28th March 2024 

DBR (Deep Brain Reorienting) and EMDR

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.

Increasingly, I use DBR (Deep Brain Reorienting) an evolving approach developed by Frank Corrigan when working with clients suffering from trauma.

I am an accredited EMDR Practitioner with membership of the EMDR Association and have regular supervision for this aspect of my practice.

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.

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.