Integrative counselling draws from the main theoretical models;

1. The Psychodynamic approach looks at how our past can influence our present.

2. The Humanistic Person-Centred approach places more emphasis on the here and now.

3. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) challenges negative thinking and old habits that no longer serve us.

EMDR therapy requires less discussion and can accelerate progress in a matter of weeks, we can use this a stand-alone or as part of integrative therapy.

The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. However, when something out of the ordinary occurs and you are traumatised by an overwhelming event or by being repeatedly subjected to distress, your natural coping mechanisms can become overloaded. In order to carry on ‘coping with life’, the brain isolates these disturbing events keeping them in a 'raw' or 'frozen' emotional form.

Sometimes the memory itself is long forgotten but anxiety, panic, anger or despair are continually triggered in the present when a situation resonates with the past experience, the ability to learn and enjoy new experiences is therefore constrained.

The eye movement stimulation used in EMDR unlocks the nervous system, creating connections between the brain memory networks, this process reduces stress, allows healing and new insights, so you can relate to the past events in a non-disturbing, healthier way.