EMDR for Trauma, PTSD and complex PTSD
EMDR – Eye Movement and Desensitisation Reprocessing – whilst counselling and psychotherapy provide us with insight into our problems, be it anxiety, depression, self-esteem, stress, etc, EMDR is a treatment which provides profound change. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, is a therapy which works at a deep level, profoundly changing the way we see things. With EMDR we are often not aware that something has changed , or we have changed, but we know that we feel different and react differently when something upsets us.
EMDR is informed by recent research in the way the mind and body work to alleviate symptoms of traumatic experience and works in the same way that our cells and body help us heal from cuts and broken bones. EMDR provides much more than insight - it changes us. Sometimes this is done by finding the original episode where the symptoms started and sometimes by healing early relationships, we can help to create new understandings which then leads to symptom alleviation.
EMDR is based on a clear and grounded understanding of how the brain and the body experience and process trauma and distress, EMDR is one of the most successful, effective and intensively-researched ways we know of tackling the aftermath of trauma. Please explore the hundreds of articles and websites dedicated to this, including:
I invite you to come in and experience, even in one session, the powerful and profound effects of EMDR.
EMDR is the NICE recommended treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. However, PTSD is not just about big traumatic incidents but also about the little hurts that we all experience, at time, growing up - from parents, teachers, peers. These 'little' hurts have loooong roots and can effect us even today when we are triggered by recent events, such as a relationship break-up.
More information about EMDR
In our first appointment, I may ask you if either of your parents frightening or frightened? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, you will certainly have
experienced childhood 'hurts' or 'attachment trauma' - what we call Ruptures. New research on the brain (see Alan Shore on brain development and trauma) shows the connection between attachment and brain development. EMDR can help us to have the repairs that we needed.
If we have had parents who are frightening or frightened, our whole nervous system will be on alert. This hyper vigilance may cause problems in the present. A number common symptoms have been found to be caused by childhood 'hurts' - ruptures, attachment injuries which show up in brain scans include:
- anxiety
- depression
- anger
- OCD
- eating disorders
- addictions
- some body-centred illnesses such as Chronic Fatigue, etc
Recent brain research shows that if we experience an event as traumatic, the experience becomes 'frozen' in the part of our brain to do with survival. The memory is not processed like other memories and can remain stuck, causing us to have 'feeling flashbacks' where we feel that we've been here before... The reaction to the traumatic event can often cause us to have those mental health problems listed above and often why people come into therapy in the first place.
Events which can traumatise us include:
- Bereavement
- Childbirth
- Accidents and injuries
- Surviving major disasters
- Parental divorce
- Bullying at school or at home
- One or both parents suffering from a mental health problem, such as depression
- Childhood Traumas
- Rape or assault
- Soldiers/Police/Firemen - after witnessing combat, deaths, violence, etc
EMDR can help us to re-wire the brain. To help to put the event in the past where it belongs and let go of the effect of past events on the present and thus the future.
For more information on EMDR and what it is good for click here.
Dealing with Bad Dreams and Night Terrors
Dr Justin Havens has very kindly shared this Dream Completion Technique animation which can help eradicate, overnight, nightmares and bad dreams with a simple technique that can be learnt in five minutes.
Get in touch
To arrange an initial appointment please call me on 07445-672295
On contacting you I will arrange a date and time for an initial appointment.
All messages and calls will be treated in strictest confidence. Both my e-mail account and mobile answer phone service are only ever accessed by me.
All enquires are usually answered within 24 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
Some frequently asked questions
Yes. Since the Coronavirus has exploded into our lives, people are naturally very anxious and yet are worried about attending therapy face-to-face. Online therapy offers a perfect way to get to 'see' a therapist and to stay safe.
No - the most usual route to get counselling and psychotherapy is self-referral: you contact me directly and we agree to meet and discuss what you feel you need. However, I also take referrals from G.P.s, psychiatrists, other medical consultants, private medical insurance companies and Employee Assistance Programmes.
