Graduates | AdvancedEMDR

Welcome Graduates

This page is exclusively for graduates of Applied Memory Deconsolidation and Reconsolidation (QCH/AMDR) that I formerly taught with Gill Wood.

For those of you who have completed QCH/AMDR Modules 1 and 2 you are eligible to also obtain certification in Advanced EMDR Level 1- Fundamentals of EMDR.

Doing so will allow you to be listed on the Advanced EMDR Certified Practitioners page that will be searchable on the web for people seeking a local EMDR therapist in the UK.

In addition, you will be eligible to gain accreditation in EMDR through a pathway via the National Council of Integrated Psychotherapists (NCIP). More details will be announced soon.

In the meantime, to honor your investment in and practice of the former QCH/AMDR I’d like to extend a special offer to accelerate your path to Advanced EMDR.

Praise for Josh and Advanced EMDR

“ I was dealing with a particularly difficult situation at work where the arguments were seemingly endless. Josh helped me understand what was 'mine' and helped me 'own it'. He helped me separate the issues and identify anything that I was bringing into the situation without necessarily realising it. Mostly, he helped me realise both the need for boundaries, and how to install them with some very specific and practical advice. The changes seemed small at the time, but they had a very strong and successful impact.”

Natasha Jacobs, Venture Partner at Craigie Capital, London

“I was dealing with a particularly difficult situation at work where the arguments were seemingly endless. Josh helped me understand what was 'mine' and helped me 'own it'. He helped me separate the issues and identify anything that I was bringing into the situation without necessarily realising it. Mostly, he helped me realise both the need for boundaries, and how to install them with some very specific and practical advice. The changes seemed small at the time, but they had a very strong and successful impact.”

I feel so lucky to have found Josh as my supervisor who has such much knowledge around EMDR and body psychotherapy. I've grown extensively as a person and a therapist since having supervision sessions over the last two years.

Nela Gold

Patricia Grube, Teen Yoga and Pregnancy Teacher, USA

“In my session I felt something stirring in my ovaries after just a few sets of eye movements. It’s that same feeling I get when I’m ovulating. I think Josh’s system could be great for women who are having difficulty becoming pregnant.”

Roy Yliuay

Michael Opoku-Forfieh, Psychotherapist, UK/Canada

Thank you, Josh, for introducing me to your Advanced EMDR courses. I was able to access your material online which was an advantage for me when I moved to Canada. I feel that I gained just as much from your presentation style and the complex information which you share about the body and mind in relation to trauma as if I was in a live class. Anyone who chooses to access these courses will not only walk away with all their questions answered but many more tools to add to working with clients that have experienced trauma.

“In my session I felt something stirring in my ovaries after just a few sets of eye movements. It’s that same feeling I get when I’m ovulating. I think Josh’s system could be great for women who are having difficulty becoming pregnant.”

Roy Yliuay

“There are certain people that you meet in your life and they change it in the best possible way, Josh is one of them and I'll be forever grateful. If you ever have the opportunity to work with him jump at it, I can promise you it will be the best thing you have ever done. He is the real deal!”

“In my session I felt something stirring in my ovaries after just a few sets of eye movements. It’s that same feeling I get when I’m ovulating. I think Josh’s system could be great for women who are having difficulty becoming pregnant.”

Roy Yliuay

Victoria, Senior Environment Artist, UK

I work in a very male-dominated industry which brings up a lot of challenges when being a woman. Josh taught me how to manage this and strengthen myself for any situation I may face, we also worked through some specifics with EMDR. The lessons I have learnt have been so life-changing for me professionally and in my personal life. Working with Josh has been the best investment I have ever made, I would recommend his expertise to anyone.

What is Advanced EMDR (AMDR)?

Advanced EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a neuroscience-based psychotherapy and coaching system based on traditional EMDR that helps you process and heal distressing memories from the past to create more positive outcomes for the future. Advanced EMDR builds on the comprehensive success of core EMDR protocols for the treatment of trauma, anxiety, panic attacks and dysphoria adding the latest in Somatic Psychology and embodied techniques to accelerate results.
What is the difference between EMDR and Advanced EMDR?

Advanced EMDR encourages dialogue with an emphasis on co-regulation between therapist and client. This entails significant rapport building and establishment of a more “relational” client-centred approach to therapy than traditional EMDR. EMDRIA accredited EMDR trainings have often de-emphasized dialogue between therapist and client in favour of bilateral stimulation and desensitisation. Advanced EMDR highlights a more somatic approach to helping clients first find the words to match their body experiences, something called Affect Labelling. By investing time in labelling as a more internal (interoceptive) approach to dialogue the client instantly becomes somatically aware and more grounded in the present moment. This translates into a higher level of safety and control for clients exposed to Advanced EMDR versus traditional EMDR. Higher safety translates into more trust between therapist and client, and this accelerates the trauma-healing effects of bilateral stimulation.
Does AMDR include Somatic healing?

Yes. Advanced EMDR applies “relational” mindfulness with a compassionate tone between therapist and client, the hallmark of somatic interventions. Research into somatic interventions for trauma healing emphasises a slower language pace and breathing in support of a stronger mindful experience for the client. In traditional EMDR “dual focus” is often used as replacement term for mindfulness. Whilst both describe the attention of the client on their past trauma and simultaneously on the EMDR process unfolding in the present, Advanced EMDR offers a more relational approach to mindfulness to help a client’s nervous system expand its capacity to tolerate distress, something called expanding a Window of Tolerance.
What other benefits can AMDR provide?

Advanced EMDR places a strong emphasis on somatic movements as physical resources accessed by the client. By helping the client connect more with a sense of physicality in the body, this activates important motor areas in the brain that would be less active in a traumatic event. Through Josh’s yoga training combined with tai chi-like movements, like those in his Trauma-Sensitive Yoga with EMDR (TSY-EMDR) programs, Advanced EMDR encourages slower hand and arm movements, and occasional spinal stretching. These movements are synchronized with breathing to restore active, defensive responses to the client’s nervous system. This process quickly prepares the client to “take effective action” as a restored response to their traumatic experiences. This accelerates the trauma-healing process and offers more positive treatment outcomes.
How does AMDR help with Trauma?

By acknowledging that trauma not only impacts the mind but also the body, connecting with a client in a compassionate, relational way through slower paced words or even slower, mindful body movements can allow a traumatised person to develop a deeper sense of safety and control with fewer therapist interventions required. With the advent of new psychological theories like Psychological Safety, Social Baseline Theory and Self-Determination Theory Advanced EMDR acknowledges that safety is at the core of lowering stress and anxiety in the mind and body, with or without bilateral stimulation. With “relational” mindfulness and compassion at the foundation of Advanced EMDR practices, consistently positive outcomes can occur in cases of more complex traumas, shame and dissociation (areas that could be considered an “Achilles heel” for traditional EMDR).