the present is perceived through the lenses of the past

Big T and little t trauma are shorthand terms for different types of adverse life events. Big T trauma involves major, life-threatening events, little t trauma involves painful cumulative stressors, but both can overload the nervous system and make daily living difficult.  

These adverse events get stuck and stored in the brain in isolation, getting locked in the nervous system with the original mental representations (images, sounds, smells, sensations, thoughts, fantasies) causing distressing emotions like anxiety, panic, anger, or despair to be triggered in the here and now. Old distressing material just keeps being triggered repeatedly. This prevents learning and healing from taking place. In another part of the brain is most of the information needed to resolve these problems, the two just can't connect.

EMDR is a therapy developed to help the brain process the stuck mental representations. It can help with distressing emotions, anxiety, depression, stress, phobias, sleep problems, grief, addictions, pain, self-esteem, and performance anxiety (both sexual and non-sexual). Once EMDR starts, a linking takes place. New information can come to mind and resolve old problems. 

EMDR uses guided bilateral stimulation like eye movements or tapping, while focusing on distressing material. By taxing the working memory, it helps reduce the emotional intensity of material. This may be what happens spontaneously in R.E.M. or dream sleep when eye movements help to process unconscious material. EMDR is research-supported and recommended by the World Health Organisation, NHS and NICE for PTSD. Treatment can be brief or part of longer therapy.  

EMDR intensive are bespoke, concentrated therapy sessions of 90 minutes or more, designed to give faster access to EMDR and accelerate progress compared with standard length sessions. They are delivered online and the approach may suit people with single-event trauma, grief, time constraints, feeling stuck in therapy, or an upcoming event they want to prepare for. We start with an assessment and treatment planning session, then EMDR session(s) to address your concerns, and end with a review appointment. Longer sessions over a period of hours and even 1-2 days can also be arranged.