Tony Humphreys

Before I tell a little about myself, allow me to say, well done for getting this far!!!

I am a BUPA registered Psychotherapist trained in both CBT (Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy), EMDR and Person-Centred Counselling. I specialise in Depression and Anxiety in its various forms (i.e. Phobias, OCD, Social Anxiety etc...). I appreciate that many people become a little anxious at the prospect of an intense atmosphere in a counselling environment. That's not how I work though. My first aim is to help you relax. To see that yes, it is a 'safe and confidential environment for you to talk about anything that you want'. But there's no need for it to be a heavy and intense atmosphere either.

I worked for many years in the NHS as a Psychotherapist, using both the Telephone and Video (SKYPE/Zoom etc...) as a medium for sessions. I can of course offer Face to Face appointments at my consultation room in Croscombe.

​Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a way of helping yourself manage your mental and emotional health. It has a strong evidence base in being successful with many difficulties through providing tools and techniques you can use to manage your situation more effectively. ​

Although not exhaustive, the following are examples of common mental health issues that I have been treating for over 12 years:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Panic Attacks
• OCD
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Specific Phobias
• Worry Management
• Anger Management

Counselling can be useful for anyone who wants to explore the way they're thinking or feeling further, as well as for anyone experiencing a problem or issue they are keen to resolve.

People may choose to speak to a counsellor because they feel they cannot speak to their other half/friends/family about such personal issues, or they may simply wish to speak to a professional with an objective viewpoint.

Common subjects that can be addressed within counselling include the following:

• Addictions
• Bereavement
• Bullying
• Illness
• Mental health
• Relationships
• Trauma

EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR therapy?

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a mental health treatment technique. This method involves moving your eyes a specific way while you process traumatic memories. EMDR’s goal is to help you heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences. Compared to other therapy methods, EMDR is relatively new. The first clinical trial investigating EMDR was in 1989. Dozens of clinical trials since EMDR’s development show this technique is effective and can help a person faster than many other methods.

Who needs to have EMDR therapy?
EMDR can help people with a wide range of mental health conditions. Adolescents, teenagers and adults of all ages can benefit from this treatment. Some healthcare providers also specialise in EMDR for children.

Why is this treatment used?
EMDR therapy doesn’t require talking in detail about a distressing issue. EMDR instead focuses on changing the emotions, thoughts or behaviours that result from a distressing experience (trauma). This allows your brain to resume a natural healing process. While many people use the words “mind” and “brain” when referring to the same thing, they’re actually different. Your brain is an organ of your body. Your mind is the collection of thoughts, memories, beliefs and experiences that make you who you are.

The way your mind works relies on the structure of your brain. That structure involves networks of communicating brain cells across many different areas. That’s especially the case with sections that involve your memories and senses. That networking makes it faster and easier for those areas to work together. That’s why your senses — sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feels — can bring back strong memories.

Adaptive Information Processing
EMDR relies on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory about how your brain stores memories. This theory, developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD, who also developed EMDR, recognizes that your brain stores normal and traumatic memories differently.

During normal events, your brain stores memories smoothly. It also networks them, so they connect to other things you remember. During disturbing or upsetting events, that networking doesn’t happen correctly. The brain can go “offline” and there’s a disconnect between what you experience (feel, hear, see) and what your brain stores in memory through language.

Often, your brain stores trauma memories in a way that doesn’t allow for healthy healing. Trauma is like a wound that your brain hasn’t been allowed to heal. Because it didn’t have the chance to heal, your brain didn’t receive the message that the danger is over.

Newer experiences can link up to earlier trauma experiences and reinforce a negative experience over and over again. That disrupts the links between your senses and memories. It also acts as an injury to your mind. And just like your body is sensitive to pain from an injury, your mind has a higher sensitivity to things you saw, heard, smelled or felt during a trauma-related event.

This happens not only with events you can remember, but also with suppressed memories. Much like how you learn not to touch a hot stove because it burns your hand, your mind tries to suppress memories to avoid accessing them because they’re painful or upsetting. However, the suppression isn’t perfect, meaning the “injury” can still cause negative symptoms, emotions and behaviors.

Triggers
Sights, sounds and smells with a connection or similarity to a trauma event will “trigger” those improperly stored memories. Unlike other memories, these can cause overwhelming feelings of fear, anxiety, anger or panic.

An example of this is a post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, flashback, where improper storage and networking causes your mind to access those memories in a way that’s uncontrolled, distorted and overpowering. That’s why people with a history of flashbacks describe feeling as if they were reliving a disturbing event. The past becomes the present.

Reprocessing and repair
When you undergo EMDR, you access memories of a trauma event in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps you reprocess what you remember from the negative event.

That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. Remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.

I have also worked extensively with the military (veterans and serving) as head of Psyche Wellbeing at the charity Help for Heroes. - as such can offer EMDR as a min intervention for managing Trauma and PTSD based conditions. 

Starting my therapeutic career as counsellor in an addiction service treating addictions in all its forms from substance misuse to gambling, sex and porn addiction. 

I offer a free initial telephone consultation at a time to suit you. Please feel content that this is merely a way for me to understand what it is that you're experiencing and how I may be able to help you navigate your way through these issues...

My fees are as follows:

• Telephone or Video Counselling £65 per hour
• Telephone or Video CBT £65 Per Hour
• Face to Face CBT £65 Per Hour
• Face to Face Counselling £65 Per Hour

To discuss fees, please make contact with me.

It can be difficult to know where to start when feeling depressed or anxious.

I appreciate that many people become a little anxious at the prospect of an intense atmosphere in a counselling room. That's not how I work though. My first aim is to help you relax. To see that yes, it is a 'safe and confidential environment for you to talk about anything that you want'. But there's no need for it to be a heavy and intense atmosphere either.

​I believe we can be practical, pragmatic and make some real changes without sacrificing empathy or compassion. Let's keep it real and see how we can work through this together...its like navigating your way through a dense forest, best if you are with someone who knows their way through?

​Some of the people you already know are experiencing issues with their mental health in one form or another - they just haven't spoken about it. Unfortunately not talking or addressing how you're feeling means you get stuck!​ It's not going to go away on its own.

You want to feel more confident and less anxious with some methods and new skills to start moderating your anxieties. Some 'How To's' to help lift yourself out of a low mood or depression. You CAN do it, albeit with a little help, so why not get in touch? Let's have a chat and take it from there?

I look forward to hearing from you soon...in the meantime, take care of yourself and remember, low mood and anxiety are like bad weather... it never lasts! ​