EMDR Therapy: A powerful way to heal from trauma

Life can leave us with emotional wounds—sometimes from major traumatic events, and sometimes from repeated, smaller experiences that chip away at our sense of safety and self-worth. These experiences can get “stuck” in our minds and bodies, affecting how we feel, think, and respond to the world around us.

EMDR therapy, short for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, is a structured, evidence-based therapy designed to help people process and heal from these kinds of distressing memories. It’s commonly used for treating PTSD and complex trauma, but also helps with anxiety, depression, grief, and other emotional difficulties.

What makes EMDR different is how it uses bilateral stimulation—like guided eye movements, gentle tapping, or sounds that move from one side to the other. This process helps your brain “unstick” painful memories so you can process them in a healthier, more adaptive way.

It’s not about forgetting what happened—it’s about reducing the emotional charge those memories carry so they don’t keep affecting your life in the same way.

Our Approach to EMDR at Marsden Health

At Marsden Health, we offer EMDR therapy in a gentle, structured, and supportive way. It’s a process that honours both the mind and body—because trauma lives in both.

Here’s what EMDR therapy typically involves:

1. History & Treatment Planning

We begin by getting to know you—your story, key experiences, and the memories or issues you want to focus on in therapy. This helps shape a clear, personalised plan.

2. Preparation

Before diving into deeper work, we make sure you feel safe, supported, and ready. You’ll learn simple tools to help manage distress and ground yourself emotionally.

3. Assessment

You and your therapist will identify a specific memory to work with. Together, you’ll look at the negative beliefs tied to it (like “I’m not safe” or “It’s my fault”) and begin to form a more empowering belief to work toward.

4. Desensitisation (Reprocessing)

This is the heart of EMDR. While focusing on the memory, you’ll engage in bilateral stimulation. This helps your brain reprocess the event, gradually lowering its emotional intensity.

5. Installation

We then help reinforce the new, more positive belief—like “I’m safe now” or “I did the best I could”—so it becomes more deeply embedded.

6. Body Scan

Because trauma is often stored in the body, we check in with any tension or physical sensations that may still be lingering. The aim is to release that, too.

7. Closure

Each session ends with calming techniques to help you leave feeling settled and emotionally grounded.

8. Re-evaluation

In future sessions, we’ll check in on how you’re feeling, what’s changed, and whether any new memories or issues have come up.

Healing Is Possible

EMDR therapy doesn’t erase the past—but it can help you move forward without being held back by it. At Marsden Health, we’re here to walk with you as you make sense of what you’ve been through, and help you reconnect with a calmer, more empowered version of yourself.

You don’t have to carry it alone. Let’s work through it together.