Are you struggling with any of the following?
Have you experienced a traumatic event or series of events in your life?
Do memories about that event bother you?
Do you find yourself having nightmares?
Have you witnessed or heard about someone else’s trauma and found that those memories have stayed with you?
Are you on edge a lot of the time, finding it hard to trust people or situations?
Do you feel like you may have experienced a trauma as a child but can’t remember the exact details now?
Have you been diagnosed with PTSD, CPTSD, Adjustment disorder or been told you have trauma?
Have you tried other therapies such as counselling but with little impact.
Are you struggling with anxiety that hasn’t responded to other therapies?
If you resonate with any of the above then eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) may be for you.
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.
Find Out More About EMDR
REMEMBER
Trauma is not just accidents and assaults
What is trauma?
It is important to remember that EMDR is successfully used for many different anxiety disorders, especially ones that have not been helped by more traditional therapies such as counselling and CBT. However at present it is most commonly used to treat trauma, PTSD and complex PTSD.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about what trauma is and is not, but it is important to know that trauma is not just “big events” like accidents, deaths, assaults or disasters.
Large “T” Trauma
Examples of such traumas include:
Natural disasters or catastrophic events
Terrorist attacks
Sexual or physical assault
Combat or war
Car or plane accident
Small “t” Trauma
The accumulation of smaller everyday or less pronounced events can also cause trauma. Small “t” traumas, according to Psychology Today, are “events that exceed our capacity to cope and cause a disruption in emotional functioning.” Such events aren’t inherently life threatening, but rather ego-threatening, as they cause people to feel helpless in their circumstances.
Examples of small “t” traumas include:
Conflict with family members
Infidelity or divorce
Conflict with a boss or colleague
A sudden or extended relocation or move
Planning a wedding or starting a new job
Having or adopting a child
Financial or legal worries
Often these traumas are overlooked or minimised by the person experiencing them, who may rationalise the experience as common and therefore think they are just overreacting. Unfortunately, this is a form of avoidance, which is an unhealthy way to cope. Some people may not even recognise how disturbed they are by the event or situation, causing them to overlook symptoms of trauma that might be connected to it. While one small “t” trauma is unlikely to cause significant trauma symptoms, the accumulation of such traumas over time can compound and cause great distress.
I would love
To support you on your journey to feeling calmer, happier and more in control
If you're ready to:
Feel calmer and more in control
Wake up ready to take on the day rather than dreading the day
Stop fighting a battle with your own body and mind
Start to fully enjoy all that you have and have achieved
Feel lighter and more peaceful
Learn practical tools and techniques to manage trauma symptoms
Commit to doing things each day that will help your wellbeing
Then individual one to one EMDR sessions will be perfect for you.
YOU CAN BOOK AN EMDR SESSION NOW FOR £95 OR A BLOCK OF 10 for £850
What next?
FIRST BOOK YOUR FREE CALL
Use the contact page to book your completely free call. This call usually lasts between 30-45 mins. No commitment, no pressure just a chance to discuss whats been going on for you and whether any of the therapies I offer could help.If we agree that EMDR is the best way forward it will look something like this:
Before our first session I’ll send you some questionnaire to help us identify the main issues we need to work through.
We’ll kick things off properly with an initial assessment chat for 60-90 minutes. I know that by the time you see me you’ve already been struggling for some time and you probably want to start feeling better ASAP, right? So I always try to work on some techniques to bring a little relief straight away.
We’ll spend the rest of the time working out what’s been going on and start to agree on a treatment plan. This may just be EMDR or it may be EMDR combined with some CBT. I always ensure that treatment is tailored to you and your circumstances.
I’ll make sure that you understand what EMDR involves and send you some videos of live sessions to watch beforehand.
We will spend a session setting some goals and making sure we know what we are aiming for and then…
We start the EMDR treatment. It’s important to understand that any psychological treatment can bring up difficult memories and emotions but we will always go at a pace that’s right for you.
It is difficult to say when you will start to see change as everyone is different but change is usually reported after 3-4 sessions with most people reaching their goals by 8-12 sessions.
YOU CAN BOOK AN EMDR SESSION NOW FOR £95 OR A BLOCK OF 10 for £850
Additional Help
Outside of our sessions, I’m here for you. That means you get access to a whole range of resources, and of course, ME.
You will have access to all of my self help materials, worksheets, handouts and workbooks if needed and I’ll also make book recommendations for you if we think that specific ideas or reading could help. I’m always on top of the key books around anxiety and trauma so I’ll point you in the right direction based on what we discuss. Much better than scrolling Amazon for hours on end and reading endless reviews, right?
Finally, you’ve got my unwavering belief and faith in you. So if a problem crops up or you just want to ask a quick question, shoot me over an email and I’ll do my best to answer within 24 hours.
If you would like support beyond our 8 weeks together you can book a second package or just book sessions on an ongoing weekly basis. Top up sessions are also available for people who just want the flexibility to have a session now and then if needed.
REAL CHANGE
IS BUILT ON HONESTY…
I’m on your team but I will also always be absolutely honest with you.
So if you want something that can’t be done can’t be achieved or might take longer than our time together, I will tell you. If you’re doing things that are not helping or contributing to your recovery I will let you know. Because if we want to create change that lasts, we have to be honest with ourselves and each other.
I’m dedicated to making sure you get the outcomes you want, which is why I don’t take on endless clients to fill the books.
I only work with people that I know I can help and that I know have the ability to make changes.
FAQ's
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy. It was designed to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories. EMDR therapy helps to access traumatic memories and facilitates the processing of these memories to bring them to an adaptive resolution. Successful EMDR treatment is characterised by the relief of distress, the reformulation of negative beliefs and a reduction in physiological arousal.
What evidence is there to suggest that it works?
There have been over thirty studies of EMDR therapy which have had a positive outcome. Under this umbrella of controlled studies over 84% of single event trauma victims reported no post-traumatic stress after three ninety-minute sessions. An HMO study found that 100% of single event trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims were free from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD after six, fifty-minute sessions. In a similar study reports indicated 77% of combat veterans were free from PTSD in twelve sessions.
What would a session involve?
EMDR treatment would usually begin with several sessions which might involve stabilisation, grounding and psycho-education. The standard EMDR therapy protocol follows eight-phases which includes resourcing, processing and installation. This may vary depending on if you are having treatment for anxiety, PTSD, phobias or tinnitus. Processing is carried out using bilateral stimulation. This is facilitated by eye movements, auditory clicks, tapping or tactile vibration buzzers.
Will my symptoms come back over time?
Follow up assessments of people suffering from PTSD were carried out over varied follow up times. These were three, four, nine, fifteen and five years after treatment. Benefits of treatment were maintained in eight out of nine studies carried out. Other studies carried out found a deterioration of treatment benefits at follow up which correlated with incomplete EMDR treatment. It is clear that if treatment is completed benefits are maintained but if treatment is not completed benefits can deteriorate.
window.onload = function() { Calendly.initBadgeWidget({ url: ‘https://calendly.com/hellonatashafletcher/45-minuites’, text: ‘Book a Free Call’, color: ‘#00a2ff’, textColor: ‘#ffffff’, branding: true }); }