Trauma Therapy and EMDR
Understanding the impact of trauma
Many people come to therapy because they are struggling with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or a sense that something doesn’t feel right.
Often, they have spent years coping, functioning, helping others, or simply getting on with life without fully understanding why certain patterns keep repeating or why particular situations affect them so deeply.
My work focuses on helping people understand these experiences and the role trauma may be playing in their lives.
I have a special interest in providing trauma therapy to people in Melbourne and via telehealth psychology throughout Australia. I use Attachment-Informed EMDR therapy as the foundation of my work with clients experiencing PTSD, complex trauma, or the lasting impacts of difficult childhood experiences.
Depending on each person’s needs, I may also integrate Schema Therapy, Mindfulness, Compassion Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) into treatment.
Importantly, EMDR can be highly effective when conducted via telehealth, allowing clients to access trauma therapy in a safe and supportive way from their own environment.
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What is EMDR
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, is a powerful and evidence-based therapy that helps people process traumatic experiences.
There is a strong and growing evidence base supporting EMDR for PTSD, developmental trauma, anxiety, depression, and phobias.
Trauma can result from a single distressing event, such as a car accident, or from repeated experiences over time, particularly in childhood.
While some people clearly identify their experiences as trauma, many others simply notice ongoing struggles with emotional overwhelm, anxiety, relationship difficulties, low self-worth, or feeling easily triggered.
The role of attachment and early experiences
Much of my work is Attachment-Informed EMDR, which focuses not only on traumatic events themselves, but also on the relational experiences that shape how we see ourselves and others. Early attachment experiences can have a significant influence on emotional regulation, relationships, self-worth, and coping patterns later in life.
Many people I work with do not necessarily identify with PTSD, but notice ongoing struggles with anxiety, depression, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or feeling easily triggered.
Often, these difficulties are connected to experiences of not feeling emotionally safe, understood, protected, or consistently supported as a child.
Sometimes it is not the event itself that creates lasting distress, but the absence of someone who could help make sense of the experience and provide emotional connection. These unresolved experiences can remain “stuck” in the nervous system and continue to affect daily life well into adulthood.
Understanding patterns with compassion
In therapy, I help clients understand how trauma and attachment experiences shape the brain, nervous system, emotions, and coping responses.
Together, we work to identify patterns that may once have been protective but are no longer serving them.
Understanding these patterns can help build self-compassion and reduce shame, which is an important part of healing.
Many people find comfort in realising that their reactions make sense when viewed in the context of what they have experienced.
Moving beyond survival
I believe healing from trauma is possible when people feel safe enough to process painful experiences in a supported and compassionate way.
My goal is to help clients move beyond survival patterns so they can feel more present, connected, and able to engage more fully in their lives.
Therapy is not about erasing the past. It is about helping you understand it, process it, and develop greater freedom in how you move forward.