EMDR for PTSD

If you’re living with PTSD, you know what it’s like to feel as though the past isn’t really past at all; it’s right here with you, showing up in your body, your thoughts, your dreams, and your reactions to the world around you. EMDR offers a gentle, effective way to help those traumatic memories finally settle, so they can become part of your history rather than your present.

When we begin working together, we’ll start by carefully identifying the specific traumatic memories that are keeping your symptoms alive. Using a gentle, structured approach, we’ll locate the scenes that feel most disturbing to you, along with the beliefs they’ve left you with, things like “I’m not safe” or “I’m powerless” and the sensations you carry in your body. We’ll work with each of these targets individually, using bilateral stimulation until the memory loses its emotional grip and becomes something you can recall without being pulled back into the experience.

With EMDR we will carefully re-activating the neural network where the traumatic memory lives, whilst also engaging your working memory in a way that allows your brain to process it differently, with much less distress and over several sessions, the trauma can be re-coded in a more adaptive form. This means it no longer triggers that overwhelming physiological response or those intrusive flashbacks that have been disrupting your life.

As the distress begins to drop, we gently introduce new, realistic beliefs: perhaps “I am safe now” or “I do have control” to replace those painful thoughts that have been keeping you stuck in the trauma response. This step helps strengthen new neuro pathways in your brain, supporting stable emotional regulation and reducing the likelihood of symptoms returning.

We’ll also spend time with body scanning to make sure there’s no lingering physical distress held in your body. I’ll guide you to notice any tension, pain, or visceral sensations that might still be connected to the memory. If we find discomfort that persists, we’ll treat those sensations as additional targets for processing. This is so important in PTSD, because trauma isn’t just stored in our minds, it lives in our bodies too. True healing needs to happen at both levels.

If you’re living with complex PTSD or have experienced ongoing trauma, we’ll work in careful phases. Before we begin processing memories, we’ll spend time helping you feel more stable and grounded, developing your inner resources and skills, your safety and comfort are paramount. Once you’re feeling more stable, we’ll move to memory processing in a controlled, manageable way that won’t overwhelm you. We’ll go at your pace, always.

Key Points:

• EMDR gently targets the trauma memories that are maintaining your PTSD symptoms
• Each session works with the image, thought, emotion, and body sensation together to access the full trauma experience
• Bilateral stimulation helps your brain reprocess the memory whilst lowering physical distress
• The process can reduce flashbacks, nightmares, and that constant feeling of being on edge
• We’ll replace those painful beliefs with adaptive, grounded ones that reflect your reality now
• Body scanning helps us identify and resolve any remaining physical imprints of trauma
• Sessions progress gradually, always respecting your tolerance and nervous system capacity
• For complex PTSD, we begin with stabilisation and resource-building to keep you safe from dissociation
• The approach supports lasting emotional regulation and helps prevent symptoms from returning
• EMDR restores your sense of safety, continuity, and personal agency by fully integrating what happened to you

You’ve survived something tremendously difficult, and you deserve to feel genuinely safe and at peace. This work honours what you’ve been through whilst offering a path towards true healing.