EMDR Therapy
Why do I still feel stuck after trauma?
Strong emotions like panic, fear, anger, and feeling like you have no control are common after a traumatic event. These are the emotional wounds that a distressing event can cause.
The human mind naturally tries to make sense of what happened, so it replays it.
Disturbing memories get stuck because they aren’t stored like other memories. They haven’t been properly ‘filed’ into the brain’s memory network, so fragments can get triggered by everyday things – sounds, places, smells – and they are highly charged with emotion.
How does EMDR therapy help?
In Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, reprocessing means resolving difficult thoughts about what happened and neutralising the strong feelings that get activated.
More than this, recovery involves feeling safe in your body and in the places where you want to go about living your life.
A fully reprocessed memory feels neutral and firmly in the past. It’s like the brain’s memory network has reviewed it, learned from it, time and date stamped it, and filed it away.
Why can’t I get over trauma?
There are lots of reasons people stay stuck. Sometimes a recent event activates earlier memories. Sometimes patterns develop that make things worse. That’s not a personal failing – it’s just what happens when the nervous system is overloaded.
However, it is absolutely possible to recover from the impact of distressing experiences with EMDR therapy.
Will I have to talk about what happened?
Worried you’ll have to go over everything in detail? That’s completely understandable, especially if you’re already re-living it in your mind, or if you feel ashamed or guilty about what happened.
In EMDR, we don’t need to talk through every detail. Reprocessing is powerful. It works at many levels – not just through thinking and reasoning – so resolving the disturbing parts can often happen more quickly.
Is EMDR therapy safe?
After a serious or life-threatening accident, illness, medical emergency, or assault, I understand that it can be hard to trust other healthcare providers.
Therapy needs to feel safe before we can even begin processing the past. We start from wherever you are.
How Sarah can help
As an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner, I am formally recognised for my expertise and professionalism in delivering EMDR therapy, having met rigorous standards for training, supervision, and clinical experience.
I also offer the Flash Technique, a gentle and effective approach that helps reduce distress from difficult memories without requiring you to focus on them directly. You can feel confident that you are in safe, skilled hands, with therapy options designed to support your healing in a comfortable and reassuring way.
