Therapeutic Approach

EMDR Therapy

A research-backed approach that helps the brain reprocess stuck traumatic memories — at the level of the nervous system, not just narrative.

Trauma Processing

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing

EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing — is one of the most thoroughly researched trauma therapies available today. Endorsed by the World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association, and Health Canada, it has a strong evidence base for treating PTSD, trauma, anxiety, and more.

EMDR works with the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model — the understanding that traumatic memories get "stuck" in the nervous system in their raw, unprocessed form. Unlike ordinary memories, these stuck memories retain their original emotion, physical sensation, and negative belief — which is why they can feel just as vivid and distressing decades later.

Through bilateral stimulation — typically guided eye movements — EMDR activates the brain's natural information processing system and allows these memories to be metabolised. The memory does not disappear; its emotional charge does. What was once overwhelming becomes integrated — a past event that no longer hijacks your present.

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The Protocol

EMDR's eight-phase protocol

EMDR is not a freeform process — it follows a structured, evidence-based eight-phase protocol. This structure is what makes it both safe and effective. Here is a brief overview of how the process unfolds.

1

History & Treatment Planning

We map your history together, identify key memories and current triggers, and build a treatment plan tailored to your goals.

2

Preparation

We build your window of tolerance, establish grounding and stabilisation resources, and ensure you feel safe and ready before any processing begins.

3–8

Assessment, Desensitisation, Installation, Body Scan, Closure & Re-evaluation

The active reprocessing phases: we access the target memory, use bilateral stimulation to desensitise its charge, install a new adaptive belief, check the body for residual tension, and close and re-evaluate across sessions.

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