PTSD support asks for three things above all else: pace, consent and care. When you’ve lived through events that overwhelmed your ability to cope, your nervous system will not be convinced by nice words alone. It needs to feel safer, not just hear that it is safe. In my PTSD therapy work in Weybridge, I use somatic approaches and EMDR to move carefully, so your system is never forced to go faster than it can handle. The work aims for relief that is steady and sustainable rather than dramatic but destabilising.
We begin with stabilisation, not with the most painful memories. Before we touch anything that feels sharp, we spend time helping your body find small islands of steadiness it can access again and again. That might look like orienting to the room with your senses, learning how to let your breath lengthen by a fraction without feeling trapped, or feeling how a chair, wall or floor actually supports your weight. These are simple things on the surface, but for a nervous system that has been on high alert, they are the foundations that make trauma work possible.
Together, we build a set of anchors you can use anywhere – in bed after a nightmare, on a train, at work, at home. For one person that might be feeling the coolness of air on their face; for another, the weight of their feet in their shoes; for someone else, tracing the outline of an object in their pocket. The goal isn’t to “relax” on demand, but to install reliable ways of shifting your state a little when you need it. PTSD therapy in Weybridge starts here because without stabilisation, every other step risks feeling like too much.
From this base, we introduce gentle somatic tracking. PTSD often shows up in the body before the mind even registers what is happening: a sudden jolt of vigilance in the eyes, tightness banding across the chest, a drop in the stomach, muscles primed to run or freeze. Instead of seeing these reactions as a problem to get rid of, we treat them as protective strategies that once made sense.
In our work, we slow down enough to notice where these protectors live. Do you feel a constant scanning behind your eyes? Is there a sense that your back must stay to the wall? Does your jaw brace whenever someone moves too quickly? We bring curiosity and kindness to these responses, acknowledging that they helped you survive. Then, step by step, we offer the body alternatives: ways to stay a little connected without going straight into shutdown or overdrive. This might include experimenting with how close you sit to a door, how you position your body in a room, or how you let your breath move when you feel a surge of alarm.
Only when there is enough stability and an emerging sense of choice do we consider using EMDR to process the stuck memory networks underlying your PTSD symptoms. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) uses bilateral stimulation – gentle left-right eye movements, taps or sounds – to help the brain and body reprocess traumatic material that got “frozen” at the time it happened.
In PTSD EMDR sessions in Weybridge, we never dive into everything at once. Instead, we identify one small piece of the story or one key image, sensation or belief to work with. Rounds of bilateral stimulation are kept short and always bracketed by clear returns to the present: feeling the room, your chair, your feet, your breath. We pause often to check your capacity and consent. If your system signals that we’re getting close to the edge of the window of tolerance, we slow down, step back or stop for that day. The measure of success is not how much you can “get through” in a single session, but whether your nervous system stays within a range it can handle.
As we process trauma in this titrated way, many people find that intrusive symptoms gradually reduce. Flashbacks may lose some of their intensity, nightmares become less frequent or less overwhelming, and body responses like startle or freezing soften over time. The memories don’t disappear, but they begin to feel more like something that happened in the past rather than something that is still happening now.
Between sessions, we put as much attention on aftercare as we do on the work itself. PTSD treatment does not stop the moment you leave the room; your nervous system is still integrating. Together we agree on simple supports you can use in the hours and days after a session. These might include:
sleep cues that help your body understand the day is over (softened lighting, a particular sequence before bed, a brief grounding practice)
supportive contact – knowing who you can message or speak to if you feel stirred up, and how much you want to share
brief, gentle movement to help excess adrenaline discharge: a short walk, stretching, or simply moving your joints in a way that feels safe
These structures are tailored to your reality, not a generic checklist. The intention is to protect your everyday life while your system does the deeper work of reprocessing.
Over time, people often report fewer intrusions – less being hijacked by images, sounds, or body states from the past – and more access to ordinary moments: making a cup of tea without scanning the room, walking down a street with a bit less tension, being able to sit in your own home and actually feel present. The changes may be subtle at first, but as they accumulate, life begins to feel less governed by what happened and more open to what is possible now.
If you are living with PTSD or trauma responses and are in or near Weybridge, you don’t have to face it alone or force yourself to “just move on.” If this paced, consent-led, somatic and EMDR-informed way of working sounds like it might suit you, you’re welcome to reach out.
You can find contact details here:
👉 https://www.cherie-james.com/contact
In your message, you can share as much or as little as feels comfortable about what you’re dealing with. Together we can explore whether this kind, carefully paced PTSD support in Weybridge is a good next step for you.
FAQ
Q1. How do you keep PTSD work safe with EMDR?
We stabilise thoroughly, use titration and containment, and process in short sets with frequent returns to the present.
Q2. Do you teach skills for flashbacks and startle?
Yes—orienting, breath patterns and boundary phrases that bring you back to now.
Q3. Can I blend local and online formats?
Yes. Many clients alternate to fit life while keeping momentum.