EMDR THERAPY
INTRODUCTION
You don’t have to have experienced a single catastrophic event to benefit from EMDR.
Many of the people who come to me for EMDR therapy are carrying something they can’t quite name — a persistent anxiety, a pattern they keep falling into, a reaction that feels too big for what’s in front of them. Others know exactly what happened, and have been living with the weight of it for years.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is one of the most evidence-based therapies available for trauma, PTSD and CPTSD. But it is also profoundly effective for anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, relationship difficulties, low self-worth, and a wide range of other experiences that talking therapy alone has not been able to shift.
What makes EMDR different is its ability to go where words cannot always reach. Rather than simply talking about what happened, EMDR helps your brain do something it has been trying — and struggling — to do on its own: process, integrate, and move forward.
HOW DOES EMDR WORK?
EMDR works by engaging your brain’s natural ability to process and heal from distressing experiences — a capacity that gets disrupted when something overwhelming happens.
In a session, I use bilateral stimulation — alternating sounds through headphones, gentle pulsators held in your hands, or, where appropriate, a light bar — alongside guided talk therapy. This combination mimics the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep: the stage at which your brain naturally sorts, processes, and stores memories.
When a memory has been stored in a way that keeps it stuck — unprocessed, emotionally raw, and easily triggered — it continues to shape your thoughts, feelings and behaviour long after the event has passed. EMDR helps your brain return to that memory in a safe, supported way, and complete the processing it couldn’t do at the time.
The result is not that the memory disappears. It is that it loses its charge. You can think about what happened without the emotional intensity that has been driving your responses. Old patterns begin to shift. New ways of being become possible.
EMDR is not hypnosis. You remain fully present and in control throughout — I am with you every step of the way.
HOW LONG DOES EMDR THERAPY TAKE TO WORK?
This varies considerably from person to person — and from issue to issue.
For a single, contained trauma, some individuals notice significant shifts within five to eight sessions. For more complex or layered histories, deeper work over a longer period will be needed. What I can say with confidence is that EMDR often produces change more quickly than traditional talking therapies — and that those changes tend to be lasting, rather than purely symptomatic.
To meet the range of needs people bring, I offer EMDR in three formats:
Weekly sessions — 50-minute sessions at my Soho practice.
EMDR Intensives — one, two or three-day formats, held at my Soho offices or at your home or chosen location. Intensives allow us to go deeper and further in a concentrated period, achieving in a few days what might otherwise take months of weekly work.
Retreats — twice a year (June and September) I host small-group EMDR retreats in Europe, combining intensive therapeutic work with a restorative retreat setting. Numbers are strictly limited.
IS INTENSIVE EMDR THERAPY RIGHT FOR ME?
An intensive is not simply a longer version of a regular session — it is a fundamentally different experience.
Once your brain enters the EMDR processing state, it can continue working with material fluidly and deeply. In weekly therapy, we start and stop, with a week in between for the nervous system to integrate. In an intensive, we stay in that processing state for extended periods — going further, resolving more, and making connections that might otherwise take months of weekly work to reach.
One intensive day is roughly equivalent to five individual weekly sessions.
Intensives are particularly well-suited to:
• Complex or developmental trauma
• Childhood wounds and attachment difficulties
• Relationship patterns you are ready to change at depth
• Addiction and recovery work
• Those who want to make significant progress quickly
• People who find it difficult to start and stop in weekly therapy
The upfront cost is higher than weekly sessions, but many people find intensives more cost-effective overall — and the pace of change can be extraordinary.
I offer one, two and three-day intensives at my Soho practice or at a location of your choice. If you would like to explore whether an intensive is right for you, book a free consultation below.
If you are ready to start your EMDR journey — or simply want to ask some questions before committing — I would be glad to hear from you.
Book a free 20-minute consultation using the link below. There is no pressure and no obligation: it is simply a chance to talk, and to see whether working together feels right.