I have been having sessions with Dr Katie Heath-Tilford for about 2 years and I can honestly say it has been the most transformative process.   I had already had talking therapy and CBT which had given me a lot of insight and understanding about many of my anxieties.  However, what Katie, and the use of EMDR, has been able to do is to really get to the root of the triggers for the anxiety in a way that talking and thinking about it never would have done.  Through this, I have been able to work through the emotions and now I can see these same situations with so much more clarity and an ability to calmly respond to them rather than react.  I also am not as affected by situations and people as I used to be and now feel much more able to step back and see how other people’s behaviour does not mean I have done anything wrong or that anything is wrong with me.  

Having EMDR has really helped me move forward in my life in so many ways.  I have been able to develop my sense of self and stay grounded and be more ‘in’ myself, whereas previously I would often feel I had lost myself or got ‘caught up’ in other people.  The sessions have also really helped me start to feel what a healthy, loving relationship should actually feel like, which I hope in time will help me find the relationship I am looking for. I feel so much happier in the relationships I do have, such as with my friends, and generally have a more positive outlook.  It has also had a ripple effect in how I am with work, being able to manage more demands and responsibility, and being able to pursue other achievements and adventures in my life which I just didn’t feel I could do before.  I now understand that I had so many beliefs about myself and so many blocks which EMDR has helped me work through and change.  

I would definitely recommend Attachment-Informed EMDR as therapy for attachment-based, complex traumas.  There have been many times when I have had a memory from my past and had absolutely no idea about the significance or impact that situation had on me then and throughout my life.  A lot of the therapy I have had has been helping me to actually feel my emotions and what they are telling me more quickly and learning that my experience is valid.  EMDR has really helped me to make those links and trust my feelings so much more.  

As well as the treatment itself, I couldn’t recommend Katie enough.  I have felt completely able to be myself with Katie and tell her anything and she has always understood and helped me explore whatever has come up without any judgement or me feeling silly.  Katie has always known when to step in with the right questions or suggestions and has always allowed me to work at my pace and go wherever my brain and my feelings have wanted to take me.  She is such a kind and positive person.  I have always felt so much better after our sessions and I have really enjoyed working with her.  Katie has an incredible way of being empathic and supporting a person through some very difficult emotions whilst bringing humour and a sense of lightness and being human to the sessions.     

CP