Other therapies
Although my main approach is Cognitive Hypnotherapy, I also incorporate EMDR and somatic therapy where appropriate. Sessions are tailored to each individual, and I may integrate different approaches depending on what will be most helpful for the client. Below is information on each therapy.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a gentle but effective therapy that helps people process and heal from difficult or distressing experiences. EMDR is widely used for trauma and PTSD but it can also be helpful for anxiety, phobias, low self-esteem, and other emotional difficulties where past experiences continue to have a present-day impact.
EMDR works by helping the brain reprocess memories so they can be stored in a way that is no longer distressing. One of the ways this is achieved is through gentle, back-and-forth eye movements as you follow my fingers with your eyes while we work through what has been troubling you. This back-and-forth eye movement appears to activate a process similar to what happens during REM sleep, when the brain naturally processes experiences and information from the day.
A helpful way of understanding this is through the following idea:
“The brain uses a similar process to digestion in order to process experiences. Just like digestion extracts nutrients from the food we eat, the mind’s information processing system, when functioning properly, extracts useful information from our experiences.”
By activating the minds information processing system, we can extract useful information from our issue, allow our mind to make sense of it and remove any emotional discharge so the memory can be stored in the brain differently. In turn this allows our thoughts, emotions and behaviour to naturally change, as they arise from the brain.
Although the exact science continues to be explored, EMDR is well researched and recommended by organisations such as the World Health Organization and NICE for the treatment of trauma. EMDR was originally developed in the late 1980s while working with people who had experienced severe trauma, including war veterans, and has continued to be researched and developed ever since.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy recognises the close connection between the mind and the body. Our experiences especially stressful or overwhelming ones, are not only held in our thoughts and emotions but can also be held in the nervous system and body.
In somatic therapy we pay attention not only to what you are thinking or feeling, but also to posture, breathing, physical sensations, and the body’s natural responses. This is because communication of our emotions is also expressed through the body without us necessarily realising so these sensations often reflect emotional experiences. By noticing bodily sensations and responses, we can begin to understand what may be held in the body and we can then reprocess these emotions in a way that is effective for the nervous system to truly recognises safety. This is important as our nervous system understands safety through bodily sensation rather than through language, very different to our logical mind. By processing these bodily sensations, we are directly addressing the nervous system through mindful slow movements and breath.
By gently supporting the body’s natural ability to regulate and recover, somatic therapy can help people process and recover from trauma, help with anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm. Many people find that this style of therapy also helps them become more aware of how their body reacts to certain emotions and situations and learn practical ways to support their nervous system to feel calmer and more balanced.
Greta Trentin
07776436548
gretatrentin.therapy@gmail.com
If you need any particular assistance, please let me know and I’d be happy to make arrangements for them.
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