Approach
Eight phases, and none of them get skipped.
EMDR has a structure. Knowing it in advance takes most of the strangeness out of the room — and it tells you what to expect long before we get there.
- Phase 1
History and treatment planning
We map what happened, what's happening now, and what you want to be able to do afterwards. Out of that comes a target list, in an order.
- Phase 2
Preparation
Calm place, container, grounding. You leave this phase able to stop and settle yourself. Nothing gets reprocessed until you can.
- Phase 3
Assessment
For one target: the image, the belief that came with it, the belief you'd rather hold, the emotion, the body sensation, and two numbers — how disturbing it is, and how true the better belief feels.
- Phase 4
Desensitisation
Short sets of bilateral stimulation while you hold the target lightly in mind. You notice whatever comes. We keep going until the disturbance drops.
- Phase 5
Installation
We strengthen the belief you'd rather hold, until it feels true rather than merely correct.
- Phase 6
Body scan
We check the body for anything left over. The body is often the last part to agree.
- Phase 7
Closure
Every session ends deliberately, whether or not the target is finished. You leave contained, not cracked open.
- Phase 8
Re-evaluation
Next session we check what held. Then we move to the next target: past, then present triggers, then a future template.
What a session is like
You sit. We agree a target. Your eyes follow a moving point, or you hold gentle tappers, or you listen to alternating tones — whichever suits you. Sets last around thirty seconds. Between them you tell me, briefly, what you noticed. You do not have to describe the memory itself, then or ever. Most people find the first set stranger than the twentieth.
Between sessions
Processing can continue after you leave — dreams, stray memories, a flat or tired day. It usually settles within forty-eight hours. You will have a plan for that before it happens.
Start with the consult.
It's the cheapest way to find out whether any of this fits — it's free.
Book a consult