Emma Litman: Online Counselling & EMDR - Trauma, Anxiety & Depression

20/02/2025

These two cuttings started at the same size and I placed them in two different size pots. This is a good example of how life is like a plant in a pot….
its growth is limited or expanded by the space it’s given. Just as a larger pot allows roots to stretch and flourish, broadening our experiences, albeit through new hobbies, relationships, or new learning through education, gives us room to grow into our fullest potential. A smaller pot may keep us alive, but without expansion, we risk becoming root-bound, stunted by self-imposed limitations. The wheel of life keeps turning, urging us to repot ourselves when needed, embracing the discomfort of change so we can truly thrive.

07/02/2025

In the last few weeks Iv really pondered on what is important to pass on to clients at any stage in their therapy.

One of the most important things to understand about the therapist/ client relationship is that we, as therapists, are not above or beyond struggle, we walk our own paths of growth, just as you do.

It is a privilege to support others on their journeys, but that doesn’t mean we’ve reached a place of any perfection just because of our role. We feel, we learn, we heal, and we continue evolving, just like you. However it can be helpful to share some of our experience in therapy, if it’s helpful to show you that life can get better or show you how using a skill could improve a situation.

Therapy isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about walking beside you, offering tools, and helping you find your voice, to gain self-acceptance, just as we strive to accept ourselves.

Pain is a part of life, but through it comes growth. And in that growth, we can learn to foster a deeper, more compassionate relationship with ourselves. We are not here to reach perfection, we are here to constantly learn, just like when we were born. We had to learn to walk and talk and it’s exactly the same as a teen and adult in growing through difficult experiences in life, albeit through loss, scary experiences or intrusive thoughts.

Please Know You are not alone. You are never less than. You are always enough ❤️ We are all human and equal.

25/06/2024

What is true self love?

Its not affirmations, that’s definitely an action towards it
Its not thoughts, that’s thinking/ logicalising/ rationalising love

It’s the going back and revisiting the parts of the previous you, at the beginning, the younger self that didn’t (for any reason) feel loved, protected, good enough or special. This gave a message and caused a block or wall to loving the self.

Going back there and being there for them ie you, finally realising the apathy wall you felt for that part of you and then doing the work to ‘feeling’ the compassion and love, That is Self Love ❤️❤️❤️

18/05/2024

It is estimated that we have up to 70,000 to 100,000 thoughts a day (and I believe we probably have even more).

We delete, distort, and generalise information as part of the human thinking process to handle and understand the huge amount of information we come across every day.

These processes help us:

-Simplify Information: By deleting unimportant details, we can focus on the most relevant information without getting overwhelmed.
- Create consistency: Distorting information allows us to fit new data into our existing beliefs, keeping our worldview consistent.
- Form Patterns: Generalising helps us identify patterns and make predictions, aiding in decision-making and understanding complex situations.

These processes are essential for thinking efficiently but can also lead to biases and misunderstandings.

Therefore, many of our thoughts are just guesses that fit our past experiences.

Here is an example of how someone could delete, distort, and generalise due to previous experiences of being rejected:

- Deletion Example: After experiencing rejection, a person might focus only on those moments and ignore instances of acceptance or positive interactions.
- Impact: This attention makes rejection seem more significant and common than it actually is.

- Distortion Example: They might see neutral situations negatively, like assuming a friend's delay in responding to a message is a sign of rejection.
- Impact: This misinterpretation twists reality, increasing feelings of rejection and reinforcing negative beliefs.

- Generalisation Example: Based on a few bad experiences, they might conclude that "everyone rejects me" or "I will always be rejected."
- Impact: This overgeneralisation creates an inaccurate belief system, affecting future interactions and upkeeps low self-esteem.

For this individual it would be important to process their traumatic past experiences using emdr/eft/cbt, helping them see the facts rather than living in assumptions and in the past!

12/02/2024

A really good video, especially for people pleasers! So if that’s you, then this is a good watch! Cortisol in the body comes from being in painful situations…

Equal Connection is so important, through my own personal experience and working with my lovely clients, Iv learnt it’s important to put yourself as an equal!

When we put ourselves lower than others, we can get treated as so, but it’s not true! Everyone is important, including you!

By exploring our patterns from childhood, we can choose to give ourselves permission to change!

If you don’t and put yourself last, the body will likely respond ❤️

How to reset your body from chronic stress Dr Gabor will uncover reason why we get chronic illnesses Dr. Gabor Maté is...

12/02/2024

I hope this review from one of my brave and courageous clients helps raise hope for anyone struggling right now!

There are many therapies that can help if you have a Nervous Breakdown, and/or struggle with OCD and Intrusive Thoughts; Mindfulness, CBT, Somatic/ Body work, Inner Child Hypno, EFT and Emdr were used in this case.

https://g.co/kgs/6JDtSc5

24/01/2024

This is great advice ❤️

20/01/2024

❤️

23/08/2023

Another lovely review from one of my amazing and brave clients, sadly not all reviews go through on my Google as sometimes they get filtered for no good reason, so I'll share this clients lovely words here ❤️

Please go to
https://g.co/kgs/vixfrj - for more reviews

15/08/2023

A speaker began a seminar by showing an audience a £50 note.

He asked, “Who wants this £50?”
All the people nodded.

He said, “I am going to give this money to someone, but first….”
Then he proceeded to crumple the note up.

He asked the crowd again if anyone wanted it.

All the audience members hands went up in the air.

The speaker then dropped the money on the floor and stomped all over it.

He then raised it in the air to show the crowd. The money was filthy.

“Does anyone want it now?”
Every hand went up.

The speaker proceeded to tell the crowd that no matter what he did to ruin the money, people still wanted it because its value remained the same.
It was still worth £50

Life often can get us to the point where we feel like we are on the crumpled floor. We can face difficult circumstances and feel like everything is a mess and we are trampled on by life.

However, no matter what you go through, your value will remain the same.

09/08/2023

This is so true and so important to be aware of!

On Pop Psychology Emmy van Deurzen says:

'This is a highly necessary reminder that the pop psychology concepts that are currently being thrown around with great abandon are usually not based in intelligent understanding of human experience, but are cartoon and cardboard versions and caricatures of human psychology.

The concepts of narcissism, trauma, codependency, gaslighting, abuse, triggering, psychopathy and many others are being used in ways that are often destructive and alienating and extremely irresponsible judgements on others. Instead of the use of these concepts bringing insight and understanding, as they can do when used carefully, they are setting people against each other and increase and exaggerate human suffering and aggression. This maintains a climate of blaming and shaming and is a divisive strategy based in the wish to exert power over others.'

Its devisive. It's distorted. It maintains blame culture verses accountability. YES Emmy ❤️