It's common to feel overwhelmed or distressed when trauma memories and triggers arise. Without support, these feelings have the potential to affect your everyday life in ways that can be hard to manage.
At Inner View Psychology, we use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy in an effort to reduce the intensity of distress. EMDR aims to reduce their power over you and aims to help you reframe your experiences and beliefs.
EMDR aims to help you process traumatic or painful memories. Originally, it was developed to address PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), but is now also widely used to support people living with:
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Depression
⦿ Personality disorders
⦿ Eating disorders
⦿ Phobias
⦿ Relationship issues
EMDR uses a structured approach to identify distressing memories that may be contributing to trauma responses and unhelpful behaviours.
Using bilateral stimulation, often in the form of guided eye movements, EMDR works to reprocess these memories. This may help reduce intense emotional reactions, nightmares, and other symptoms you may be experiencing.
Tired of feeling controlled by your past?
Our team is here with compassionate support and understanding.
EMDR therapy is tailored to your individual experiences and goals. While the EMDR approach has eight recognised phases, your psychologist will draw from these to cater your sessions to your individual needs, supporting you at a pace that feels right.
Your EMDR sessions may include:
Your psychologist works with you to identify past experiences that may be impacting you today.
The EMDR process is explained, and you may learn some helpful techniques to prepare you.
A specific memory is broken down into its components to help understand and address it.
You focus on the memory while bilateral stimulation occurs, to help reduce its intensity.
Positive beliefs are identified and strengthened to replace the unhelpful ones.
You focus on how your body feels after processing to monitor any physical sensations of distress.
Your psychologist helps you return to a place of balance and calm before the session ends.
A check-in to review progress.
Traditional talk therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, work primarily through conscious thought and reflection. EMDR differs in that it works with the brain's natural thought patterns, using bilateral stimulation to reprocess distressing memories rather than talking them through.
For some people, this may feel like a gentler or more accessible way into trauma therapy.
Yes. EMDR typically works well alongside other therapeutic approaches, including schema therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapy.
Your psychologist will work with you to help determine the combination of evidence-based practices that may be best for your individual needs and goals.
You don't need to have experienced a single defining traumatic event for EMDR to be relevant. Many people seek support for disturbing experiences, difficult relationships, childhood adversity, or loss that have had a lasting impact on their mental health.
If the past is affecting your life today, it's worth a conversation with our team.
This varies depending on the nature and complexity of what you're working through. Some people notice a change in a relatively small number of sessions, while others with more complex histories or intense psychological distress may benefit from longer-term mental health support.
We tailor every psychology session to you, using reliable therapeutic modalities and techniques.
Our team has a genuine passion for helping people overcome challenges and build a more fulfilling life.
Our Footscray & Southbank clinics support our local community by offering a welcoming, inclusive space to access care.
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