My Approach

My preferred approach is EMDR, as in my experience it is the most effective and transformative therapy, offering permanent change in the shortest time frame. Whereas other therapies lead to greater understanding or management techniques, EMDR resolves the underlying issue, dramatically improving or totally resolving current symptoms.

What is EMDR?

EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) began as a trauma treatment in 1980’s, created by Francine Shapiro, to help PTSD. However over the last 40 years it has now been extensively researched and developed into a comprehensive therapy approach.

EMDR is based on the idea that our brain’s have a natural capacity to process our experiences in a healthy way. However stressful experiences or dysfunctional relationships can overwhelm our brain’s natural capacity to process and heal itself. This means that stressful experiences and dysfunctional relationships often get stuck or frozen in our minds in the original state in which we experienced them. When this happens we are hindered from thriving because these past wounds live on within us and get regularly triggered by present experiences.

Any over reaction you have to a current experience, is the expression of an unprocessed past event/s being triggered. For example if you were bullied at school and these experiences were not healed you may feel the exact same feeling and sensation of dread and inferiority in group situations, as you did when you were bullied. Or if you had a critical parent you may well feel the same kind of fear and inadequacy regularly in current relationships.

In EMDR we track back from the present issue to find the past experience/s that are the root cause. We then heal these stuck old memories by using eye movements or hand taps to trigger the brains natural healing system. As we process each memory; negative beliefs are reframed, negative feelings and sensations are released and neutralised and any imagery becomes distant. The memories are then experienced as neutral or positive and integrated into our adaptive memory network. Once the root cause memory/ies are healed, our current issues are permanently transformed. We no longer have to try not to be anxious, we just do not feel anxious anymore in that situation. We are free to be ourselves.

For particularly distressing memories we have lots of ways of processing them in a gentle way; you do not have to share the content of the memory for it to heal, you can visit the memory only briefly and without fully connecting to it using the Flash technique, and we can build positive resources to support you.

Find out more about EMDR at the EMDR Association website, emdrassociation.org.uk/whatis-emdr/ www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/ 

Animated Video on Emdr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIJZQAr9nQo

Getting Started

You may be ready to check availability and arrange a first session or you may want to have a phone consultation to explore if I am the right therapist for you. Wherever you're at, you can email or call me with any questions at salfulcherpsychotherapy@gmail.com or 07517 645742 I'll get back to you within 24hrs.

The first session will be an assessment session where you can express what's going on for you and ask me any questions you have about the therapy. I will be aiming to get a full picture of where you're at and give you my first thoughts as to how we might tackle your issue. 

After the assessment session, we will arrange a weekly day and time to begin.

Number of Sessions

The number of sessions you have is up to you. Some clients want a short burst of therapy and have 6 sessions. Some clients find a set of 12 helpful. Many clients prefer to have ongoing long-term therapy, until they feel their issues are improved or resolved. 

However many sessions feels right for you and suits your issue, we will review your progress along the way and you can decide when it's the right time to end.