EMDR Therapy

EMDR is often referred to as an “accelerated emotional processing tool” because of how rapidly it can help to process trauma. Compared to "talk therapies", like CBT, it seems to have more of a direct effect on the way the brain physiologically processes information, thus producing a lasting relief.

What is EMDR?

I’m often asked why I’m so passionate about EMDR therapy. I have to admit, I used to be one of those counsellors who was skeptical at first. That was until I experienced it as a client myself and then went on to undertake training in it to help my clients. I quickly realised how helpful, efficient, and effective EMDR truly is.

So what is EMDR? EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing" and is a powerful, evidence-based therapy designed to help individuals to process and heal from trauma and distressing experiences.

I’ve seen firsthand how EMDR can be a powerful and transformative tool for healing, and can take a distressing trauma memory from a Level 10 to 0 for clients, reducing the intensity of a traumatic experience and associated symptoms.

How EMDR Therapy Works

Unlocking Negative Memories and Processing Traumatic Experiences

When a traumatic event occurs, the brain, our emotional and physical reactions become overwhelmed, the images, sounds, smells and feelings can become "locked" and remain in the brain and nervous system in a raw, unprocessed form. Therefore, a traumatic event can be made up of many different sensory elements. For example, a person might vividly recall the sound of a car crash, but they might not remember the faces of the people involved or the exact sequence of events.

Trauma dysregulates the autonomic nervous system and emotional functioning, which controls our body’s "fight, flight and freeze" responses. The nervous system becomes hyper-reactive, so when something triggers the trauma memory, the body reacts as though the trauma is happening all over again. This often leads to intense discomfort, or negative emotions—such as fear and helplessness—that can feel out of our control.

EMDR helps “unlock” traumatic memories and emotions stored in the nervous system, and second, it helps the brain successfully process the experience. EMDR and the techniques we work on together help you connect with a sense of calm and control.

The EMDR Process

Safety & Preparation

The first stage is Safety & Preparation. We’ll begin by establishing safety before commencing EMDR reprocessing. It’s important that you feel fully resourced, with the tools and strategies you need to feel safe and secure. This helps to minimizes the risks of feeling overwhelming. The work we do is deep, it can be heavy.

Once we have that foundation and in collaboration with you, we’ll work together to identify traumatic memories, images, or physical sensations related to your concerns—these are the areas we’ll focus on during treatment, including noticing feelings (emotions and body sensations) that arise along the way.

Processing traumatic memories

The second stage is Processing Traumatic memories together and releasing trauma that has been stored in your brain and nervous system. I will guide you through a series of exercises that stimulate both sides of your brain to reprocess the way you experience your trauma using techniques like bilateral eye movement stimulation, which I can guide with my hand, tapping, butterfly hugs or specialized software.

Bilateral stimulation is repeated until the emotional charge around the memory is reduced. Depending on the complexity of the memory, this can take one or more sessions.

Integration & Closure

Integration and Closure is the final stage.

I help you to integrate traumatic memories and experiences in a way that reduces their impact on your life, allowing you to live with greater ease and less interference.

After successful EMDR treatment, you may find that recalling the memory or sensation no longer causes distress.

Together, we explore shifts in your perspectives, new insights or positive changes in how you view yourself, your past experiences, and your current life.

Many clients report not only emotional relief, but also physical relief, especially if there are ongoing somatic symptoms tied to the trauma.

What can EMDR treat?

A number of clinical studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated EMDR’s efficacy and effectiveness in treating a vast number of traumatic experiences and psychological health conditions, including:

Childhood Trauma

Physical abuse
Verbal abuse
Sexual abuse
Parental conflict / violence
Witnessing abuse towards parent/sibling
Living with parent with physical/mental illness
Physical/emotional neglect from parents
Bullying from siblings or peers in school

Recent Trauma

Domestic and intimate partner violence
Abusive relationships
Vehicle accidents
Workplace bullying
Sudden change in circumstances (loss of employment, illness etc.)
Debilitating personal/workplace injury
Victim of Crime
Sexual harrassment and assault

Complex & ongoing

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD
Depression and grief
Anxiety
Social Anxiety
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Substance abuse
Bipolar disorder
Chronic pain
Specific phobias
Eating disorders
Performance anxiety

EMDR is endorsed as a gold-standard treatment

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) recently announced that EMDR is a Level 1 treatment - the highest - for treating adults with depression, PTSD, complex PTSD, specific phobias and social anxiety disorder. EMDR is also recognised as the gold-standard treatment for PTSD by organisations by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Videos

Online EMDR therapy requirements

If you wish to have online EMDR therapy appointments, you will need to be able to satisfy the following requirements in order to ensure your safety and the effectiveness of your online therapy sessions. If you are unsure whether you can adequately meet the conditions, please feel free to contact us to discuss.

Basic Requirements

A reliable and stable internet connection.
Access to video conferencing software with encryption capability. (e.g. Skype, Zoom). WhatsApp or FaceTime is also ok if you're using your smartphone for video calls.
A desktop computer/laptop with speakers and/or a connection to headphones. Alternatively, you could use your iPad or other tablet.
Have a large enough screen (either a desktop monitor, laptop screen or even a tablet e.g. iPad). This is because your eyes will be required to travel along a large enough plane of movement between your left and right. (The screens on smartphones are not advisable as it would difficult to perform the full range of eye movement that is required).
A private, relatively quiet space/room with minimal distraction where you will not be disturbed for at least 90mins. (Although sessions typically run for 50-60mins, it is important to give yourself at least 30mins after each appointment to settle and refocus before moving to your next activity).
Some water and tissue in your room.
A small bouncy rubber ball, a tennis ball, stress ball (or even a fruit like an orange or lemon!) (This is a useful and effective tool for grounding if the need arises. You will be shown how to do this).
Adequate lighting in the room that you are in. Your face and upper body have to be reasonably well lit up. This can easily be achieved by positioning a desk lamp to the side but in front of you. (It is essential for the therapist to be able to see you clearly in order to determine if you carrying out the eye movements adequately, and also observe how you are feeling based on your facial expressions, physiological changes and body language).
You do not have risk factors for and have not been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder.
You have the ability to soothe yourself when feeling distressed and regulate your feelings. (This will be assessed in the first few appointments as I get to know you).
You have developed and demonstrated successful strategies for closing down incomplete traumatic memories (This will be discussed and taught to you).
You have been observed to benefit from the use of either the eye movement or tactile (i.e. tapping) form of bilateral stimulation when working on a distressing memory. (This will be assessed in the first few appointments as I get to know you).

Recommended Requirements

A desktop monitor or TV (with a screen size of at least 24 inches in diagonal length) will be ideal as it is large enough in most cases for doing eye movements.
A laptop or standalone webcam with a resolution of at least 1280x720 so that the therapist can get a clear and sharp enough image of you.
Resource objects available in the room to help with grounding and soothing if needed (e.g. teddy bear, blanket, crystals, essential oils, music, sounds of nature etc.).
Reliable support people/animals outside of therapy that you can turn to for comfort if necessary (i.e. family members, partners, friends, housemates, pets).