Articles on EMDR, trauma, and psychotherapy

What does EMDR stand for?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980s by American psychologist Francine Shapiro, who noticed that certain eye movements appeared to reduce the distress associated with difficult memories. Since then, decades of research have refined and validated the approach, and it is now recommended as a first-line treatment for PTSD by NICE, the NHS, and the World Health Organisation.

How does EMDR work?

When something traumatic or deeply distressing happens, the brain's normal memory processing can become disrupted. Instead of the memory being stored and integrated in the way ordinary memories are, it can become "stuck" — remaining vivid, emotionally raw, and easily triggered by sights, sounds, smells, or situations that remind us of the original event.

EMDR works by helping the brain reprocess these stuck memories. During EMDR, the therapist guides the client to briefly hold a distressing memory in mind while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation — typically through guided eye movements, but also through tapping or auditory tones. This bilateral stimulation appears to activate the brain's natural memory processing system, allowing the memory to be integrated and stored in a less distressing way.

What does an EMDR session actually look like?

Many people are surprised to find that EMDR is a structured, collaborative process — not something done to a passive client. Before any reprocessing begins, your therapist will spend time understanding your history, identifying the memories or experiences that are most distressing, and building the stabilisation and coping skills you will need to process difficult material safely.

During the reprocessing phase, you will be asked to bring to mind an image related to a target memory, along with any associated thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, while following the therapist's hand movements or another form of bilateral stimulation. The process is guided gently, with regular check-ins, and moves at a pace you are comfortable with. Most people find that distress reduces noticeably within sessions.

Is EMDR suitable for me?

EMDR was originally developed for PTSD, but the evidence base has grown substantially. It is now used effectively for complex PTSD, developmental trauma, attachment trauma, anxiety, phobias, depression, and persistent physical symptoms including chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and medically unexplained symptoms. Research also supports its use with children and adolescents.

The best way to determine whether EMDR is right for you is through an initial consultation with an accredited practitioner. At the Alvee Practice, we offer a free initial phone consultation for exactly this purpose.

Why does the level of your EMDR therapist matter?

EMDR is a specialist skill. The quality of your therapist's training, experience, and accreditation makes a significant difference — particularly when working with complex presentations such as C-PTSD or developmental trauma. EMDR Europe accreditation is the benchmark of professional competence in Europe, and Consultant accreditation represents the highest level — indicating a practitioner with extensive clinical experience who is also qualified to supervise and consult with other EMDR therapists.

Christopher Spanton is an EMDR Europe Accredited Consultant based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, offering EMDR therapy in person and online.

The mind-body connection in persistent physical symptoms

For many years, medicine and psychology operated in relative isolation — physical symptoms were treated physically, and psychological symptoms were treated psychologically. We now understand that this separation was always artificial. The body and mind are deeply interconnected, and psychological experiences — particularly trauma and chronic stress — can have profound effects on physical health.

Persistent physical symptoms (PPS) — sometimes called medically unexplained symptoms — refer to physical complaints that have no clear or sufficient medical explanation. These include conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and ME, irritable bowel syndrome, long COVID, functional neurological disorder, chronic pain syndromes, and more. Crucially, these are real and often severely disabling conditions — not imagined, not "all in the mind", and not a sign of weakness.

What does trauma have to do with physical symptoms?

Research consistently shows that adverse childhood experiences and adult trauma are strongly associated with the development of persistent physical symptoms. Trauma dysregulates the autonomic nervous system — the system that controls the body's stress responses — in ways that can persist long after the original traumatic events have passed. This dysregulation manifests in the body: in altered pain processing, immune function, gut motility, fatigue, and more.

How does EMDR help with persistent physical symptoms?

EMDR addresses the underlying traumatic memories and experiences that have contributed to nervous system dysregulation. When these experiences are reprocessed, many clients report significant reductions in physical symptoms alongside psychological improvement. This is not simply a matter of "feeling better about" the condition — the physiological mechanisms are real and increasingly well-documented in the research literature.

Specialist EMDR protocols have been developed specifically for working with chronic pain and persistent physical symptoms. These approaches work directly with the physical sensations themselves, as well as with the memories and experiences that may have contributed to their development. My clinical work in a national NHS specialist unit focused on this area has given me extensive experience in applying these protocols with people who have often tried many other approaches without success.

Who might benefit?

People who have experienced trauma — including childhood adversity, accidents, medical trauma, or cumulative life stress — and who are also living with persistent physical symptoms may find EMDR particularly helpful. This is especially true when conventional medical treatment has reached its limits, or when there is a sense that psychological and physical difficulties are intertwined.

An initial consultation is the best way to explore whether EMDR for persistent physical symptoms might be appropriate for you. Christopher Spanton works with this presentation both at the Alvee Practice in Leigh-on-Sea and online, drawing on his specialist NHS experience in this field.

EMDR accreditation — what are the levels?

EMDR Europe, the professional body that sets standards for EMDR practice across Europe, has a clear accreditation framework with three main levels: Practitioner, Consultant in Training, and Consultant. Each level requires progressively more experience, training, supervision, and demonstrated clinical competence.

An EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner has completed an approved EMDR training course and met requirements for supervised practice. This is the baseline standard for practising EMDR ethically and competently.

An EMDR Europe Accredited Consultant — the highest level — has gone substantially further. They have accumulated extensive clinical hours with a wide range of presentations, undergone significant supervised practice themselves, and demonstrated the ability to consult with and supervise other EMDR therapists. Consultant accreditation is not simply a marker of seniority — it reflects a depth of clinical knowledge and breadth of experience that makes a real difference in practice, particularly with complex cases.

What does an EMDR Consultant bring to clinical work?

Working with an EMDR Consultant means working with someone who has seen a wide range of presentations, navigated clinical complexity, and continued to develop their practice under supervision from experienced colleagues. They are more likely to have specialist knowledge in areas such as complex PTSD, dissociation, developmental trauma, and attachment difficulties — presentations that require skilled adaptation of standard EMDR protocols.

Consultants are also the practitioners who train and supervise other EMDR therapists — meaning their clinical thinking has been rigorously tested and refined through that process. There is a significant difference between knowing how to apply EMDR and deeply understanding why it works, when to adapt it, and how to navigate when it becomes difficult.

Does this mean less experienced EMDR therapists are not good?

Not at all. Many accredited EMDR practitioners are excellent clinicians doing important work. The question of level matters most when presentations are complex — when trauma is developmental or relational in origin, when there are dissociative features, when previous therapy has not helped, or when the person has multiple co-occurring difficulties. In these situations, the additional experience and depth that comes with Consultant-level accreditation is clinically meaningful.

Finding an EMDR Consultant

EMDR Consultants are relatively rare — there are far fewer of them than there are accredited practitioners, simply because the requirements are significantly higher. If you are looking for EMDR therapy in Essex or online, Christopher Spanton at the Alvee Practice is an EMDR Europe Accredited Consultant with over ten years of specialist EMDR practice, including in NHS specialist services. A free initial phone consultation is available to discuss whether EMDR is right for you.