EMDR

EMDR therapy shows the mind can heal from psychological trauma much like 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. 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 gets stuck and can cause intense suffering.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.

There are a large number of scientific studies showing the effectiveness of EMDR. Whilst it is primarily discussed as a trauma therapy, one can have relief from anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, stress and many other issues when using EMDR.

After years of working with talking therapy, I see EMDR as a tool that works to help us process unresolved pain that is impacting our present-day lives, in a way talking therapy cannot always do. I've often found that even after talking things through thoroughly and having all the logical knowledge about why we might behave or think in a certain way, we can still feel trapped in old patterns of feeling and behaviour. EMDR facilitates a release and unburdening of the unprocessed memories that are driving these experiences once and for all, so you can move forward in a way that suits you.

Remember that trauma is subjective and what is traumatic for me might not be traumatic for you and vice versa. Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes, as little t and BIG T traumas. If it hurts and haunts you then you have had a traumatic experience and EMDR can help you recover.