Victoria Walford: EMDR Practitioner psychologist,

About Me

Hello! How can I help you? What would you like to achieve?

I’d like to help you to choose the right therapist for you. Below is an introduction to Psychology (why you may feel as you do) and my style followed by my story which led me here to help you.

Continuous life stress can equate to the trauma of a car crash. However, you don’t have to have a car crash to suffer from life’s challenges or other ‘stress' symptoms such as anxiety, depression, overwhelm, relationship difficulties, eating/drinking problems, self-esteem, sleepless nights, escapism or even flashbacks. How you respond to life’s challenges is unique to you. From the moment you’re in gestation, life experience shapes your behaviour and personality. More complex health problems tend to develop from a more challenging life experience, and complex family history - both genetically and experientially. This is often revealed through disorders such as anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, OCD, Anorexia, Complex PTSD or other personality disorders.

Therapy with me

I use an educational and integrative approach. EMDR psychotherapy combined with 'ego state work' caters for individual complexities that successful therapy requires. This therapy is a 3 pronged approach that acknowledges the influence of your past on the now, and future. It develops personal integrity, and understanding whilst helping the brain to work more efficiently. Ultimately, EMDR therapy re-integrates 'unprocessed life experiences' and enables you to feel happy and healthy moving forward.

I'm empathetic and enthusiastic. I'm open and direct. I believe in small practical steps towards achieving your goal. Together we will work to heal for the long term, and use a blend of approaches to do this. It isn't always easy but I can help you pass through the difficult moments. Understanding why you act as you do helps you to manage unwanted emotion and make positive change. You're about to embark on an enlightening road that leads to a wonderful sense of inner calm, and confidence. You'll discover new energy, make better decisions, and have improved relationships.

You may wonder about my story - here it is and why it places me in a good place to help you...

On May 2nd 2007, I survived a near fatal car accident when a car drove through me whilst cycle training before work in the City. In 2009 I was diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Refusing medication I returned to university to study a Masters in Psychology to help myself heal naturally. I integrated my study with a range of therapies - meditation, stress inoculation therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing),NLP, yoga breathing. It’s taken 8 years of psychological and physiological training to recover my health. In 2015 another accident stalled me further however, the time off helped me formulate Pocket Stress Buster and set up my own clinic (Pocket Stress Buster is a semi-guided, self-help programme). In 2019 I got back on my bike and cycled North Vietnam for PTSD Resolution. I have recently recovered from Covid 19 (I am one of the Long Haulers that the press describes). As such, if you are suffering from CV19 related issues I am well placed to understand some of the healing challenges that it creates. I'm delighted to be back at work!

I currently work online. I believe in teaching people to help themselves. If you think you would like to go for therapy with me, consider what is bothering you now, this is your starting point.

Additional options for you:

Clients can also choose to be part of a self-help programme to shorten therapy:

Pocket Stress Buster programme (https://pocketstressbuster.com). This is an online, semi-guided, programme that teaches you all the skills to help yourself heal that you would learn in therapy with me. You'll learn to dispel, unwanted thoughts, feelings dispel and you'll notice a sense of strength and grounded focus develop. In addition, there are Masterclass workshops where you will practice with me various methods and advanced techniques to develop your confidence. One-to-one therapy sessions run along side this programme. As such, this is a cost effective and life changing way to achieve your goals. Pocket Stress Buster is grounded in science, and award-winning developed on the UCL Educate programme

Pocket Stress Buster (PSB) in mobile, laptop and desktop friendly. The course is delivered to you weekly, though you can slow this down, and the audio lessons are broken into bitesize chunks of a couple of minutes each, totalling 20(ish) minutes a week. The audio lessons are transcribed for you to read if you prefer. The practice is up to you, I recommend 20minutes a day if you want to make real change. You can spread the practice over the day. PSB is like a fitness plan; pilates for the nervous system. There are a host of tools to make it interactive, push notifications to encourage you, exercises to practice, and all sorts. Please discover!

One of my goals is to make therapy cost effective and as such PSB Subscription is £15.95 a month, the workshops are £65 each via Zoom, and individual sessions £120.

A quick note: I also run Corporates workshops, (inc. NHS), able to run mental health seminars, and group therapy. Alternatively, due to recent events there is much sharing and caring for friends and extended family. Why not join me together in true support of each other and come out of this particularly challenging time with a new positive, powerful step forward.

Please do ask me any questions...

Issues often worked with

Anger

Anxiety

Eating disorders

Phobias

Trauma

Bereavement

Interpersonal relationships

Cancer/serious illness

Addiction

Anorexia

Insomnia

Self-esteem

Types of therapy

Solution-focused therapy

Therapy offered

By phone

On video

By email

Client groups

Adult

Group

Couples

Families

Adolescents

Children

Fees

If you have health insurance -I am an approved supplier with Aviva health insurance.

£130 per session for 1-2-1

Rates include follow up communication/re-arranging/ emergency calls and ad-hoc communication between sessions etc.

Please note that there is a 48hr cancellation policy.

Any queries please do contact me - thank you

Training and qualifications

Currently writing the thesis for an MSc in EMDR and have received a distinction to date - work includes Complex Cases in Clinical Populations e.g. for dissociative disorders / Advanced Research Methods / Current Issues etc.

Levels 1-4 EMDR Psychotherapy EMDR (incl. post graduate EMDR).

Advanced Attachment based-EMDR.

Post Graduate in Psychology - with a dissertation on implicit behaviour.

Deep Brain Orientation - this is really useful for trauma and relationship trauma.

NLP, Compassion focused therapy, Meditation, CBT and Stress Inoculation techniques are approaches I have experienced in depth and studied without formal qualifications.

BA Languages - I am bilingual in Italian, speak French and understand Spanish with a simpler style of speaking!

Testimonials upon request...

"Like many people, I was sceptical about how therapy could benefit me personally. I'd had bad experiences in the past, with poor results. Also, I had also never heard of EMDR before my sessions with Victoria. She had a challenge on her hands...It was going to take a lot to convince me that it was worthwhile and worth the financial investment.

I've just finished my fourth session with Victoria and I can honestly say it has changed my life. The treatment is truly effective and the results can be felt instantly. Victoria as well as being a great professional therapist, she is personableand makes you feel comfortable. She is empathetic and understanding of my individual situation and I felt the sessions were tailored specifically to me needs. She also made sure that I understood the scientific process of EMDR and what results to expect through our sessions. I'd recommend Victoria and EMDR to anyone seeking this sort of support and help."