Growth holds when your body can keep it. Many people in therapy have had the experience of feeling inspired in the room and then watching it all dissolve by Wednesday. In my Weybridge practice I use somatic EMDR to help change land not only in your thoughts, but in your muscles, breath and nervous system—so progress is something you can feel and quietly repeat, rather than a brief insight that slips away.
We start by giving your nervous system a steadier floor. Before we touch old memories or big life questions, we teach your body how to come home to itself in simple, reliable ways. That might look like letting your gaze widen so you see more of the room instead of only the problem; feeling the weight of your feet on the ground; tracking a slightly longer, softer out-breath; or resting a steady hand on your chest and noticing the contact. These anchors are small, but they become a baseline you can return to between sessions – in the car, in a meeting, in your kitchen at the end of the day.
Once we have some stability, we bring gentle curiosity to the places where effort leaks out. Growth doesn’t fail because you’re not trying hard enough; it often stalls because your system is spending huge amounts of energy in hidden patterns. In Growth-Focused Somatic EMDR Weybridge work we look for those patterns together:
Rushing – speaking fast, deciding quickly, filling silence so you don’t have to feel.
Bracing – jaw tight, shoulders up, belly clenched, always ready for the next impact.
Over-pleasing – automatically saying “yes”, smoothing everything over, ignoring your own signals.
Collapsing – going numb, zoning out, losing energy suddenly when something feels too much.
Instead of judging these habits, we treat them as protection your body learned for good reasons. We meet each one kindly, noticing what it is trying to prevent and what it costs you now. Change then stops relying on force and starts to grow from understanding and support.
When there is enough safety under us, we invite EMDR into the process. Somatic EMDR in my Weybridge practice uses bilateral stimulation—eye movements, gentle taps or alternating tones—to help your brain and body reprocess the moments and beliefs that keep you circling the same blocks. These might be memories of being criticised, overlooked, shamed, overloaded, or left alone with too much. They might also be long-standing ideas about yourself: “I’m too much”, “I’m not enough”, “I have to cope alone”, “Rest isn’t safe.”
We work in short, consent-led rounds rather than long, overwhelming sets. Before each round we come back to your anchors: feet, breath, gaze, contact with the room. During the EMDR sets we keep checking how your system is responding – breath, posture, emotion, energy – and we pause often. You are encouraged to notice your own internal “yes” and “no”: when something feels like just enough, when it needs to slow down, when we should stop for today. This way, updates can digest at a tolerable pace instead of swamping you and leaving you to deal with the fallout alone.
Between sessions, we focus on making growth repeatable by stitching it into the shape of your day. Together we design micro-routines that keep momentum alive without demanding huge willpower. That might include:
a one-minute morning settle before you look at your phone or email
a mid-day reset after a difficult interaction or task, using three conscious breaths and a check-in with your body
an “evening staircase” – a short, predictable sequence that helps your system move from alertness towards rest
These steps are intentionally small so they can survive real life: busy workloads, parenting, health challenges, caring responsibilities, low-energy days. Growth becomes sturdier because you are not relying on a single weekly session to carry everything; your body is practising tiny pieces of safety and choice all week long.
Over time, people often notice that change no longer feels fragile. Old triggers may still appear, but they do not knock you over quite as easily. You might find that you speak up a little more, rush a little less, spot over-pleasing sooner, or recover faster after a setback. The gains from EMDR sessions start to show up in ordinary places: at your desk, on a walk, in how you fall asleep, in the way you speak to yourself when something goes wrong. That is what it means for growth to be held in the body, not just understood in the mind.
You can work with me in person in Weybridge, online, or with a blend of both, depending on your energy, health and schedule. We set the pace together and keep checking what your system can realistically carry so that progress remains compassionate as well as effective.
If you’re curious about somatic EMDR for sturdier, more embodied growth, you’re welcome to start with questions rather than commitments. To enquire or arrange an initial session, please use the contact page: https://www.cherie-james.com/contact
— you can outline where you feel stuck, what you hope might be different, and what kind of pace feels manageable. From there, we can explore whether this way of working in Weybridge is a good fit for you.
FAQ
Q1. How does EMDR provide reliable growth support?
We pair body‑led regulation with titrated processing so gains hold in everyday life, not just in session.
Q2. Will we translate insights into repeatable steps?
Yes—portable anchors, boundary lines and tiny habits that protect capacity.
Q3. Can I choose between local and online care?
Yes. In‑person Weybridge and secure online sessions are both available.