& Psychotherapy
EMDR Therapy
EMDR Therapy in Caringbah and the Sutherland Shire
Caringbah, Sutherland Shire and Sydney, in person or online.
You might have told the story already. More than once. To a GP, to a friend, to another therapist. And it still lands the same way in your body.
That's not a failure of effort. Some things don't shift by talking about them, because the part of you holding them was never speaking in words to begin with. The memory intrudes when you didn't invite it. The reaction fires before you've had a chance to think. Your body hasn't caught up to the fact that you're safe now.
EMDR works on the memory itself, not the telling of it.
What EMDR actually is
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. The short version: you bring a difficult memory to mind while doing something that occupies your attention at the same time. Usually that's following something with your eyes. Sometimes it's tapping, or sound. We work out which one suits you.
What tends to happen is that the memory loses its grip. It doesn't disappear and you don't forget it. It stops arriving with the same charge. People often describe the event moving from something happening now to something that happened.
Does EMDR actually work?
Yes. It isn't a fringe treatment.
EMDR is one of the front-line trauma treatments recommended for PTSD in Australia's national guidelines. It's one of the most researched approaches to trauma there is.
It still has limits. It works best on distress that traces back to specific experiences, it isn't a general-purpose fix for everything difficult, and it doesn't replace slower relational work when that's what's needed.
CAN A COUNSELLOR DO EMDR?
Yes. People ask it as "can a counsellor do EMDR" and as "can a psychotherapist do EMDR", and I'm registered as both, so here's the straight answer.
EMDR training in Australia is open to appropriately qualified mental health practitioners, and that includes PACFA Clinical registrants. I'm PACFA Registered Clinical (28644), and I've completed specialised training in EMDR alongside IFS, polyvagal-informed practice and suicide prevention.
What matters more than the letters is who's sitting across from you and whether they can hold what comes up. I've worked in trauma treatment hospitals, drug and alcohol services, community organisations and group programs.
If you'd rather see a psychologist, that's a completely reasonable choice and I'll help you find one.
What the first session is actually like
EMDR starts in the first session. What doesn't start straight away is the reprocessing, the part with the eye movements.
The early phases are getting to know you, understanding what you're carrying, and working out which memories are actually driving what you're living with now. Alongside that we build resourcing. Things you can reach for when the work gets heavy. A settled place inside you that you can come back to. Ways to notice when you're drifting out of the room, and how to bring yourself back. That is EMDR. It's the same protocol, and everything else rests on it.
How long that takes depends on you. For some people it's a session or two. If there's a lot of early trauma, or dissociation, it takes longer, and it should. We don't go near reprocessing until you can get stirred up and come back down again, with me, in the room. That's the test, and we don't skip it.
When we do start reprocessing, it's less dramatic than people expect. I'll ask you to bring the memory to mind and notice what comes with it, where you feel it, what you believe about yourself in it. Then we do a short set of eye movements, or tapping, and I ask what you noticed. Then again. Then again.
You will not be asked to narrate the whole thing out loud. You can say as much or as little as you want about what's coming up. That surprises people.
You stay awake. You stay in the room. You can stop at any point, and stopping isn't failing. We leave time at the end of a session to settle, so you're not walking out with something still open.
Online works the same way. The structure doesn't change, only how the eye movements happen. Instead of following something across the room, you follow a moving point on your screen, or use sound through headphones, or tap. Plenty of people do the whole course of work this way.
What it feels like between sessions
Processing doesn't stop when you leave. For a few days afterwards you might have vivid dreams, feel unusually tired, or find yourself raw and short-tempered over small things. Memories can sharpen before they settle. Some people feel worse before they feel better.
That isn't a sign it's going wrong. It's usually a sign something is moving. But you should know it can happen before it happens, not after.
We plan for it. We talk about what you'll do in those few days, what helps you settle, and who you can reach. And if it's too much, we slow down. That's always available.
