top of page
Image of waves and ocean

"That which haunts us will always find a way out. The wound will not heal unless given witness. The shadow that follows us is the way in." 
- Rumi

Melanie's Approach

I have a particular interest in working with people for whom short-term interventions have not been effective.

 

I use eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) to support processing and emotional regulation following traumatic events or distressing experiences. This evidence-based intervention stimulates the brain's capacity to integrate distressing experiences by recreating eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation in session, and noticing experiences including thoughts, images, somatic experiences, and feelings in the process of this.

​

These forms of therapy can be helpful for the following difficulties:

​

 

My therapeutic foundation also draws from psychodynamic psychotherapy. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is an intensive therapeutic process which helps individuals to explore challenges in everyday life, complex feelings, and difficulties arising in interpersonal relationships. The therapy is focused on the here-and-now, emotions, thoughts and experiences, the therapeutic relationship, exploration of dream life, interpersonal patterns and dynamics. The focus is less on symptom reduction, and more on building attachment security, a personal sense of agency, emotional maturation, flexibility of coping styles, the tolerance of strong emotional states, self-esteem regulation, capacity for self-reflection and mentalization, and other areas of overall psychological functioning. This involves working with patients to address longstanding issues that may be more amenable to treatment with relationally-focused and insight-oriented approaches.

 

This way of working might be useful if you are looking for a therapy that moves beyond a search for strategies and solutions, towards a search for meaning and awareness. This process can lead to meaningful change in mental health symptoms, with effects that have been shown to be more likely to endure over time than other evidence-based approaches.

​

 

​​

bottom of page