What can EMDR help with?

EMDR was developed – and is best known – as a therapy for treating trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It’s recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a treatment for PTSD.  ​But it can be used to help with a range of mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, addictions, behavioural difficulties, relationship issues and more serious mental illnesses.

​

How does EMDR work?

EMDR has a specific structure and a therapist will work through several stages with you. These include a thorough assessment of your current symptoms and your readiness for EMDR, as well as understanding how your past has shaped your present.  

​

What is an EMDR session like?

You will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch a bar of moving lights across your visual field. The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings. With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time. This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of your life. Headphones or hand buzzers can be used if there are issues using the eye movements.

​

​

​