Although the terms counselling and psychotherapy are both used, counselling tends to be shorter and more solution-focused, whereas psychotherapy is more open-ended and allows for deeper, more meaningful work. While psychotherapy can include certain aspects of n, it is also an opportunity for you to explore your problems and difficulties in more depth. The main difference in the two ways of working is in the training: psychotherapy training is longer and more in-depth and we are required by our accrediting body to be in our own therapy for the length of training, and usually beyond. Personal work continues in workshops and trainings which I then bring back into my work with clients to expand and deepen the work we do. Counsellling training does not often mandate being in personal therapy at all or, if there is some requirement, it is usually short-term.
EMDR - EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION AND REPROCESSING - is a treatment approved by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence for the treatment of a number of disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. I use EMDR in conjunction with talking therapy and find it very effective and provides subtle and quicker results than just talking therapy on its own. In brief, counselling and psychotherapy provide insight but EMDR can provide profound changes. Come and give it a try!
I work with men and women of all backgrounds and sexualities and I work mainly with individuals.
This will be an opportunity for both of us to get a sense of each other. It will also be a chance for me to gather some detailed information on your background and what has brought you to counselling or psychotherapy. We will discuss whether you want insight or change and how best to support you in that. If we together decide that we can work together, we continue. I often suggest that we contract for 6 sessions and re-assess at that stage. If, after this time, you are happy and getting something out of the therapy, we continue. If you feel that you have got what you need in terms of therapy, we end.
Therapy works best on a weekly basis. If you are in a lot of distress, twice a week may be helpful but we would discuss what is right for you.
We try and meet at a regular time each week. I invite you to be curious about yourself and without judgement. We all have behaviours we are not proud of but trust that these are developed for a reason, a long time ago so we may have forgotten what that reason is.
Sessions usually last 50-55 minutes. However, there may be times that we schedule in a longer session if needed and if so, I charge pro-rata for whatever time we use.
There is not a typical time for someone to be in counselling/psychotherapy - depending on what you bring, what you would like to work on and in what depth. It also depends on what you are hoping for in terms of the challenges in your life and your childhood experiences.
Short-term Counselling tends to be anything from six weeks to a year or more. Long-term Psychotherapy, which is about real change, tends to take longer. Psychotherapy usually explores issues in greater depth and leaves a more lasting effect. EMDR makes for real, tangible and profound changes.
My fees are currently from £95-£120 and change each year. If you have genuine financial difficulty that may exclude you attending therapy, a form of sliding scale exists where fees are negotiated according to what you can comfortably afford. I would rather you were able to come to therapy than not, if the only obstacle is financial. If the financial situation should change at any time during therapy, it is assumed that the fee would be re-negotiated.
NHS counselling through GP surgeries is often time-limited and you may have to wait a long time to see someone. Usually counselling is not offered on a weekly basis and you are unlikely to have much choice about who you see, when you see them, or the approach they offer. Some counsellors are not registered/accredited to UKCP or BACP.
No. CBT is the favoured approach offered by the NHS for everything from depression to stress and bereavement. I do not offer CBT. Whilst CBT works for some people some of the time, it does not work for all the people all of the time. If it has not worked for you, it may have left you feeling even worse as you may feel like you're the failure and even more hopeless. If this is your experience, you are not alone - this is not unusual. CBT is a top-down approach, meaning that it works to change your thought patterns and then your behaviour. Whilst this works sometimes, for most of us fear, anxiety, depression, trauma, fear, etc is not just about our thoughts but something much deeper. There are many good articles on the internet about CBT and I encourage you to check out whether this form of therapy would work for you. For example: check out this article
Yes. The contract covers issues such as confidentiality, cancellation policy, etc. If you contact me via email or we are meeting online, I will send you the Terms and Conditions before we meet. If we are meeting in-person, I will give the information when we meet. I will always ask if you have any feedback and if you are ok with the documents. I am happy to discuss any concerns you might have and welcome any comments. (If I forget to give these documents to you, please give me a nudge!)
Yes I have a privacy statement which I can give you when we start working together if you would like a copy or it can be found here.