Dr Naomi Fisher is a clinical psychologist who has been using EMDR since 2005 and supervising other EMDR therapists since 2012. In the NHS, she worked in primary care and specialist trauma services, both in London.
She has supervised NHS clinicians across several trusts. She has also work for the police and for third sector organisations. She has been in private practice since 2018 and now works with children, adolescents, and adults.
Before training as a clinical psychologist, she completed her PhD at the IoPN (Kings College London) in developmental cognitive psychology, specifically with autism and learning disabilities. Ever since she has maintained an interest in neurodiversity and how to make therapy more accessible for those with developmental differences.
Recent publications include papers on how therapists adapt EMDR when working with autistic people and how EMDR can be done online. She is the author of an undergraduate psychology primer on the Psychology of Mental Health, as well as books on alternative education, parenting and neurodiversity.
She is regularly invited to speak at conferences. In 2024 she was a keynote speaker at the National Autistic Society Professionals Conference on the topic of trauma and autism and spoke at the British Psychological Society conference on trauma and neurodiversity. She runs bespoke training for professionals on adapting therapy as well as on trauma and neurodiversity.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a comprehensive psychotherapy which was developed by Francine Shapiro to treat reactions to trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is recognised as an effective and evidence-based form of trauma therapy, and is recommended as a treatment for PTSD in the NICE guidelines and by the World Health Organisation as well as by the many other trauma associations across the world.
It is a structured therapy and consists of eight phases which run from history taking and formulation to closure and ending. It can take as few as six sessions or can be used over several years. It can be used to treat single incident trauma and complex trauma, including developmental trauma. It works on the past, present and future. It is based on Shapiro’s Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. This is the theory that present day problems can be caused by unprocessed traumatic memories from the past, and that by processing these memories (using EMDR) we can improve present day issues.
EMDR is a transdiagnostic approach and has been successfully used with people with anxiety, phobias, OCD, addictions, traumatic bereavement, FND, psychosis and depression. It is particularly useful when a person is experiencing lots of emotional and body symptoms, perhaps in the form of flashbacks, somatic sensations or intrusive thoughts. The unique aspect of EMDR is that it pairs an emotionally activated target with bilateral stimulation (BLS). The BLS can be eye movements, tapping or clicks.
EMDR is used with children, adolescents, and adults, including children as young as two or three. It can be used with people with learning disabilities and those with acquired disabilities such as brain injury. It can be very accessible and can be used in an adapted form with people with little spoken language.
Who can train in EMDR?
Therapists train in EMDR in addition to their primary modality. You must already have a recognising training in mental health and be accredited by another professional body although in some cases final year clinical or counselling psychology trainees may be eligible.
The list of who is eligible to train is here (link to EMDR association website or else copy and paste the list directly).
Why train in EMDR?
There are many reasons why therapists train in EMDR, but often they say it is because they are looking for another way to help their clients which goes beyond talking therapy.
EMDR works with the body and emotional experiences, and is very different to traditional talking therapies. It is structured but also client-centred. The therapist sets up and holds the structure of the session but within this the client is helped to find their own healing process.
Clients often say that talking therapy has helped them to understand their problems better, but EMDR helps them to feel differently about their experiences.
Explaining EMDR to adults.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIJZQAr9nQo&t=2s
Explaining EMDR to children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7yKY8Hm12Y
Naomi’s EMDR publications
Recent publications include papers on how therapists adapt EMDR when working with autistic people and how EMDR can be done online. She is the author of an undergraduate psychology primer on the Psychology of Mental Health, as well as books on alternative education, parenting and neurodiversity.
Using EMDR with autistic individuals: A Delphi survey with EMDR therapists
Using EMDR With Autistic Clients: How Do Therapists Adapt?
Using EMDR Therapy to Treat Clients Remotely
Psychological Therapies for Adults with Autism (Chapter), edited by D. Spain, F. Musich and S.White.