EMDR Therapy

EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing) was developed as a therapy for post-traumatic stress (PTSD). EMDR therapy has helped millions of clients of all ages to recover from such traumas as war, accidents, assaults, disasters, pain, childhood abuse and neglect. EMDR Therapy is an effective therapeutic approach to healing dimensions of memory, narrative, emotions, and integration of experience. It is now recognised as an effective, non-invasive, evidence-based method of mind-body psychotherapy. 

I am currently providing EMDR Therapy sessions online only. Since March 2020, I have been successfully offering online EMDR Therapy via a dedicated online platform called Bilateral Base. Please contact me to discuss how I can help you.

Do you feel stuck in distressing memories that sometimes overwhelm you? 

If you have felt overwhelmed by trauma or adverse experienceat the time when it was happening, the traumatic memories (images, sounds, sensations, smells, etc.) can fragment and become stuck in your brain - your mind-body-emotions system - out of your awareness. Any memory of a traumatic event might then “trigger” you to connect to the negative feelings, body sensations and beliefs associated with it.

EMDR therapy facilitates your brain's ability to make sense of what happened in the past, to clear the impact of trauma triggers, which frees you to live in the present moment more comfortably.

A feature of EMDR is bilateral stimulation, (eye movements or bi-lateral tapping or audio pulses) a process that creates new neural pathways and the ability to access the stored trauma. This allows for the reprocessing and clearing of traumatic experiences from your mind and body, with reduction of associated symptoms.  The process enables you to create new associations with memories with increasingly adaptive responses and behaviours

By accessing distressing memories in the context of a safe environment, new associations are activated between the traumatic past memories and more helpful understandings in the here and now. These new associations result in new learning and insights which reduces and eliminates emotional distress. This allows for the development of new realisations regarding the old traumatic memories.

The Splinter in your hand 

Consider a splinter lodged in your hand. If it is not removed, this foreign object can cause pain and infection. Removing it might be painful, but once removed, your body naturally knows how to heal.

Depending on the nature of the trauma, the strengths and developmental stages of the person impacted, and the support available at the time of the traumatic event, some experiences cannot be easily moved or recovered from. This can lead to chronic symptoms. Once trauma memories are adapted and their toxic effects removed like the splinter, the natural process of healing from adversity can take place.

This results in the reduction of suffering and symptoms and the development of new coping skills that can support psychological and emotional health and well-being.

Contact me to find out more about whether online EMDR Therapy might be helpful for you.

EMDR Therapy for Early Attachment Difficulties

EMDR Therapy is also helpful for treating enduring psychological effects and distress in relationships  that are rooted in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and relationship difficulties. These may manifest in chronic symptoms of depression, anxiety, phobias, low self-esteem, creativity blocks,.Not only does healing occur much more rapidly in EMDR therapy than in traditional talking therapies, but as a result of EMDR’s clearing of emotional and physical blockages, many people also experience a sense of joy, openness, and deep connection with others. EMDR Therapy is being recognised as a quantum leap in the human ability to heal trauma and maladaptive beliefs.

Attachment-Focused EMDR Therapy

Attachment-focused EMDR Therapy is rooted in standard EMDR Therapy and was developed by Dr Laurel Parnell. (See http://drlaurelparnell.com )  It emphasizes a  reparative therapeutic relationship using a combination of:

• Resource Tapping™ (Parnell, 2008) to strengthen clients and repair developmental deficits, 
• EMDR Therapy to process traumas
• Talking therapy to help integrate the information from EMDR sessions and to provide the healing derived from therapist-client interactions.

 ‘AF-EMDR therapy extends the use and benefits of EMDR and bilateral stimulation for use with clients who have experienced acute or chronic relational trauma and attachment deficits. Those deficits include the effects of childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect, early losses, birth trauma, medical trauma, parental drug or alcohol abuse, caregiver misattunement, secondary trauma, and the cumulative effects of all. These clients often present in therapy as depressed, with relationship difficulties or problems at work. They don’t feel fully alive. Childhood trauma has impacted their sense of safety and capacity to form close emotional relationships in adulthood.

AF-EMDR therapy integrates resource-strengthening methods throughout the course of treatment, and emphasizing the centrality of the therapeutic relationship and healing that is rooted in the right-brain to right-brain connections between therapist and client.'

I am a registered memeber of the Parnell Institute 

https://parnellemdr.com/members/zpool/ 

and an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner. 

https://emdrassociation.org.uk/map-member/dr-zoe-f-pool/