EMDR Online Therapy

Thanks to technical advances in video conferencing, online EMDR can be as effective as face-to-face EMDR.

Online EMDR also means that you can have therapy from the comfort and safety of familiar surroundings (i.e. your own home). This is particularly helpful when you are processing trauma. 

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)?

EMDR was initially developed to help people who were experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Whilst it is certainly very helpful for this, further research has found it to be very helpful for a range of other difficulties, including:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Phobias

• Low self-esteem

• Social Anxiety
• OCD
• Addictions
• Anger

When we experience something traumatic, whether that be what we call a ‘capital T trauma’ (such as sexual assault including rape, physical assault, combat, or a car accident) or a ‘lower case t trauma’ (such as being excluded by friends at school, being shouted at by a teacher, being stung by a bee), the memory of that experience can have a lasting impact on us.

These memories are stored in a memory network that is separate from where other, more benign memories are stored.

Beliefs about ourselves, the world and others can be formed as a result of these experiences (e.g. I am vulnerable / unlovable / stupid), which can be difficult to alter, in spite of evidence to the contrary.

Trauma memories can be easily triggered by events in the here and now, and we may or may not know this is what’s happening at the time (e.g. if you were excluded from a game as a 5 year old you may have formed a belief ‘I am not good enough’, which may be triggered as an adult when not invited for lunch with colleagues).

The information needed to counter this belief (e.g. of instances where you were good enough) is stored in a separate memory network – but it can not be accessed when the negative belief is triggered.

It was discovered that when an image of the trauma is held in mind, whilst one experiences a left right left right process (e.g. eye movements, tapping, sounds) it allows the two memory networks to join up, so information needed to resolve the negative belief can be accessed to counter it.

​Although we can not ‘delete’ these memories entirely, EMDR allows us to alter the way they are stored in the brain so that if and when we recall them, they do not bring such intense emotions with them.

What are the aims of EMDR online therapy? 

EMDR aims to:

• Reduce the ways in which previous traumas effect you today. 

• Help you feel more able to cope with triggering situations.

• Help you feel more able to engage in and enjoy pleasurable activities and relationships.

• Reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, irritation and hypervigilance – allowing you to rest well, address pressure and/or conflict

• Reduce feelings of isolation, hopelessness and depression.

• Boost your self-confidence and self-esteem.