What is EMDR and
The Shift Method™?
A gentle, science-backed way to heal what talk therapy can’t always reach.
EMDR is the foundation of the Shift Method™, our neuroscience-backed process that helps your body complete the stress cycle and let go of the overwhelm, shock, or trauma it has been holding onto.
The impact of unprocessed shock and trauma.
Shock is what happens in that split second when something takes your breath away. Your body gasps, your pulse quickens, and your system locks in to protect you.
In an emergency, that response keeps you alive. But if the body doesn’t get a chance to release that held breath and reset, the energy of the stress response — what we call the charge — stays stuck in the nervous system.
Over time, those small moments of unprocessed shock add up, leaving the nervous system charged long after the danger has passed. That’s why stress, shock and overwhelm can linger as anxiety, exhaustion, or a constant feeling of being “on.”
At Shift Change, we use the power of EMDR to help you clear the charge of shock before the system collapses.
EMDR helps your system reset.
EMDR helps your system reset.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) works with both sides of the brain to release the body’s stored charge of stress that talk therapy can’t access.
Using bilateral stimulation in the form of gentle eye movements or tapping, it helps both sides of the brain and body reconnect, finish the stress cycle, and return to a calm, balanced state.
The science of healing.
Recognised by the World Health Organization as a leading, neuroscience-backed therapy for trauma and stress-related conditions, EMDR forms the foundation of the Shift Method™ — our structured, accessible way to bring this same science into everyday recovery.
Think of EMDR as a guided journey through your memories, helping you sort and organise confusing, stressful or painful experiences so they no longer disrupt your present life.
By integrating EMDR into therapy services, we offer a pathway to healing and performance that surpasses conventional talk therapy, enabling profound change in minimal time.
Did you know?
EMDR therapy was found to be superior to Prozac in trauma treatment.
(Van der Kolk et al., 2007)
More than 7 million people have been treated with EMDR since 2016.
(Shapiro and Forrest 2016)
EMDR Therapy is a Recognized Effective Treatment for PTSD.
(World Health Organization, 2024)
You do not need to talk about trauma aloud to help your brain heal from it.
(Jarero, Artigas, and Hartung 2006)
How the Shift Method™ uses EMDR to help our body + mind recover from stress and trauma—faster.
Traditional EMDR is delivered in one-to-one therapy, focused on processing single events. The Shift Method™ builds on the same neuroscience and adapts it for accessible recovery available online daily with the help of EMDR-certified therapists.
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We begin by noticing what feels most charged; the image, sound, or body sensation connected to the moment. This activates the right hemisphere of the brain and helps locate where stress and shock are still stored.
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Through gentle bilateral tapping — an alternating right-left rhythm — the brain builds a bridge between its two hemispheres. This allows the “emotional” right side to connect with the “logical” left, signalling to the brain that the event has passed.
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As the two sides communicate, the stress cycle is finally completed, and the experience is reprocessed into a “safe” memory. The nervous system moves out of protection mode and into recovery.
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With the stress cycle complete, energy moves freely again. The body finally relaxes, softens, and breath returns to its natural rhythm.
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Clarity, calm, and capacity are restored. Many people describe feeling lighter, clearer, and calmer, without having needed to talk through the experience. What once triggered reactivity now builds resilience and strength.
Your Questions, Answered
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Regardless of whether you’re working one-on-one with a therapist or in a group, the core part of the EMDR session involves thinking about the memory or experience that has been stressful or traumatic while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, auditory tones, or tapping your own body. You’ll then continue to follow a series of prompts, all of which will be guided by your therapist to help facilitate the brain's natural healing abilities.
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Bilateral Stimulation, like eye movements and tapping, mimic the natural process of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which is involved in the processing of emotional memories. Neuroscience research into REM sleep and its role in memory processing supports the idea that bilateral stimulation helps to facilitate the processing of traumatic memories.
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The human brain, much like the body, knows how to heal. But just as a splinter lodged in your skin prevents healing, traumatic memories stuck in our minds keep us from moving forward. The part of the brain where traumatic memories are stored is disconnected from the rational, cognitive processing parts of our brain which means talking about them doesn’t help and instead they get stuck on a loop in our mind. When we use bilateral stimulation, we engage both sides of our brain which helps to move the looping traumatic memory from the emotional brain to integrate with the rational brain where it can be worked through. If you imagine your brain is like a library, and the bad memory is a book put in the wrong section, EMDR helps your brain find the right place to store that book so it makes sense.
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EMDR does not change your memories but rather how these memories are stored and how you feel and respond to them. Neuroscience research tells us that traumatic experiences can disrupt the normal memory processing pathways in the brain. We also know that the brain is capable of plasticity, which means it can change and reorganize itself in response to experiences. EMDR therapy leverages this plasticity to help the brain reprocess traumatic or distressing memories to diminish their power. As a result, the memory remains, but the intense feelings, physical sensations, and negative beliefs associated with it can be significantly reduced.
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While EMDR therapy does involve focusing on traumatic or distressing memories, it does not require you to relive these experiences in a deeply emotional way, nor to talk about them aloud. It's more about noticing the memory from a safe distance, with your therapist guiding you, so you feel secure throughout the process. The therapy aims to allow you to work through these memories safely and with less emotional distress, reducing their impact.
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EMDR therapy is effective for a wide range of psychological issues, including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and stress-induced problems. It's also used to improve personal performance in many areas of life, including work and sport.
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The length of EMDR therapy varies depending on the individual's needs and the complexity of their issues. Some clients notice significant improvement after just one session, while others may require a longer treatment period. Typically, EMDR therapy produces noticeable results more quickly than traditional talk therapy.
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Yes, EMDR therapy can be effectively conducted online both individually and in groups. Online sessions allow for the use of bilateral stimulation through visual cues or body tapping. Whether it's one-on-one, in a group, in person or online, EMDR has been shown to maintain its effectiveness, giving you flexibility in how you receive therapy.