Online EMDR Therapy available across Australia and beyond
Online EMDR Therapy available across Australia and beyond
When we experience something distressing, the brain’s natural processing system can become overwhelmed.
Instead of being stored as a completed memory, the experience can remain stuck — along with the emotions, body sensations, and beliefs that came with it.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy helps the brain finish what it couldn’t complete at the time, allowing memories to integrate naturally and lose their painful intensity.
Just as the body knows how to heal a physical wound, the brain also knows how to heal emotional ones.
When a person feels safe and supported, the brain can link the distressing memory to other adaptive information — like the knowledge that the danger is over, or that they have survived.
EMDR creates the conditions for this linking process to happen.
During EMDR, your therapist guides you to focus on a memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation — for example, moving your eyes back and forth, listening to alternating tones, or feeling gentle taps on your hands.
This rhythmic left–right movement:
It’s as if EMDR “unsticks” the memory, helping it move from emotional chaos into a calm, integrated story.
One of the most supported theories explaining EMDR’s effectiveness is the Working Memory Theory.
When you recall a distressing memory while performing a task that taxes your working memory (like following moving eyes or alternating sounds), the brain has limited capacity to hold both vividly at once.
This dual focus makes the memory less emotionally intense when it’s recalled again later.
Over repeated sets, the memory becomes:
This process mirrors how the brain naturally reconsolidates memories into long-term storage once emotional arousal decreases.
EMDR also appears to engage brain mechanisms similar to those used during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, when we naturally process and integrate experiences.
During REM, the brain moves information between regions that store emotion (the amygdala), memory (the hippocampus), and reasoning (the prefrontal cortex).
In EMDR sessions, bilateral stimulation may mimic this process, allowing emotional memories to be “filed away” in a more adaptive, less distressing form.
It’s one reason why clients often report that their minds feel “lighter,” “clearer,” or “as though something finally settled” after EMDR.
As EMDR helps the brain reprocess memories, several shifts often happen:
This integrated state allows the person to remember what happened without reliving it. The memory remains, but the pain softens — and with it, old beliefs begin to transform. Online EMDR can be especially helpful if you:
With the right setup and guidance, online EMDR feels personal, secure, and equally transformative.
Although EMDR was first developed for post-traumatic stress, research now shows its benefits across:
Because EMDR works on how memories and emotions are stored, it can help with any issue rooted in unprocessed distress — not just “big” traumas.
Over 40 randomised controlled trials have demonstrated EMDR’s effectiveness.
Neuroimaging studies show changes in the way the brain responds to threat and safety cues after EMDR treatment — especially in the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.
Major health organisations including the World Health Organization (WHO), NICE (UK), American Psychological Association (APA), and Australian Psychological Society (APS) recognise EMDR as an evidence-based therapy.
Understanding the science behind EMDR can help clients feel reassured that their healing is grounded in real, observable changes in the brain.
But EMDR isn’t only about brain activity — it’s also about connection, safety, and trust between therapist and client.
That’s where our integrative, relational style comes in — blending neuroscience with warmth, presence, and care.
Curious what the process looks like in practice?
See a step-by-step explanation of the eight phases of EMDR and what to expect during reprocessing.
Address: Suite 3, 6 Geils Court, Deakin, ACT 2600
Email: support@hscps.au
Phone: 02 5115 1159
Fax: 02 6188 7368
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We’ll be introducing a new fee structure (effective 1 Nov 2025) while maintaining our commitment to accessible therapy for all.
A two-month grace period (until 31 December 2025) applies only to the new session fees for active clients - those who has attended at least one session between 1 September and 31 October 2025, or who has completed the booking process on or before 31 October for an upcoming appointment.
Concession rates and surcharges will take effect immediately for all clients.
Thank you for your understanding and continued trust. We deeply value the space we create together.