Therapy For Fear Weybridge is for people whose lives have slowly become organised around what they must avoid. Fear might show up as panic on public transport, dread of phone calls, terror of medical settings, or a constant worry that something terrible is about to happen. You may tell yourself it’s “silly” or “irrational”, but your body doesn’t seem to care – it reacts anyway. In my Weybridge practice I offer Therapy For Fear that is somatic and EMDR-informed, so the work is paced, humane and something you can actually use in daily life, not just inside the therapy room.
We begin by paying attention to how fear lives in your body right now. Instead of trying to argue you out of your reactions, we get curious about them. What happens in your chest when you imagine doing the thing you’re afraid of? Does your stomach clench, your legs go weak, your breath disappear? Do you feel frozen, or a strong urge to run? These responses are not proof that you’re broken or dramatic; they are your nervous system’s best attempt to protect you based on what it has learned. Therapy For Fear in Weybridge starts with respecting that protection, even as we slowly help it to update.
Grounding comes first. Before we touch any of your most frightening situations or memories, we practise simple ways of helping your system feel a little less cornered. That might mean feeling the weight of your feet on the floor, letting your eyes look around the room rather than locking on one point, or experimenting with a longer exhale that gently signals “not emergency” to your body. Together we choose a few short, realistic practices – a one-minute settle before opening email, a couple of conscious breaths after a difficult conversation, a predictable “bedtime staircase” that helps your system move out of threat mode before sleep. Repeated often, these become familiar routes back from alarm.
As these skills grow, regulation becomes our shared foundation. Fear often drags people into either full activation (racing thoughts, pounding heart, sweating, shaking) or total shutdown (numbness, blank mind, feeling unreal). In Therapy For Fear Weybridge we work to widen the space in between. We move gently between activation and safety: feeling a little of the fear, then deliberately coming back to something steadier, like your breath, your feet, a supportive person, or the room you are in. Over time, your system learns that it can touch fear and still come back to a sense of “enough okay”.
Somatic awareness is key. Together we map the early signs that fear is starting to build: perhaps your jaw tightens, your shoulders creep up, your vision narrows, or you start scanning for exits. Maybe you find yourself rehearsing worst-case scenarios, or hearing a familiar inner voice saying, “You can’t cope.” Once you can recognise these early cues, we can intervene before you reach full panic – with a pause, a boundary, a grounding gesture, movement, or a different choice about whether to stay, leave, or ask for help. You are learning to work with your fear signals, not be ambushed by them.
When your body has some reliable anchors, we can weave EMDR into the work. Fear in the present is often connected to earlier experiences of danger, humiliation, illness, accidents, loss or chaotic environments. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps or alternating sounds) to help your brain and body reprocess those experiences so they no longer automatically trigger the same level of alarm. In my Weybridge practice EMDR is always titrated: we work in short sets, pause often, and come back to grounding whenever necessary. You are free to slow down, change focus or stop at any time. Consent is active and ongoing.
We then carry this body-based work into real-life situations. Therapy For Fear in Weybridge is not about forcing you to “just face it” without support. Instead, we create small, graded steps that respect your nervous system. That might look like first imagining a feared situation while grounded, then looking at a picture, then being in a similar but easier environment, and only later moving closer to the most challenging version – all while using the tools and anchors you’ve practised. The pace is collaborative: enough to feel like change, but not so much that your system feels betrayed.
As regulation strengthens, many people notice subtle but important shifts. The same triggers may still appear, but the spike in fear is a little smaller, or passes more quickly. You may find you can stay in your body for a few more seconds before avoidance kicks in, or that you can use a grounding practice to ride out a wave of panic instead of leaving immediately. Over time, this adds up to new choices: attending events you used to skip, making phone calls with less dread, going to appointments, travelling, or simply feeling less ruled by “what ifs”.
The format of Therapy For Fear Weybridge is flexible. You can work with me in person in Weybridge, online, or through a combination that fits your week, your health and your responsibilities. Some clients prefer a regular weekly session; others need more flexibility around shifts, childcare or energy levels. We decide the structure together and review it as we go, so that therapy supports you rather than becoming another source of pressure.
Throughout, we keep everything practical and grounded. Skills have to survive busy days, crowded spaces, family demands and tired evenings if they’re going to make a real difference. You do not need to arrive feeling brave, and you don’t have to tell everything at once. We start from what feels just about possible, and build from there.
If you’re curious about Therapy For Fear in Weybridge – whether your fear looks like phobias, panic, social fear, health anxiety, fear after traumatic events or a more general sense of being scared a lot of the time – you are welcome to ask questions first.
To enquire or arrange an initial session, please use the contact page: https://www.cherie-james.com/contact
. You can outline what fear currently looks like in your life, what you most wish could change, and what pace feels manageable. From there, we can explore together whether this somatic, EMDR-informed approach is the right next step for you.
FAQ
Q1. How does somatic EMDR support therapy for fear effectively?
By stabilising first with grounding and regulation, then processing stuck moments in short bilateral sets with clear consent.
Q2. Will I learn skills that work under pressure?
Yes—portable anchors, doorway pauses, boundary lines and evening wind‑downs you can actually keep.
Q3. Can I mix online and in‑person sessions?
Yes—Weybridge appointments and secure online options can be blended to fit your week.