How long it takes
Because EMDR works on the memory directly rather than by talking around it, things often shift sooner than people expect. That's one of the genuine reasons to consider it.
It depends on the person, the same as any therapy. Some people need more sessions, some need fewer. We'll talk about it as we go.
WHEN EMDR ISN'T RIGHT
Sometimes it isn't, and you should hear that from me rather than find out three months in.
Reprocessing asks a lot of your nervous system. If there's no steady ground under you yet, the work is to build that ground first. Going straight at the memory without it tends to overwhelm rather than help. The same goes if dissociation is taking you out of the room before we get anywhere. That isn't a no, it just changes where we start.
Some people also find that what's in the way isn't a memory at all. It's a pattern in how they relate, or a part of them that isn't ready to let anything go yet. That isn't a reason to give up. It's a reason to work differently for a while.
If EMDR isn't right for you, I'll say so.
If you need support right now, before any of this: Lifeline 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. 13YARN 13 92 76. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467. NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511. In an emergency, 000.
HOW I WORK WITH IT
I don't do EMDR as a standalone procedure. It sits inside the rest of the work.
Most of the people I see are at war with themselves in some way. A part that wants to move forward and a part that slams the brakes on. Internal Family Systems is the model I work with most, and it changes how EMDR goes: instead of pushing past the part of you that's frightened of this, we find out what it's protecting first. Things move better when nothing in you is being overridden.
Will this change who I am?
No. Nothing is being removed from you. The parts carrying this aren't being deleted, and you aren't being written over. They took on something that was never theirs, and no one's ever let them put it down. That's the work.
We go at your pace, pay attention to what matters, and work with what's here and now.
Fees and practicalities
EMDR sessions run 90 minutes and cost $195. Reprocessing needs the longer session. An hour isn't enough time to open something up and settle it again before you leave.
Rebates are available through Bupa, Medibank, HCF, ahm and ARHG, depending on your level of cover. I'm not a Medicare provider, so there's no Medicare rebate, and you don't need a GP referral or a mental health care plan to see me. You can book directly.
In person in a private room in Caringbah, close to Cronulla, Miranda and Sutherland. Or online, anywhere in Australia. I see people from 8am, with last sessions at 7pm Monday to Thursday and 6pm on Friday.
Common questions
Is EMDR hypnosis?
No. You're awake and aware the whole time, and you're in control of what happens.
Is EMDR evidence-based?
Yes. It's one of the front-line trauma treatments recommended for PTSD in Australia's national guidelines, and one of the most researched approaches to trauma there is. What's still debated among researchers is exactly why it works, not whether it works.
Does EMDR work online?
Yes. The structure is the same. The eye movements happen on your screen instead of across the room, or you use sound or tapping. You can do the whole course of work online if that suits you better.
Will I have to describe my trauma in detail?
No. You can say as little as you want about what's coming up. The processing doesn't depend on you narrating it.
What if I don't remember everything?
That's common, and it isn't a problem. EMDR works with what's there, including fragments, images and body sensations. You don't need a complete story.
Does EMDR have side effects?
It can stir things up for a few days. Vivid dreams, tiredness, feeling raw. We talk about this before we start and we plan for it.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
It depends on the person, the same as any therapy. Some people need more sessions, some need fewer. We'll talk about it as we go.
Can EMDR make things worse?
Distress can rise before it settles, which is why preparation comes first and why we go at a pace you can handle. If it's too much, we slow down or stop.
Is EMDR covered by Medicare?
Not with me. I'm a PACFA registered counsellor, not a Medicare provider. Health fund rebates are available with Bupa, Medibank, HCF, ahm and ARHG.
How much does EMDR cost?
$195 for a 90 minute session, in Caringbah or online. Health fund rebates are available with Bupa, Medibank, HCF, ahm and ARHG.
What does EMDR help with?
I work with trauma and PTSD, single incidents and long-running experiences, and the reactions that outlast them. It also comes up in work with anxiety, addiction, grief, and distressing memories that won't settle.
Do I need a referral?
No.