EMDR can free you from past trauma and help you find peace

Blue Sky Life offers a unique combination of EMDR therapy, counselling, and hypnotherapy to help you process disturbing memories and alleviate symptoms of PTSD. Our specialised approach focuses on healing the past so that you can look forward to a brighter future. By working through your trauma in a safe and supportive environment, we can help you regain control over your life and find peace. Don't let PTSD hold you back any longer. Take the first step towards healing by contacting Blue Sky Life today. Your brighter future awaits.

PTSD and trauma are more recognised

While we once thought that PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was reserved for soldiers returning from war or survivors of horrific experiences. Now it has become recognised that PTSD can arise in several situations often considered day-to-day stressors. It can also occur with accumulative stressors from childhood or ongoing events. The key to diagnosing PTSD is how a person is coping with the situation and not the trigger situation itself. Many people are not even aware they have PTSD, and here are some things to consider

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

• Persistently re-experiencing the event (or events) by flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and intense distress at event reminders.
• Persistent avoidance of reminders of the event, emotional numbing and avoiding others.
• Persistent symptoms of increased arousal include difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance or exaggerated startle response.

For a diagnosis, people must report experiencing all three types of symptoms for longer than one month. If you are experiencing these symptoms, you must get help as soon as possible, as it is unlikely to go away on their own.

Is it trauma, stress or PSTD?

While in reality, it doesn’t matter if you have a PTSD diagnosis, it is important to remove your reaction to the stressful event and feel back in control, calm and able to carry on with life once more. Understanding the source of your struggles is indeed crucial. Whether it's trauma, stress, or PTSD, what truly matters is regaining a sense of control and finding inner peace. You can resume your journey towards a fulfilling life by addressing your reactions to the stressful event and working towards emotional stability. Healing begins when you choose to take charge and embrace a calmer, more empowered existence.

How EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) works

After trauma, people with PTSD often have trouble making sense of what happened to them. EMDR helps you process the trauma and give you new helpful insights into what happened. In EMDR, you will pay attention to a back-and-forth eye movement while you call to mind the upsetting memory until shifts occur. This process will last for about 30 seconds at a time. At the end of the session, we focus on replacing the negative memory with a helpful positive belief about yourself.

How many sessions do I need to remove the trauma or event?

The first session is about creating a framework for treatment, discussing options and gaining background information. I also give a mini EMDR session to see if this type of therapy will work for you. If that isn’t suitable, then we explore other therapy options. In the next session, we will do the full EMDR on your trauma issue. It depends on the event type and the trauma's extent to determine how many sessions. For example, if the trauma is an event that only happened once and was relatively short, then one full EMDR session may be very effective. It can take 4 to 6 sessions for complex traumas, working on a different aspect of the trauma each session.

Hypnotherapy for PTSD and Trauma therapy

An alternative to EMDR is Hypnotherapy, a very gentle therapy that allows processing challenging situations without needing to be fully present in the event. When trauma memories are very strong and emotionally overwhelming, I use Hypnotherapy to remove a layer of the trauma gently. Hypnotherapy is most useful when we don’t know all aspects of the trauma, such as dissociation or repressed memories. Memories are often held in the subconscious and Hypnotherapy powerfully accesses these memories. Sometimes your subconscious will heal the event without consciously needing to relive the trauma.

You can live a fuller and calmer life with PTSD and Trauma Counselling.

I use a unique combination of Counselling, Hypnotherapy, and EMDR, which focus on disturbing memories and alleviate symptoms of PTSD. I often suggest Hypnotherapy initially if the trauma is extremely emotional and present, as Hypnotherapy is gentle. If there is more processing needed for the traumatic event, then EMDR is perfect for gaining new insights and helpful beliefs about the event. No matter what therapy treatment for PTSD or trauma you choose, we will work together to find the right solution.

What results can I expect from your therapy sessions?

Once you have fully processed the trauma, your brain has done its job, and the event is no longer dangerous. The brain stores the event in the back of your mind, and you can recall it at will, but it won’t bother you anymore. It is now just a memory that happened in the past but without a strong emotional reaction. You are free to live your life without the triggers from the past. You now live in the present and look forward to a happier and calm future.

What experience and training do you have as an EMDR practitioner?

EMDR is relatively new in Australia and is more popular as a therapeutic method in the United States and the United Kingdom. I received training and certification in EMDR in the United Kingdom back in 2009 when I was working in Hertfordshire. Since then, I have had the pleasure of helping many people heal from their traumas and find peace of mind. I have found that EMDR works very well with most people. It is effective with large and smaller events or complex situations. If you are unsure of your situation, then please give me a confidential call to discuss.

It’s time to take control and maximise what life offers. It is time to get help and look forward to happier days. Book an initial 90-minute appointment today