EMDR THERAPY
INTRODUCTION
Alongside traditional forms of talking therapy, Jack Williamson offers EMDR therapy, that although commonly used to treat trauma, PTSD and CPTSD, can be extremely effective in helping individuals experiencing complex mental health conditions and issues related to addiction, an inability to either form or sustain relationships and a variety of other mental health issues.
Unlike other forms of therapy, EMDR can bring about significant improvements in your mental health and well-being over a shorter period of time. This can be ideal if you wish to work through your problems in an expedited manner, owing to the significant impact these issues are having on your lives.
HOW DOES EMDR WORK?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured psychotherapy where we will use bilateral stimulation; in the form of alternating sounds through headphones, pulsators in your hands and, if needed, a light bar, combined with talk therapy to help you reprocess significant life events that have impacted your life, belief system, behaviour/s and relationships.
EMDR works by helping your brain unstick and reprocess these significant life events, that have had a knock-on effect in your ability to live life fully, by mimicking the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phase, during which the brain naturally processes memories. The therapy aims to desensitize you to the emotional impact of the memory, allowing you to think about the event without experiencing such strong feelings.
Through healing from the memories associated with these life events, it will also help in preventing you projecting your past onto similar situations that trigger you. This will allow you to break a cycle of behaviour that no longer serves you, enabling you to create a new way of being that supports your needs and desires.
It's important to note that EMDR is not hypnosis. You will remain fully conscious and in control throughout the process. The therapy is structured to ensure your safety, with Jack providing support and guidance throughout the treatment.
HOW LONG DOES EMDR THERAPY TAKE TO WORK?
Every individual is different, and therefore the duration of EMDR treatment will depend on the nature of the issue/s you bring to EMDR therapy. For some individuals, they will experience benefits in as few as five individual sessions, for a single issue. For individuals wanting to work through multiple issues/traumas, EMDR is likely to require longer or a more intensive approach for the healing process to work.
To address these differences Jack provides EMDR in three main formats. The first is through weekly 50-minute sessions at his office in Soho, London. The second is through one-day, two-day and three-day intensives, held either at his offices or at your residence. The third is a three-day intensive on one of his two annual retreats in Europe in either June or September.
IS INTENSIVE EMDR THERAPY RIGHT FOR ME?
Intensives are beneficial for any issue you would have weekly sessions for as well as for multiple issues. The benefit of working intensely over weekly sessions, is that it allows us to make use of the fact that once we trigger the onset of the processing, we can continue to work a lot longer reprocessing the memory and any associated memories. Therefore, if we are able to continue processing rather than pausing for a week, so much more can be achieved.
Intensives are also extremely beneficial for historical wounds related to childhood, attachment issues, relationship issues and those struggling with addiction and/or recovery to name but a few. It enables you to consolidate the equivalent of five individual EMDR sessions per one intensive day. This can be particularly helpful if you want to quickly resolve symptoms following a traumatic event, or something that continues to cause problems in your life.
Whilst the initial upfront cost is obviously higher than weekly therapy, it achieves so much more over a shorter period of time that it can work out to be more cost effective overall.
If you are ready to begin your EMDR journey, send me an email via the contact button below, to discuss further.