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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) & Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) Services 

Image by Miquel Parera

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence based approach that helps and supports you to gain insight into your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. A key aspect of CBT is recognising negative thought patterns and behaviours that may feel overwhelming.  One aim of CBT is to empower you to break free from unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours to improve your well-being. This also involves exploring the emotional and physical sensations you may be experiencing.

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CBT equips you with practical tools to tackle current issues and alleviate symptoms, while also connecting these challenges to past experiences and core beliefs. This collaborative process involves working closely with your therapist to understand your difficulties and develop strategies to overcome them.

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The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which guides mental health treatment within the NHS, recommends CBT for conditions such as:

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  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Panic 

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • Health anxiety

  • Social anxiety

  • Generalised anxiety 

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Additionally, CBT offers effective interventions for managing:

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  • Anger

  • Sleep difficulties

  • Chronic fatigue

  • Long-term health conditions like diabetes, chronic pain, and cancer.

Image by Miquel Parera
Toy Brain

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), is a type of psychotherapy aimed at helping individuals heal from traumatic experiences.  The ongoing effects of trauma, such as flashbacks, disturbing thoughts, upsetting dreams,  depression and anxiety are symptoms that can be treated by EMDR. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends EMDR as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in addition to other difficulties. During a traumatic event, the brain may struggle to process the experience, causing the memory to remain “frozen” in a highly vivid and distressing form. This can lead to intense re-experiencing of the events' sights, sounds, and emotions whenever the memory is recalled.

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EMDR works to “unfreeze” these memories, allowing the brain to process them more effectively and reduce their emotional intensity. This therapy also helps individuals think about the event without being overwhelmed by strong emotions. EMDR involves recalling the traumatic memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements, alternating sounds in each ear and alternating taps on the hands. These stimuli seem to activate the brain’s "stuck" processing system, enabling it to reframe the memory as a less intense, more ordinary recollection.

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Bilateral simulation resembles the natural processing that occurs during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep where rapid eye movements aid in processing daily experiences. Studies suggest that EMDR’s effectiveness comes from engaging the brain in a dual task—focusing on the traumatic memory while performing another activity. This divided attention can reduce the memory’s vividness, helping individuals distance themselves from it and recall the event in a more constructive and manageable way.

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