Therapy

• Serious car accidents
• Sexual or physical assault
• Natural disasters such as fire, earthquakes, hurricanes or floods
• Witnessing someone else being badly hurt or killed
• Robbery
• Combat or military exposure

• How long the trauma lasted and how intensely you were affected
• Whether you witnessed the injuries or death of someone close to you
• Whether you were physically hurt
• To what extent you felt out of control and helpless
• How much help and support you received after the event

• Re-experiencing the event in the form of flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories.
• Avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma, be it places, people or situations.
• Feeling emotionally numb is another way of avoiding bad memories.
• Feeling overly anxious or in a state of high alert. This can make it more difficult to your sleep, affect your concentration and increase feelings of irritability. You can also be easily startled by unexpected noises.

All expressive and psychodynamic therapies have at their core the notion that painful memories are stored and not forgotten although they might differ in how these memories might be retrieved. In recent years, there has been increased interest and understanding of the nature of trauma and traumatic memory.

Research has shown that one of the most effective ways of dealing with the consequences of severe trauma is a technique known as EMDR. (Eye Movement Densentisation and Reprocessing) which was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro. The process has been shown to be extremely effective in removing the symptoms of psychological trauma which are a consequence of unresolved traumatic events. Such events can be physically life threatening such as car accidents, war experiences, physical assaults and natural disasters or they can be emotionally life threatening such as childhood sexual abuse or neglect. More recently there is good evidence for EMDR being useful in resolving trauma in general.

The model on which EMDR is based, Adaptive Information Processing (AIP), posits that much of psychopathology is due to the maladaptive encoding of and/or incomplete processing of traumatic or disturbing adverse life experiences. This impairs the client’s ability to integrate these experiences in an adaptive manner. The eight-phase, three-pronged process of EMDR facilitates the resumption of normal information processing and integration. This treatment approach, which targets past experience, current triggers, and future potential challenges, results in the alleviation of presenting symptoms, a decrease or elimination of distress from the disturbing memory, improved view of the self, relief from bodily disturbance, and resolution of present and future anticipated triggers. EMDR therapy is a therapeutic intervention that must be administered by an EMDR trained clinician or those who are currently participating in an EMDRIA Approved training. 
For this reason, in our London trauma clinic, all our therapists have training in the use of EMDR.

In life we inevitably suffer painful losses, dangers, disappointments, bereavement, it is part of the human condition. But when such events are too overwhelming, too frightening, we do not always get over them with the passage of time. Sometimes the process of recovery becomes stuck and the sufferer continues to view life events through the lens of the traumatic event. As Bessel van der Kolk writes, ‘Despite the human capacity to survive and adapt, traumatic experiences can alter people’s psychological, biological, and social equilibrium to such a degree that the memory of one particular event comes to taint all other experiences, spoiling appreciation of the present.’

Traumatic experiences can overwhelm our normal strategies for emotional regulation and self-soothing. If you know how to calm yourself, have a sense that you will manage and can survive then your capacity to manage adversity is greatly improved.

Some life experiences are simply so horrific and terrifying that they completely overwhelm any capacity for self-soothing. Under such circumstances, a traumatised person might turn to drugs or alcohol to manage their feelings and thoughts.

Detatching from the painful memories and feelings is another strategy that individuals might use to protect themselves from the impact of what has taken place. However, this can lead to emotional numbness and a sense of disconnection from the world, oneself and other people.

The ability to self-soothe can also be compromised early in life, if a child is raised in an environment that has failed to provide adequate care and support. Insecure children become adults who have little trust in the world and who do not know to manage their impulses and feelings of anxiety, distress and anger.

One important aspect of working with clients is helping them to develop and enhance strategies for self-soothing and emotional regulation in order to have a better capacity to manage their difficult or disturbing feelings.

We offer an initial consultation service for adults and couples who are looking for psychological help with difficulties they are experiencing in their personal or professional lives. A consultation offers an opportunity to explore your problems, to asses what sort of help you require, and how best to arrange this. This meeting usually lasts for up to one and one and a half hours.

If necessary, a follow-up meeting may be offered. If we feel that our therapeutic approach is not best suited to your problems, we can suggest other professional services which might be more appropriate.

• EMDR
• Integrative psychotherapy
• Relational Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy
• Psychodynamic counselling

Unfortunately we are currently unable to take on new clients as our schedules are full. As soon as we have availability this notice will be removed.

We offer an initial consultation service for adults and couples who are looking for psychological help with difficulties they are experiencing in their personal or professional lives. A consultation offers an opportunity to explore your problems, to assess what sort of help you require and how best to arrange this. This meeting usually lasts for one to one and a half hours. When necessary, a follow-up meeting will be offered. If we feel that our therapeutic approach is not best suited to your problems, we can suggest other professional services that might be more appropriate. We also offer therapy in all the Scandinavian languages and Serbo-Croat. It is helpful if you can also indicate when you would be available for sessions.