Counselling and Psychological Therapies

Counselling
Perhaps the most important gifts we can offer another human being is the gift of being heard, the chance to express yourself in a safe and supported, non-judgemental environment.
There are many different approaches to Counselling. Over the years the proliferation of courses and "pseudo" therapies and therapists has done a great deal to undermine confidence in counselling as a respectful, empowering therapeutic option for support in times of difficulty.

We don't advocate a specific model or approach, believing instead that it is the quality of the relationship between the client and counsellor that may enable people to move forward in their lives as a result of that contact.

What we can and do ensure, is that we offer a respectful environment where you can explore and derive your own solutions to the issues that may be of concern to you, without the concern of being labelled or diagnosed.

There's so much clutter in busy working people's lives and probably the most valuable thing we offer is the "space" which is uncluttered by the therapists agenda and preconceived ideas about your needs. This can be like a breath of fresh air to some but we understand that it can seem daunting to others.
Taking the first step is sometimes the biggest and the hardest move to make, but taking one small step towards something, brings it closer, clearer, tangible, and makes change possible.

Trauma and EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was created by DR Francine Shapiro, a Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow at the Mental Health Research Institute in Palo Alto, USA. It is an innovative clinical treatment, which has successfully helped over one million people who have experienced psychological difficulties that originate from some kind of traumatic experience, such as sexual abuse, childhood neglect, road traffic accidents and violence. EMDR is also successful in treating other complaints such as, performance anxiety, self-esteem issues, phobias, and other trauma related anxiety disorders associated with addiction.

EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy that integrates many of the successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches, and combines them with eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation in ways which stimulate the brain's information processing system.

Normally, the individual processes traumatic experiences naturally. However, when a person is severely traumatized, either by an overwhelming event or by being repeatedly subjected to distress, this healing process may become overloaded, leaving the original disturbing experiences unprocessed. These unprocessed memories can be stored in the brain in a "raw" form (triggers) where they can be continually re-evoked when experiencing events that are similar to the original experience.

EMDR utilizes the body's natural healing ability and allows the brain to heal psychological problems at the same rate as the rest of the body heals physical ailments. Because EMDR allows the mind and body to heal at the same rate, treatment can be rapid. The number of sessions required for EMDR treatment, however, will vary according to the complexity of the issues being dealt with. In general, the more isolated the traumatic memory being treated, the shorter the treatment tends to be.

There have been 14 controlled studies supporting the efficacy of EMDR, making it the most thoroughly researched method in the treatment of trauma. The most recent five studies with people suffering from a range of events such as rape, combat, bereavement, accidents, natural disasters etc. have found that 84 - 90% of the participants no longer had Post-traumatic Stress Disorder following EMDR treatment. Given its wide application, EMDR promises to be the therapy of the future.

Fran Miller, Therapist and Clinical Nurse Specialist has a special interest in the use and development of EMDR in the treatment of addictive forms of behaviour