I am a MBACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist with over 20 years experience of providing counselling/psychotherapy, supervision and training/consultancy. I offer a confidential service that works within the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice. The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) is the main body in the UK representing counselling at national and international levels and BACP Accredited Counsellors have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
I specialise in working with the effects of trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, using Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR). I also offer Person-Centred Counselling/Psychotherapy which offers a relationship that is sufficiently accepting and permissive to allow the client to freely express emotions and feelings. This will enable the client to come to terms with negative feelings, which may have caused emotional problems, and thus develop inner resources.
EMDR
What is EMDR?
The mind can heal naturally in the same way as the body does.
The body has a natural psychological healing process which helps to deal with day-to-day stresses and minor traumas. This process helps reduce discomfort and enables us to assimilate, learn and grow from new experiences. Much of this natural coping mechanism has been found to occur during sleep, particularly during that period of sleep when we experience rapid eye movement (REM). In 1987, Francine Shapiro used this insight to develop Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), initially as a treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has evolved into a highly effective therapeutic technique for a wide range of problems.
What happens when you are traumatised?
Most of the time your body routinely manages new information and experiences without you being aware of it. However, when something out of the ordinary occurs and you are traumatised by an overwhelming event (e.g. a car accident) or by being repeatedly subjected to distress (e.g. childhood neglect), your natural coping mechanism can become overloaded. This overloading can result in disturbing experiences remaining frozen in your brain or being "unprocessed".
Such unprocessed memories and feelings are stored in the brain in a "raw" form. This means that they can be continually re-stimulated when you experience events similar to the difficult experiences you have been through. Often the memory itself is long forgotten, but the painful feelings such as anxiety, panic, anger or despair are continually triggered in the present. Your ability to live in the present and learn from new experiences can therefore become inhibited.
What is an EMDR session like?
EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body. After a thorough assessment, you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the therapist's finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field. Sometimes, a bar of moving lights or headphones is used instead. The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings.
With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time. This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of your life.
What can EMDR be used for?
In addition to its use for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, EMDR has been successfully used to treat:
- anxiety and panic attacks
- depression
- stress
- phobias
- sleep problems
- complicated grief
- addictions
- pain relief, phantom limb pain
- self-esteem and performance anxiety
Can anyone benefit from EMDR?
EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of your past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process is rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur at all, last for a comparatively short period of time. Nevertheless, you need to be aware of, and willing to experience, the strong feelings and disturbing thoughts, which sometimes occur during sessions.
How long does treatment take?
EMDR can be brief focused treatment or part of a longer psychotherapy programme. EMDR sessions can be for 60 to 90 minutes.
Will I will remain in control and empowered?
During EMDR treatment, you will remain in control, fully alert and wide-awake. This is not a form of hypnosis and you can stop the process at any time. Throughout the session, the therapist will support and facilitate your own self-healing and intervene as little as possible. Reprocessing is usually experienced as something that happens spontaneously, and new connections and insights are felt to arise quite naturally from within. As a result, most people experience EMDR as being a natural and very empowering therapy.
What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment?
EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped over a million individuals. The validity and reliability of EMDR has been established by rigorous research. There are now nineteen controlled studies into EMDR making it the most thoroughly researched method used in the treatment.
Person-Centred Counselling/Psychotherapy
What is Person-Centred Counselling and How Does It Help?
The person-centred approach is based on a deep respect for the person and an equal respect for the central truth that it is each person who is the expert on his or her own life. The essential qualities, I believe, which can create a safe, supportive and challenging environment include:
- a deep acceptance of the person
- a wish to understand that person
- a commitment to being genuine in the relationship
These qualities, offered professionally and consistently, are the central and distinctive characteristics of the person-centred approach.
What Sort of Problem is helped by Person-Centred Counselling?
Many things can affect your sense of personal well being and ability to cope: the following are some examples:
- You may be having relationship or family difficulties
- Perhaps you are struggling with feelings of anger, sadness or depression
- You may be experiencing a life crises arising out of a sudden change in your life circumstances
- You may be living with a long term emotional health problem yourself or caring for someone else in this situation
When are Sessions Available and For How Long?
Sessions for Person Centred Therapy are available on week days and evenings. They usually last one hour and are held weekly. The length of time available for counselling is individually negotiated with each client and is reviewed on a regular basis. Appropriate times can be negotiated in the initial meeting.
39 Manor Place
Edinburgh
EH3 7EB
T: 0131 225 2012
M: 07962 622 805