EMDR Therapy

There is a confusing range of possible types of therapy available .
All types of therapy are dependent on a relationship between therapist and client within which the client feels safe to open up and supported in their distress.

EMDR sits in a group of therapy types that addresses the roots of a client's present distress. It has the advantage of linking thoughts, emotions with bodily sensations where traumatic memory is stored.

• There is strong neuroscientific research evidence for the physical mechanisms underlying what happens to brain networks during EMDR.
• There is strong research evidence of its efficacy in the treatment of PTSD and weaker evidence for other conditions.

A client can expect a professional relationship within which confidentiality is respected.
Further expectations would be for a client to gain an awareness of a beneficial process that they are engaged in, and feel prepared for the closing down of the relationship.

When a human being is exposed to threat, networks of brain cells are activated so that person can act to protect themselves from harm .
This emergency response means that a human being will either overcome the threat or run away [fight or flight] , or freeze [ no visible response , so the threat goes away .]

If an emergency response was not possible in these ways or the threat did not go away ,  these networks are reactivated in the present each time there is a potential threat , direct or indirect [ e.g. watching threatening content on t.v. ] .This is why the trauma of the past is still experienced as if it is still happening now , causing distress.

A person may experience overwhelming reexperiencing of the trauma [flashbacks] , intrusive memories or negative beliefs about themselves , images and feelings or an absence of feeling .

An absence of feeling because of shut down causes distressing emotional numbness and lack of connection with self and others [Dissociation] . Overwhelming feelings can change abruptly and be experienced as mood swings or difficulty with emotional regulation . Intense feelings of fear, anger , anxiety and sadness are normal .

A common way to cope with this is to avoid potential threats [avoidance] , the result being that a person can become isolated . It is common for trauma to lie at the root of anxiety and depression and for the experience of mental illness to be a traumatising experience in itself.

A single over whelming event such as an accident or being a victim of crime.

Repeated trauma such as being bullied in the school playground.

The experience of trauma in the past goes some way to explaining why one person may struggle to cope with current potentially traumatic events , whereas another person may get through without being traumatised . The common reality for a person who seeks help is yet another event which tips the balance negatively in their ability to cope.

EMDR Help offers 1 Hour sessions at a mutually convenient time, both online and face to face, with evening sessions sometimes possible. There is increasing evidence that online video consultation is as effective as face to face consultation
Sessions are normally once a week although can be held twice a week if needed.

I do not charge for the first consultation so that you can make a decision whether you feel that I may be the right therapist to help you.

On average, a single trauma might take around 5 sessions and more complex trauma 10-12 sessions;

• Beginning ; By the end of two [single trauma] – four sessions [multiple trauma] you should feel that you have been able to open up enough to give me a picture of how you have come to be wanting to engage in therapy . Talking to me may give a feeling of relief in itself , but during these sessions you will also be learning some techniques to manage difficult feelings [ or absence of feeling . ] You will planning what you would like to change through therapy.
• Middle ; It normally takes a further session [single trauma] to three sessions [multiple trauma]  to prepare for reprocessing of the trauma by strengthening psychological resources further and identifying which traumatic memories need to be the target of treatment . Those targets will then be desensitised and reprocessed and adaptive perspectives on the memory installed.
  By the end of four sessions [ single trauma ] - ten sessions [ multiple trauma] , clients would expect to be feeling benefits from E.M.D.R. treatment , progress towards therapy goals would be evaluated , and further number of sessions agreed as necessary .
• Moving on ; The final two sessions are a preparation for the future, including the ending of therapy.

If E.M.D.R. is not suiting you, I would discuss a referral to other sources of help and support