EMDR, CRM, Brainspotting and Somatic Awareness
As a client you may or may not be interested in the particular way I may be working at any point during the therapeutic process. For some clients, an in depth understanding of the way their brain is responding to problems can be very reassuring - usually eliciting the response of "so it's not just me then?" or "so that's why I do that?" Other clients find it helpful to have an explanation of why I might choose to approach a particular issue in a certain way. Some clients actually don't want to know and just want to feel better.I am fully a fully trained EMDR Practitioner working towards EMDR accreditation through membership of the EMDR Association and have regular supervision for this aspect of my practice. I have completed several trainings in both Brainspotting and CRM.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming) is an integrative psychotherapeutic technique mainly used for addressing the impact of trauma, but is also used to address persistent or "stubborn" issues which seem resistant to other approaches. It requires detailed history taking and resource building for the client and uses bilateral stimulation to assist reprocessing of troublesome material.
Brainspotting and CRM (Comprehensive resource Model) have evolved from EMDR as approaches to working with clients affected by Trauma. As with EMDR, I integrate the working practices from Brainspotting and CRM as appropriate where the client experiences difficulties which seem somewhat resistant to other approaches. Brainspotting incorporates the therapeutic use of "eye spots" and bilateral stimulation, while CRM emphasises resourcing the client through a wide variety of techniques including guided visualisations and bilateral stimulation.
For all of these techniques, I draw on the client's somatic experience of their own distress levels. Many people find this challenging, especially at first as we are often used to disregarding the distress signals sent out by our bodies. I find that the use of mindfulness techniques to develop and "stay with" an awareness of what happens in our bodies at times of distress is a gentle and supportive way to approach this aspect of our experience.
