Psychotherapy and Counselling in Menston and Online

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a way of helping your brain heal from difficult or traumatic experiences. When something overwhelming happens, the brain sometimes has trouble fully processing it. Instead of the memory being stored in a normal, calm way, it can get ‘stuck’ with all the strong feelings, body reactions, and images that came with it. That’s why, even years later, you might still feel like the event is happening all over again.

In EMDR, we work together to help your brain finish processing those memories so they feel more like regular memories, something in the past, not something happening right now. To do this, I’ll guide you to think about parts of the memory while we use something called bilateral stimulation. That might be eye movements, tapping, or sounds that go back and forth from side to side. This back-and-forth seems to help the brain reprocess the memory in a calmer, healthier way, rather like REM sleep.

The process doesn’t erase the memory, but it often takes away the emotional intensity, so you can remember what happened without it being so upsetting. Over time, many people notice they feel calmer, less triggered, and more in control, and freer to be in the present.

EMDR is a structured therapy, so we won’t jump straight into painful memories. First, we’ll spend some time making sure you feel prepared and have tools to calm and ground yourself. Once you feel ready, we’ll begin processing memories at a pace that feels safe for you.

The goal of EMDR is not to erase your past, but to help you access memories when you choose to, without any of the painful emotions, sensations or ‘charge’.