Online EMDR Therapy

EMDR helps your mind finish processing what happened, so the memory stops setting off today's alarm. Online, safely paced.

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Accredited therapists Fully confidential Evening & weekend times

Everything is confidentialWhat you say in a session stays in the session.

Secure video, Ireland-wideFrom wherever you feel comfortable, on any device.

No GP referral neededBook online in a couple of minutes.

Evening and weekend timesSessions that fit around work and family.

Something happened, and part of you is still there. The memory arrives uninvited, your body reacts before your thoughts catch up, and you find yourself steering around anything that might set it off. That is not weakness or a failure to move on. It is what an unprocessed memory does.

EMDR is one of the ways therapists work with memories like that, and it can be done by secure video from wherever you feel settled. We start with an initial consultation rather than diving straight in, because EMDR suits some people at some points in their lives and not others, and that is worth finding out properly first.

What is online EMDR therapy and how does it work?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a structured therapy that helps your brain finish processing a distressing memory, so that when it comes to mind it feels more like something that happened to you than something still happening. The memory does not disappear. Its grip loosens.

It is recommended for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder in the NICE guideline on PTSD (NG116), and it is one of the talking therapies the NHS lists for PTSD.

The work moves through phases rather than jumping around:

History and assessment, where you and your therapist map out what is going on and what you want to be different
Preparation, where you build grounding skills and a way of pausing that you both trust
Processing, where you hold a specific memory in mind while doing bilateral stimulation
Strengthening a more helpful belief about yourself, so something steadier takes root in place of the old one
Review at the start of the next session, checking what has shifted and what still needs attention

Bilateral stimulation is the part people ask about most. It simply means something that alternates left and right while you hold the memory in mind: your eyes following a moving dot on screen, sounds alternating between your headphones, or tapping alternate sides of your own body. Online, your therapist usually controls a shared visual tool on screen, or guides your eye movements by hand on camera, or asks you to tap your own knees or shoulders. Whichever method you agree on, you test it together before you use it on anything difficult.

A session tends to follow the same shape. You check in, agree what you are working on, settle on a target memory and the belief attached to it, then process in short sets with a pause after each one so you can say what came up. Towards the end your therapist slows things down deliberately, grounds you, and closes properly rather than at the stroke of the hour. You stay awake, aware and able to stop at any point. And you do not have to narrate every detail of what happened. Much of the processing happens without you describing it out loud.

What issues can online EMDR therapy help with?

EMDR is best known for trauma and PTSD: intrusive memories, nightmares, flashbacks, avoiding places or people, and that wired feeling of being permanently on alert. It is also used with a wider range of difficulties that trace back to something painful.

Complex trauma, where the difficulty was repeated or went on for years rather than happening once
Traumatic grief, particularly a sudden or shocking loss you keep replaying
Anxiety and panic that started after a specific event
Low mood connected to things that happened to you
Phobias and specific fears, including medical and driving fears

For some issues, eating disorders among them, EMDR may be used as one part of specialist treatment rather than the whole of it. It is not a universal fix, and any therapist telling you otherwise is overselling. Whether it fits depends on you: your history, how stable things are right now, and whether the therapist works within their own area of practice.

Not sure if this is the right fit?

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Is online EMDR effective and safe?

Remotely delivered therapy works for most common difficulties, and EMDR delivered by video is used widely by trained therapists. Worth saying plainly: the research base specifically on remote EMDR is smaller than the research on EMDR done in a room together, so the honest position is that it can work well when a trained therapist is working with a suitable person, rather than that it has been proven identical in every situation.

Consideration	Online	In person
Privacy	Depends on your home or car being genuinely private	Handled for you by the room
Access	Anywhere in Ireland, no travel, evening and weekend times	Limited by distance and waiting lists
Technology	Needs a steady connection and a working camera	Not a factor
Afterwards	You are already home, which many people prefer	A drive or walk home while still raw

Neither format is automatically better. What matters is your preference, your privacy, and what the work needs clinically.

