Somatic EMDR Therapy in Chertsey, Surrey
Trauma Healing Through Mind–Body Integration
Living with unresolved stress or trauma can feel like carrying a weight that never fully lifts. Even when life in Chertsey seems steady on the outside, your body may still carry tension, anxiety, or emotional heaviness that doesn’t match the present moment. Your mind might try to move forward, yet your nervous system remains alert, guarded, or exhausted. This disconnect is incredibly common — and it’s a sign that your system is still holding on to past experience.
Somatic EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) offers a gentle, grounded approach to releasing these deeper patterns. Unlike talk therapy alone, Somatic EMDR works with both the brain and the body, helping you process difficult experiences without overwhelm. It supports your nervous system to let go of what it no longer needs, so you can feel calmer, clearer, and more connected to yourself.
Appointments are available for clients in Chertsey either in-person in Weybridge or online via Zoom, giving you flexibility and privacy.
How Somatic EMDR Works
When something overwhelming happens — whether a sudden trauma or years of accumulated stress — the brain’s natural processing system may become interrupted. Instead of being stored as a completed memory, the experience is held in fragments: body sensations, emotions, images, and beliefs. These fragments can continue to influence you today, triggering fear, irritability, or physical discomfort.
Somatic EMDR helps reprocess these fragments safely. Through gentle bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or alternating sound), your brain begins communicating more effectively across both hemispheres. Combined with somatic awareness — noticing breath, tension, grounding sensations — this method allows your system to gradually complete the response that was never finished.
As old emotional charge decreases, your body can finally relax. Your thoughts become clearer, and everyday life feels more manageable. This process is not about reliving the past — it’s about helping your body recognise that the danger has already passed.
Why Chertsey Clients Seek Somatic EMDR
Many Chertsey clients come to therapy because they notice patterns they can no longer ignore — heightened anxiety, difficulty sleeping, unexplained irritability, or a sense of disconnect from themselves. Somatic EMDR is especially beneficial for those who:
Struggle with stress, worry, or tension
Have experienced trauma (recent or historical)
Feel emotionally overwhelmed or numb
Carry self-doubt or longstanding negative beliefs
Want therapy that goes beyond talking
Wish to feel grounded, calm, and connected again
This approach is gentle, structured, and very adaptable. You never have to share more than you are comfortable discussing. The focus is always on safety and supporting your pacing.
About Cherie
I’m Cherie James, a trauma-informed Somatic EMDR therapist supporting individuals from Chertsey and surrounding Surrey areas. My approach is deeply influenced by my own experiences of burnout, loss, and recovery — which taught me how profoundly the body holds emotional pain, and how important it is to feel seen without judgment.
Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years in demanding creative and corporate roles, environments that gave me insight into the effects of pressure on the nervous system. Today, my therapeutic work reflects that understanding: grounded, compassionate, and centred on restoring balance through mind–body integration.
Clients often describe sessions as calm, steady, and empowering — a space where they can breathe, reflect, and gradually rebuild inner trust.
Therapy Options for Clients in Chertsey
You can choose whichever format best supports your wellbeing:
In-person therapy in Weybridge (short 10–15 minute journey from Chertsey)
Online Somatic EMDR via Zoom, ideal for flexibility and comfort
Both options provide the same depth and quality of therapeutic care.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need to talk about my trauma for Somatic EMDR to work?
Not at all. Somatic EMDR focuses on how your body holds the memory rather than retelling events. You stay in control of how much you choose to share.
2. How is Somatic EMDR different from regular EMDR?
Somatic EMDR includes body awareness and nervous-system grounding, helping release physical tension and emotional patterns stored in the body — not just in the mind.
3. How soon will I notice changes?
Many clients experience early shifts such as reduced tension, improved calm, or better sleep. Deeper transformation develops with continued sessions and is personalised to your needs.