I’m a clinical psychologist and I work with children, adolescent and adults. I trained in EMDR right at the start of my career, and so have been using it for over twenty years. I’ve been an EMDR consultant since 2012 (and a C&A consultant since 2020) and have supervised individuals and groups across the NHS and in independent practice.
My clinical career has been highly varied – I started off working in primary care in Lewisham, and later worked in the NHS specialist trauma clinic in Camden and Islington. I also spent time working with the Metropolitan Police and a neurodevelopmental service in South West London. Alongside this I ran a small private practice. I have been working entirely outside the NHS since 2018 and this has increasingly been remote working.
I have a longstanding interest in autism and neurodiversity. I completed my PhD in autism and developmental cognitive psychology at Kings College London before starting my clinical training, and then during my clinical doctorate carried out research on trauma memories in autistic adults. Most of my clinical work is now with autistic people and their families. I am passionate about adapting EMDR for those who may not be able to access traditional talking therapies.
Along with colleagues, I have carried out and published research into using EMDR online and how therapists adapt EMDR when working with autistic people.
I am regularly asked to speak and to run training on EMDR and neurodiversity. In 2023 I spoke with Caroline van Diest on EMDR and autism at the EMDR Association UK conference in Glasgow, and in 2025 I gave a pre-conference workshop on EMDR and Neurodiversity in children and young people at the EMDR-Europe conference in Prague. I have run several training days for NHS staff on adapting EMDR for use with neurodivergent clients, both children and adults.
I am regularly asked to speak at other conferences for parents and professionals. In 2023 I gave a keynote at the National Autistic Society’s Professionals Conference on trauma and autism. I have presented at numerous other conferences, including the British Psychological Society conferences in 2024 and 2025 on Working with Neurodiversity. I have been told that I have a down-to-earth, interactive and engaging style of presenting.
I now live and work in Devon with my family. I divide my time between clinical work, supervision, training and writing books.
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.