On safety: preparation comes before processing, always. You learn grounding techniques and practise them before they are needed. Your therapist checks in between sets, and you agree in advance what happens if distress rises, including a signal to pause. We also take your address and an emergency contact before any processing begins, along with your GP details, so there is a plan rather than an improvisation. If the connection drops, your therapist rings you.

There are real limits. Poor broadband, a house where you can be overheard, a period of serious instability, or a need for a higher level of care can all mean online EMDR is the wrong choice right now.

How do I know whether online EMDR is suitable for me?

That is what the initial consultation is for. Rather than assuming, your therapist goes through:

What you are experiencing now and what you want to be different
Your trauma history, in outline, not in detail you are not ready to give
Who and what supports you day to day
Any risk factors, including current substance use or thoughts of self-harm
Whether you are ready to work with memory directly, or need groundwork first

The format tends to suit people who cannot easily travel, who live somewhere with no local trauma therapist, who are fitting sessions around shifts or childcare, or who simply talk more openly from their own sitting room than from a strange one.

Processing may not start in week one. If your daily life is currently overwhelming, the first stretch of work is about steadying things and building coping skills, and that is not a delay. It is the thing that makes the rest safe.

Attending from anywhere in Ireland is straightforward. If you are living abroad, it depends on whether your therapist is professionally able to work with people in that country, so ask before you book.

What do you need for an online EMDR session?

Less than people expect. There is nothing to install.

A reliable internet connection, wired or strong wifi
A laptop or tablet with a working camera and sound, ideally not a phone, since the screen matters for eye movements
Headphones, which help with both privacy and alternating sounds
Access to whichever bilateral stimulation method you have agreed
A quiet, private space where you will not be walked in on or overheard

Set the device on a steady surface at eye level so your therapist can see your face and shoulders clearly, and test the link, sound and screen before the appointment rather than in the first two minutes of it.

A few small things that help: skip alcohol and any non-prescribed substances beforehand, leave yourself half an hour afterwards instead of going straight into a meeting, have water and something grounding nearby, and put your phone on silent.

Frequently asked questions

Question	What usually applies
Session length	Around 50 minutes, with longer processing slots available from some therapists
Frequency	Weekly is common during active processing
Booking	Online in a couple of minutes, no GP letter needed

How much does online EMDR therapy cost in Ireland?

Fees vary a lot between therapists, so be wary of any single figure quoted as the Irish rate. Ours is shown on the booking page before you confirm anything, with payment taken at the time of booking, and the notice we ask for if you need to move or cancel is set out in your booking confirmation. Some health insurance policies contribute towards counselling and psychotherapy, so it is worth checking your own cover.

How long are online EMDR sessions, and how many will I need?

Sessions usually run about 50 minutes, though some therapists offer a longer slot for processing work. On numbers, the NICE guideline for PTSD describes courses of roughly eight to twelve sessions for adults after a single event, with more where there is a longer or more complicated history. Your therapist will give you a realistic sense of this after the assessment, not before it.

How do I choose a qualified online EMDR therapist in Ireland?

Ask three things: what EMDR training they have completed and who accredited it, what professional body they are accredited with, and whether they have supervision for trauma work. You can check EMDR training standards through the EMDR All-Ireland Association and accreditation through bodies such as the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or the Psychological Society of Ireland. It is also fair to ask how they handle online sessions specifically, including what happens if you become distressed or the call drops.

How can you take the next step?

Our therapists are accredited with recognised professional bodies and those offering EMDR have completed accredited EMDR training with supervision for trauma work. Sessions are by secure, encrypted video, and we work with people all over Ireland, from Dublin commuter towns to parts of the country where the nearest trauma therapist is an hour's drive away.

Here is what happens when you get in touch:

You book an initial consultation online, or send us a message through the secure contact form
We come back to you within one working day
The first session is an assessment, where you can ask anything and nobody processes anything
If EMDR is the right fit, you agree a starting point together. If it is not, we will say so and talk about what would suit better

Is this the right kind of support for you? If a past experience is still shaping how you sleep, how you react, or what you avoid, it is worth one honest conversation to find out. You can book an online EMDR consultation whenever you feel ready.