I am a qualified EMDR therapist (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing). EMDR is a type of psychotherapy best known for treating trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but it's also helpful for a wide range of other issues, including anxiety, panic, phobias, depression, self-esteem, driving anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, sleep disorders, eating disorders, addictions, childhood trauma, sudden loss of a loved one, sexual or emotional abuse, an accident or violent crime.

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A trauma is any event that overwhelms the nervous system at the time of the event. This can be a significant trauma or it can be the more common types of experiences we often go through in childhood. What is traumatic for one person may not be for another because it depends how that person’s nervous system was able to cope with the event at that time and what resources they had at the time to help them recover from it.

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If you're involved in a difficult, distressing or traumatic event, you can feel overwhelmed by the experience. This overwhelm activates the fight-flight-freeze response and prevents the memory getting processed and stored properly as being in the past. Instead, the memory gets stuck because your brain doesn’t receive the message that the threat or danger is now over. All the stress that got activated at the time gets trapped in your body and you feel like you are still in danger today, and feel anxious and unsafe. You may hold negative beliefs about yourself or other people, and/or have strong emotional responses when recalling certain experiences. You may experience symptoms such as anxiety, anger, hypervigilance, depression, overwhelm, feeling numb or disconnected, nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts and so on.

 

EMDR helps you reprocess events so that these unpleasant thoughts, feelings and sensations fade away and the memory gets unstuck and stored away appropriately in your memory. EMDR focuses on changing the emotions, thoughts or behaviours that result from a distressing experience. The emotional charge is removed from the memory so you're no longer distressed or adversely impacted by it today. You’re able to get perspective on the incident and recognise that it is in the past, that it is over now and that you are safe now. You’re able to build and strengthen positive beliefs about yourself and other people.

 

EMDR therapy is a structured approach that takes place in eight phases. It’s important that we take the time to understand your present symptoms and identify relevant past experiences that may be contributing to them. We do not need to talk about these past experiences in great detail, we just need to identify the relevant experiences. You will develop the skills and resources you need to begin reprocessing the memories. These include grounding exercises, breathing exercises, visualisation exercises and relaxation exercises. Once we are ready and prepared, we will begin the desensitisation and reprocessing. ​I will guide you to bring the memory to mind and we will start reprocessing it using bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation helps the hippocampus reprocess the memory in the same way that it processes events of the day during REM sleep, where the eyes move rapidly from side to side. Bilateral stimulation helps you stay firmly and safely grounded in the present moment while you reprocess the memory from the past. This dual attention on both present and past helps you maintain emotional stability and focus, and means you are less likely to get caught up in the memory and retriggered. We will not start reprocessing and until you feel ready. You have complete control over the process and can stop at any time. 

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Please see some useful resources about trauma and EMDR below.

 

THE 8 PHASES OF EMDR

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Phase 1: History and treatment planning

During this phase, we will talk about what has brought you to therapy, your symptoms and how you're being affected, and what aspects of your history you feel may be impacting you today. We start building a trusting therapeutic relationship so that you feel safe and comfortable enough to start reprocessing past memories.

 

Phase 2: Preparation

During this phase, I will explain in more detail how traumatic memories get stuck in such a way that you continue to be affected by past experiences in your life today. I will explain how EMDR works and what to expect. I will teach you various techniques to help you manage any distress that may arise during treatment or between sessions. These include grounding exercises, breathing exercises, visualisation exercises and relaxation exercises. We will not begin reprocessing until we're both confident that you can regulate yourself and bring yourself back into a calm or neutral state.

 

Phase 3: Assessment

During this phase, we will select a specific memory to target along with any relevant aspects of the memory such as intrusive thoughts or images, negative or unwanted beliefs about yourself, emotions and body sensations.

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Phase 4: Desensitisation 

During this phase, I will help you focus on the negative thought, memory or image. At the same time, I will guide you through bilateral stimulation (BLS). This might involve side-to-side eye movements, tapping alternate sides of the body, hearing audio tones or holding buzzers in your hands. This dual attention helps you stay firmly grounded in the present while you reprocess the memory, making it less distressing or triggering. You will do BLS for approximately 30 seconds then I will then ask you for a brief summary of what you are noticing or experiencing. We will continue to do BLS followed by a brief account of what you're experiencing until the memory is reprocessed and you are no longer distressed or disturbed by it.  

 

Phase 5: Installation

During this phase, you will install a positive belief about yourself and the incident to replace the negative one you identified in phase 3. You will focus on this belief through sets of BLS until it is strong.

 

Phase 6: Body Scan

During this phase, I will ask you to bring the target memory to mind and scan your body to see if you feel any uncomfortable physical sensations. If you do, I will guide you through another few sets of BLS until you no longer feel any disturbance in your body.

 

Phase 7: Closure

During this phase, we close the session. We review your progress and I will suggest relaxation techniques and other coping strategies to help you maintain improvements between sessions. It's very common for processing to continue between sessions, so people often gain new perspectives, insights and positive cognitions.

 

Phase 8: Re-evaluation

This phase takes place at the start of the next session. I will ask you about the memories and feelings we addressed in the previous session. If these memories still cause you distress, we might continue targeting them. If not, we might move on to new targets.

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Links to infographics, handouts, websites and videos:

• Infographic about EMDR and Your Brain 

• Infographic about What is Trauma

• Infographic about How Trauma Impacts the Brain

• Handout about ​​​​Trauma and the Brain (pdf)

• Handout about EMDR Client Handout (pdf)

• School of Life video Short introduction to EMDR

• EMDRIA video Introduction to EMDR Therapy

• For more information please visit the EMDRIA website