Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy
EMDR therapy is a World Health Organisation and NICE
recommended treatment for trauma, though it is also effective with a wide range of issues such as depression, anxiety & panic, phobias, addictions, complicated grief, low self-esteem and performance anxiety. It can work quickly to get to the root of the issue, and changes the way memories and negative beliefs about ourselves or the world are stored in the brain. Some people seek EMDR with very clear knowledge of their trauma, but many others have tried other types of therapy which have helped, but still have a strong negative belief, difficult emotion or troublesome pattern that feels hard to shake.
Why EMDR?
EMDR can:
- Stop you getting hijacked by memories, thoughts, situations or events.
- This means an end to jumpiness, a pounding heart, nausea, dread, anxiety, insomnia, hypervigilence and despair, feelings that often feel like they come out of nowhere
- Eliminate triggers so you are liberated to live your life without having to avoid people, places, situations or thoughts
- Help you overcome fears and mental blocks that are stopping you doing things you'd like to, or living in a way that suits you
- Change negative self-beliefs that often feel deeply engrained, or beliefs about that world that mean your outlook is not what you'd choose if you could
How does EMDR work?
Our bodies have a natural inclination and mechanisms in place to heal and to cope with life experiences and events. Sometimes though, these processes get overwhelmed and overloaded, and as a result difficult emotion, negative beliefs and bad memories get stored in the wrong part of the brain and can catapult us into anxiety, fear, depression, and overwhelm as well as fight/flight/freeze responses. EMDR works to stimulate the brain to make new connections in the memory network, and reprocess these feelings, beliefs, sensations and memories, so they get "filed" correctly, and no longer cause disproportionate upset or distress. It works on past events, present triggers and difficulties, and future fears creating a holistic therapy designed to reprogramme us with healthy perspectives, postivie beliefs and neutral feelings about previously difficult experiences.
What are the advantages of EMDR?
EMDR avoids you get stuck in the narrative. Instead of talking about why you feel or behave the way you do, you process the feelings causing the issues
Unlike other therapies, EMDR doesn't require you to talk extensively about experiences which can be retraumatising
EMDR
brings you to the heart of the matter, and can do it often quite quickly, though of course each case is different
EMDR focuses on preapring you for the future using various tools and visualisations so you can cope with future scenarios
Some therapies can avoid enagaing in emotion whereas EMDR safely brings you into contact with emotion with the aim of processing it swiftly and effectively
EMDR can be very effectively online as well as in person
Contact me
Telephone: 07906166035
E-mail: hello@emdrtherapybristol.com
Address: Currently working online and in Bristol city centre