Useful introduction to concepts 3 – Treating trauma with psychotherapy / EMDR / yoga / theatre and movement / neural feedback / psychedelics

“The big challenge of treating trauma is how do we help people to live in bodies that feel fundamentally safe”

Source: ‘6 ways to heal trauma without medication’ a 9-minute feature from the Big Think where world renowned expert in trauma, Bessel van der Kolk outlines ways to heal trauma, including a section on traditional EMDR, and how he moved from initial scepticism to seeing it as holding a profound benefit.

(1.20) Psychotherapy

(2.00) EMDR

(3.25) Yoga

(4.00) Theatre and movement

(5.35) Neural feedback

(5.50) Psychedelics

Useful introductions to concepts 2 – EMDR

Source: ‘6 ways to heal trauma without medication’ a 9-minute feature from the Big Think where world renowned expert in trauma, Bessel van der Kolk outlines ways to heal trauma, including a section on traditional EMDR, and how he moved from initial scepticism to seeing it as holding a profound benefit.

(2.05) “For me the opening to a new world began when some people in my clinic began do something very strange, called EMDR…”

(2.55) ‘The crazy (technique), changed the circuitry of the brain to interpret your current reality from a different angle’.

Useful introductions to concepts 1 – neuroplasticity / mindfulness

“Adaptability is one of the most remarkable attributes of human intelligence”

‘How I rewired my brain in six weeks’ is a 12-minute feature from BBC News from 2024, where journalist Melissa Hogenboom explores the science explaining the practice of mindfulness.

(3.04) A useful segment explaining neuroplasticity in simple terms through interviews with neuroscientists.

(3.33) ‘When neurons fire together, they wire together’ – explains the way I see EMDR reprocessing creates neuroplasticity in therapy, when clients are able to make new connections between disparate memories and experiences, opening up new ways of relating to past traumatic events.

(4.12) ‘Neuroplasticity is the mechanism through which the brain repairs itself’. An explanation of how neuroplasticity creates permanent change to the functional network of the brain.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reel/playlist/brain-hacks?vpid=p0gh6yn6

What is Reset EMDR? : A new project aiming to introduce the unique benefits of EMDR to business and professional people

Draft for press release for July 2025 – Andrew Lockhart & Robert Cuming (Reset EMDR)

Identify and overcome limiting mindsets

EMDR is usually described as a method to help clients move beyond trauma, however, another way of explaining its impact is to think about it enabling a reset to healthy adaptive processing, our capacity to think and act optimally in the face of work and life challenges – to move beyond negative mindsets blocking our progress.

We have seen that after clients go through the EMDR process, they find themselves feeling calmer, more centred, less triggered, and more able to respond rather than react to emerging challenges – in short, adopting powerful new mindsets that optimise performance.

EMDR for good health

What would happen if EMDR was viewed as simply restoring good health? Could its unique capacity to promote neural change have clearer application in business and professional settings?

We see it as having the potential to enable clients to naturally take up what might be called an evolutionary mindset – an embodied sense of adaptability, responsibility and resilience, perhaps going deeper than a growth mindset approach, focussed on a psychological attempt to gain mastery – potentially creating more a permanent change than much business or life coaching.

Resetting to healthy adaptive processing

We called this project Reset EMDR as our objective is to reset the processing of incoming information to our innate state of healthy functioning – before it became restricted by early life coping strategies unconsciously developed to protect us from trauma, negative parental conditioning and any other challenging and overwhelming situations we might have faced.

Deep and permanent internal change through activating neuroplasticity

In neuroscientific terms EMDR, catalyses neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming fresh neural connections. New neural pathways are established, finally breaking the connection between challenges faced in the present moment and those in the past.

Therefore, EMDR not only supports clients to get past the maladaptive coping strategies keeping them stuck, but also brings about a deep and permanent internal resourcing – and through this, activates our capacity to respond to the world in a more energetic and hopeful way.

Psychotherapy led change

In the UK, EMDR can only be used by mental-health professionals, including psychotherapists and psychiatrists. Psychotherapists are uniquely positioned to work with EMDR, because we have a vast experience of working relationally and creatively with individual clients, each with their own needs and challenges. We create spaces where deeply personal and emotional material can be discussed confidentially and safely, and where nothing is beyond exploration or off limits.

Time and time again in our work we have seen clients released from feelings, thoughts and beliefs preventing their progress in the world – feeling more open, agile and resilient, less triggered and reactive, and able to meet challenges with increased clarity, openness and strength.

Our ethos

We believe that EMDR and AF-EMDR can be used more widely to improve performance in work, life and relationships – for anybody who wants to challenge negative mindsets and become more agile and responsive to challenges.

Launching soon

Our website resetemdr.com is launching soon. As part of this project, we will be offering AF-EMDR taster workshops to businesses and organisations.

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