About EMDR Therapy
Process the Past. Stabilise the Present. Prepare for the Future.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy is an evidence-based treatment shown to be highly effective for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, phobias and related difficulties. It is approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is an NHS approved therapy.
It works by helping the brain process distressing experiences, so they no longer feel overwhelming or disruptive. Unlike traditional talk therapies that require extensive verbal processing of traumatic events, EMDR works at the level of memory storage itself. Through bilateral stimulation (guided eye movements, sounds, or tactile tapping) the brain’s natural information-processing system is activated, allowing stuck memories to be resolved.
Understanding How Healing Happens
EMDR supports the brain in integrating past experiences more effectively, helping people feel calmer, safer, and more resilient in their daily lives. The memory does not disappear, but it is resolved, losing its raw intensity and no longer causing the same emotional or physical disturbances. When something overwhelming or traumatic occurs, the brain’s natural processing system can be disrupted. Instead of being stored as a regular memory, the experience can remain unresolved, locked in the brain and body along with the original images, emotions, physical sensations, and negative beliefs from the event. As a result, certain triggers in the present can feel as if the past is happening all over again. EMDR therapy helps to resolve these memories and restore the brain’s natural ability to process and heal.
Sessions last for 50-60 minutes. £70 per session. I am a fully trained and supervised EMDR therapist accredited by the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists (NCIP).
What To Expect In The Sessions
EMDR is a stand alone medicalised model. Other professionals can train in EMDR such as social workers and nurses. My approach is relational so before we begin the process of EMDR I like to understand your story and what's bringing you to this therapy. This is so you feel fully supported and confident in our therapeutic relationship.
EMDR therapy uses a structured eight-phase approach that includes:
- Phase 1: History-taking
- Phase 2: Preparing the client
- Phase 3: Assessing the target memory
- Phases 4-7: Processing the memory to adaptive resolution
- Phase 8: Evaluating treatment results
Common conditions treated with EMDR include:
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Phobias
- Childhood trauma
- Grief and loss
- Bullying