Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy designed to help people recover from the impact of trauma and difficult life experiences. Whether it’s a single event like an accident or assault, or something that happened repeatedly over time, EMDR helps the brain “reprocess” these memories so they become less distressing and have less impact on day-to-day life.
When something traumatic happens, the brain doesn’t always store the memory in the usual way. Instead, the experience can stay “stuck,” along with the intense emotions, body sensations, and beliefs that came with it. This can lead to flashbacks, nightmares, or strong emotions such as fear, anger, guilt or shame, even years later.
EMDR helps by activating the brain’s natural healing process. During sessions, you’ll be asked to briefly recall a difficult memory while you are guided through a type of bilateral (alternate side) stimulation, usually eye movements, tapping, or sounds. This process helps your brain reprocess the memory so it no longer feels so raw or overwhelming. You’re not being asked to talk about the memory in great detail, and you stay in control throughout.
What’s unique about EMDR is that it works on emotional memories and physical responses, not just thoughts. Many people find that after EMDR, they can still remember the event, but it feels more distant or less upsetting—it’s no longer “living in the present.”
EMDR is often used for trauma memories (that might fit with a label of PTSD), but it can also help with other presentations like anxiety, phobias, grief, low self-esteem, and more. It’s recognised by organisations like NICE as an effective treatment for trauma.
EMDR is a newer approach and as such is developing quickly over time. One such development is Flash EMDR,which is a more recent approach that’s designed to reduce distress very gently, often without needing to think directly about the traumatic memory at all. Instead, your focus is placed on something positive or neutral, while your brain does the work in the background. This makes Flash EMDR particularly helpful for people who feel highly anxious or overwhelmed when they even start to think about the traumatic event. Many people find that their level of distress reduces significantly, even before the memory is explored in detail.
EMDR training is relatively brief and so it tends to be practiced by professionals with a pre-existing training in other models and it tends to work against a background of good clinical skill in other models and approaches.
Dr Lawrence Howells has been practicing EMDR for many years in Norwich, Norfolk, and has used it for many different presentations, ranging from single-incident events in adulthood through to repeated trauma occuring throughout childhood. As a Clinical Psychologist, he can integrate the approach into other models, for example using a Cognitive Analytic framework to make sense of probelmatic relational patterns and then EMDR to process past memories of traumatic events.
If you feel stuck with memories or emotions from the past that still affect your present, EMDR with Dr Lawrence Howells offers a structured, evidence-based way to help your mind and body process those experiences and move on with your life.