I provide trauma reprocessing sessions for individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and those having experienced recent traumatic events. I generally use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy as the primary intervention for trauma, which is a scientifically validated treatment for trauma. EMDR is one of the treatments of choice for trauma of the National Health Services in the United Kingdom, and is also a recommended treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organisation.
As trauma is stored in the body and nervous system, talk therapy alone often cannot resolve the symptoms of trauma, and at times can make things worse. Therapies which incorporate the body, such as EMDR and sensorimotor psychotherapy (amongst others), can be helpful in facilitating the processing of trauma stored in the body.
The word "trauma" can cover a wide range of incidents, including sexual assault (e.g. rape), being a victim of crime (e.g. hijacking, mugging), being in a life-threatening situation (e.g. car accident), or witnessing someone else's death or injury. Trauma reactions are individual-specific - an incident that one person does not experience as "traumatic" might lead to the development of PTSD for another. Therapy can often help reduce the negative impact that trauma can have on your life.
[Experiences such as difficult medical or dental procedures, bullying, emotional abuse, or harsh treatment from an authority figure (e.g. parent, teacher) may not cause PTSD itself. However, they can nonetheless have a significant impact on our beliefs about ourselves, on our behaviours, as well as on our feelings of safety in the world and in relationships. Such incidents can also be addressed using EMDR].
When a person has experienced trauma, common symptoms include avoidance (e.g. of things, places or people that remind you of incident, and/or of thinking about the event) and distress when thinking or talking about the event. While this is the mind’s method of trying to protect itself, in the long run such avoidance may result in the perpetuation of trauma symptoms as well as disruption to your life. With reprocessing, we want to approach the trauma at the pace that your mind and body are able to, with the goal of decreasing related distress, nightmares, avoidance, and other adverse psychological sequelae of the traumatic event. For some people and events, dealing with the trauma directly can be done relatively quickly, within the first few sessions. For others, more time is needed to strengthen your mind and body’s ability to calm itself, and to make you feel safe enough to deal with the trauma directly. This is assessed in the initial session/s for each individual, to make sure the therapy is fitted to your needs and comfort.
EMDR processing does not require disclosure of specific intimate details of the traumatic event (although many people do find such disclosure helpful). In the event that you would like to do therapy but there are certain things you would not like to disclose, EMDR may still be a useful treatment for you.
If you have experienced a single traumatic event (e.g. car accident, hijacking) within the past 3 months and are experiencing distress or other symptoms related to the incident (e.g. flashbacks, avoidance, nightmares), an initial 120 minute processing session is generally recommended. (We can talk on the phone briefly before you set up the appointment to determine whether this would be the appropriate option for you).
In this session we usually focus on the specific trauma you experienced.The aim is for you to leave this session feeling significantly better, so we want to try to make sure that there is enough time in the session to achieve this.
Sometimes one session is sufficient to significantly reduce distressing symptoms, but a follow-up session will always be scheduled to assess the effectiveness of the processing, and to process any residual distress. It is recommended that you do not wait too long to attend therapy after the traumatic event, to reduce the likelihood of the trauma symptoms persisting.
For trauma that occurred more than 3 months ago or was experienced on an ongoing basis (such as abuse), the usual assessment and therapy process will take place. We can set up a 50-minute assessment session and then plan further sessions from there. If we decide to do reprocessing sessions, 90 minute sessions are usually preferable, but this can be changed (shortened or lengthened) depending on what we agree is best for your specific case. If it is a single event, symptoms can sometimes be resolved in a few processing sessions (2 - 6). In the case of multiple traumatic events, such as ongoing abuse experienced during childhood, therapy usually takes longer. However, this varies for each individual and different factors can impact the duration of therapy. The therapy duration will therefore depend on your specific needs.
To book an appointment, or for more information, click here to contact me.