Evidence-based trauma processing with a BACP accredited therapist, from the comfort of your own home.
Perhaps you have noticed that certain sounds, smells or situations send your body into a state of high alert, even when there is no real danger. Maybe you find yourself avoiding places, people or conversations because they stir up feelings you would rather not face. You might experience flashbacks that pull you back into a moment you thought you had moved past, or you might feel emotionally numb, as though a part of you has shut down to cope. Hypervigilance, difficulty sleeping, irritability that seems to come from nowhere, a persistent sense that the world is not quite safe. These are all signs that your nervous system is still responding to something that happened in the past.
I want you to know that these responses are not a sign of weakness. They are your mind and body doing exactly what they were designed to do: protect you. The difficulty is that the protection has become stuck, continuing long after the threat has passed. And it is exhausting to live that way.
It is also important to say that trauma is not only about the events we might typically think of as traumatic. While single-event experiences such as accidents, assaults or witnessing something distressing can certainly leave lasting marks, so too can the quieter, more sustained experiences. Childhood neglect, growing up in an unpredictable household, bullying at school or in the workplace, difficult medical procedures, the loss of someone close to you, or being in a relationship where you were made to feel small. All of these can shape how you see yourself and the world around you, often in ways you may not fully recognise until much later.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro, who observed that certain eye movements appeared to reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts. Since then, it has become one of the most extensively researched therapies for trauma and is recommended by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
At its core, EMDR works by helping your brain do what it naturally wants to do: process and file away difficult experiences so they no longer feel as raw or overwhelming. When something traumatic happens, the memory can become stored in a way that keeps it feeling present and vivid, as though it is still happening. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, which means engaging both sides of the brain through guided eye movements, gentle taps or auditory tones, to help the brain reprocess those memories. Over time, the memory does not disappear, but it loses its emotional charge. You can recall what happened without being pulled back into the distress of it.
What many of my clients find reassuring is that EMDR does not require you to talk through every detail of what happened to you. The processing happens largely within your own mind, with me guiding you through the process. For people who find it difficult to put their experiences into words, this can make EMDR a particularly comfortable approach.
It is natural to wonder whether something as specific as EMDR can work effectively through a screen. I completely understand that concern, and I am glad to say that online EMDR has been shown to be just as effective as in-person delivery. Research supports this, and my own experience with clients consistently confirms it.
In online sessions, I use visual dots that move across your screen, which your eyes follow in the same way they would follow my hand in a face-to-face session. I also teach a technique called the butterfly tap, where you cross your arms and gently tap alternate shoulders. This self-administered bilateral stimulation is something you can also use between sessions as a grounding tool, which many clients find genuinely helpful in their daily lives.
There is another benefit to online EMDR that I did not fully anticipate when I first began offering it: many of my clients actually prefer it. Being in your own home, in a space that already feels safe and familiar, can make the processing work feel more manageable. You are not navigating an unfamiliar therapy room or worrying about travelling home afterwards feeling raw. You are already where you feel most comfortable, and that matters more than you might think.
EMDR is effective for a wide range of experiences, not only what people sometimes call "big T" trauma. I work with clients who are dealing with:
If you are unsure whether EMDR is the right approach for you, that is completely fine. We can explore that together in an initial session and find the way of working that feels most appropriate for your situation.
I never rush into the processing phase of EMDR. Building trust and making sure you feel safe is the foundation of everything we do together. In our initial sessions, I will take the time to understand your history, what has brought you to therapy, and what you are hoping to get from our work. This is also your chance to ask questions, get a feel for how I work, and decide whether this feels like the right fit for you.
From there, we move into a preparation phase where I teach you grounding techniques and help you build internal resources. These are tools you can draw on both during processing and in your everyday life, things like safe place visualisations, breathing techniques and containment exercises. This phase is about making sure you feel steady and supported before we begin working with specific memories.
The processing phase is where the bilateral stimulation comes in. I will guide you through targeting specific memories or experiences, and your brain does much of the work itself. Some clients notice shifts quite quickly; for others, the process is more gradual. There is no right or wrong pace, and I follow your lead throughout.
Finally, we focus on integration, making sure that the changes you have experienced feel solid and that you have what you need to move forward with confidence. All sessions are 50 minutes long and cost £70. We meet online via a secure video platform, and I am available to clients right across the UK.
If trauma is still affecting your daily life, EMDR therapy can help your brain reprocess those experiences so they no longer hold the same power.
Book a Session