longevity in its positive outcomes as we also look at present and future triggers and offer therapy preventatively.

EMDR therapy allows you to not feel “stuck” in the emotions, thoughts or feelings of the past if present stimuli “triggers” them. By using bi-lateral stimulation such as eye movements, tapping or alternating sounds, the traumatic memories can be focused upon and then re-processed and stored adaptively away in your memory. The past painful memories then don’t impact the present as there is a reduction in the vividness and emotions associated with the trauma memories.

I am a member of BACP and abide by its Code of Ethics (2016). I attend regular supervision to ensure my counselling work is both effective and ethical. I also undergo training and development in various areas in order to hone my counselling skills

I use EMDR in my therapy practice as it is a way of kickstarting your natural healing and recovery process after your trauma. As your therapist I will be walking alongside you as you heal from the inside.

If you are contacting me for EMDR therapy, the first sessions will be the assessment and history taking to confirm EMDR’s suitability for yourself. We would also spend time ensuring you have appropriate containing and grounding resources to draw upon. We also discuss your expectations for the therapy, any possible limitations and the way the therapy may impact you before we start the different EMDR stages.

I would introduce you to basic theory of EMDR and you could explore any questions or concerns you may have. Again, our counselling relationship is essential for you to feel secure, heard, your needs met, and held in the therapy process. The early sessions are important for establishing that.

We would go through procedural aspects of EMDR such as how it involves using bi lateral movements like side to side eye movements, tapping or alternating sounds in each ear combined with talk therapy in a specific and structured format.

Sometimes clients only need around six sessions of EMDR therapy for it to make a dramatic difference, although some clients with more complex issues will require more.

So if you feel you’d like to bring clarity to your situation, change or accept your feelings about yourself and your life, or would just like to cope and feel more content, or be free of past intrusive memories contact me for a free initial consultation.

Costs for EMDR therapy are £60 for 50 minutes and £75 for 90 minutes at my therapy room in BS16 1JT.

Our first EMDR session