EMDR Therapy
& Psychology Sydney
Stephen Jacobs · Psychologist
Stephen Jacobs · Psychologist
EMDR Therapy
& Psychology Sydney
I’m a registered psychologist and EMDR therapist in Sydney. I specialise in trauma therapy — and of the tools available, EMDR is the one I return to most. It is effective and backed by over 30 years of research.
Trauma is not one thing. For some it is domain-specific — a fear that hijacks a particular situation, a memory with edges still too sharp. For others it is all-encompassing — a nervous system so long in survival mode that ease is unfamiliar, even suspicious. The body is still responding to memories the mind knows are over. Still braced. Still scanning. Still alarmed.
EMDR helps the nervous system register the past is over — and release the coping patterns it once needed, but no longer does.
Prepare With GoEMDR.
New to EMDR? Start with the GoEMDR preparation program — a free self-guided course that helps you understand what’s driving your symptoms before therapy begins.
A sample of what you’ll learn:
- How trauma gets stored in the nervous system
- Techniques to manage difficult emotions
- How to map your history and identify patterns
- Why certain situations trigger you more than they should
- How to prepare for your first session
Many clients complete GoEMDR before their first session — arriving prepared with a stronger sense of what they want to work on. You do the groundwork independently, so we can focus on the work that needs a therapist.
Can EMDR Therapy Help Me?
Many of us carry unresolved experiences from childhood or adult life that continue to shape how we feel and respond in the present. When the brain’s natural processing is disrupted — because we were too young, too overwhelmed, or without the support needed to integrate what happened — those experiences stay active. They show up as anxiety, avoidance, chronic pain, or patterns that repeat despite our best efforts to change them.
EMDR works with these unprocessed memories directly, reducing the emotional charge they carry and allowing the brain to integrate them as part of the past rather than the present.
Although some talking is involved, EMDR is not what is typically called “talk therapy”. During the processing phase specifically, rather than resolving events through conversation, it works directly with how the brain and nervous system have stored the emotions and memories of those events.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
Trauma affects the way memories are stored in the brain. When the brain is overwhelmed and cannot process an event at the time, the memory becomes fragmented — painful images, sensations, feelings, and thoughts can re-emerge in the present as if the event is still happening, disrupting behaviour in ways that may not be immediately obvious.
Once preparation has been done and specific memory targets have been identified, a client holds a difficult memory in mind while following a simple back-and-forth stimulus — typically the therapist’s hand or a light bar moving side to side, or alternating taps. What happens next is that the memory begins to lose its charge. The processing and integration that was interrupted at the time is able to complete.
Over several sessions, EMDR reduces the sensitivity to these memories. The emotional charge associated with the traumatic memory is reduced or resolved — the event becomes part of the past rather than an active presence.
The EMDR Association of Australia is the peak professional body for EMDR practitioners in Australia. It sets clinical standards, provides accreditation pathways, supports practitioners with training and professional development, and connects the public with trained therapists.
Trauma · Childhood Trauma · Disturbing Memories · Anxiety · Panic Attacks · Phobias
National Disability Insurance Scheme
We provide psychological services to NDIS-funded clients. If your NDIS plan includes funding for therapy, you can use it toward counselling and psychotherapy with us. Self-managed and plan-managed funding are welcome.