EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy originally developed for trauma. It uses bilateral stimulation (such as guided eye movements) to help the brain reprocess distressing memories that have become 'stuck' in the nervous system.

When we experience trauma, the memory can become frozen in a way that keeps the nervous system in a state of threat — even long after the event has passed. EMDR helps the brain process these memories so they lose their emotional charge and become integrated as part of your past, rather than something that feels present and overwhelming.

Particularly helpful for

• Complex trauma and PTSD

• Single-incident traumaPhobias and fears

• Anxiety and panic

• Grief and loss

• Negative beliefs about self

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a compassionate, non-pathologising model developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz. It understands the mind as naturally containing multiple 'parts' - each with its own perspective, feelings, and role.

Rather than trying to eliminate or suppress difficult emotions or behaviours, IFS helps you develop a curious, compassionate relationship with the parts of yourself that have been protecting you. Often our most challenging patterns - self-criticism, people-pleasing, emotional shutdown - are parts that developed to keep us safe. IFS helps us understand and heal them.

Particularly helpful for

• Self-criticism and shame

• People-pleasing and perfectionism

• Emotional dysregulation

• Dissociation

• Complex trauma

• Relationship patterns

Somatic approaches recognise that trauma and stress are held not just in the mind, but in the body. The body keeps a record of our experiences — in tension, posture, breath, and nervous system activation.

Talk therapy alone sometimes isn't enough to shift deeply held patterns. Somatic approaches help us work with the body's wisdom — noticing sensations, working with breath and movement, and helping the nervous system complete responses that were interrupted during overwhelming experiences.

Particularly helpful for

• Chronic stress and tension

• Trauma held in the body

• Dissociation and numbness

• Nervous system dysregulation

• Anxiety and panic attacks

• Difficulty feeling present

DBT was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan and is particularly effective for people who experience intense emotions or who struggle with emotional regulation. It combines acceptance-based strategies with change-focused skills.

DBT provides practical, concrete skills across four areas: mindfulness (being present), distress tolerance (surviving crises without making things worse), emotion regulation (understanding and managing emotions), and interpersonal effectiveness (navigating relationships).

Particularly helpful for

• Emotional intensity and dysregulation

• Self-harm and suicidal thoughts

• Borderline personality features

• Impulsive behaviours

• Relationship difficulties

• Eating disorders

Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides a framework for understanding how our nervous system responds to threat and safety. It explains why we can feel frozen, shut down, or on high alert - even when we're not in immediate danger.

Understanding your nervous system can be profoundly validating - it explains why you react the way you do, and why 'just calming down' isn't always possible. Polyvagal-informed therapy helps you develop a map of your own nervous system, build your window of tolerance, and develop practices that support regulation.

Particularly helpful for

• Chronic anxiety and hypervigilance

• Emotional shutdown and numbness

• Difficulty feeling safe

• Trauma responses

• Relationship difficulties

• Chronic pain and fatigue

Creative therapies use art, writing, movement, imagery, and other creative modalities as pathways to healing. They can access parts of our experience that words alone cannot reach.

Sometimes the most important things are the hardest to put into words. Creative approaches offer alternative ways to express, explore, and process experiences — particularly useful when working with trauma, dissociation, or when someone is more comfortable 'doing' than talking.

Particularly helpful for

• Trauma that is hard to verbalise

• Children and young people

• Dissociation and disconnection

• Grief and lossNeurodivergent clients

• Anyone who finds talking difficult