Prince Harry filmed tapping his way to emotional safety as part of treatment for PTSD
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The Duke of Sussex revealed that he had been having EMDR therapy, a relatively new form of treatment for PTSD.
He said it was one of the varieties of “healing or curing” with which he was willing to experiment but that he would not have been open to it had he not put in the work with years of therapy beforehand.
The Duke, 36, is undergoing treatment with London-based consultant Sanja Oakley, who leads a session with him on camera for his new AppleTV series, The Me You Can’t See.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) looks at the life events that may have caused the relevant symptoms.
It uses “bilateral stimulation” by asking the patient to move their eyes, following an object, or by the therapist tapping on the patient's body or getting them to tap on themselves. In the show, the Duke is shown tapping himself as part of the treatment.
The aim is to pair the cognitive recognition of the trauma with a powerful memory of being safe, allowing them to think about the event without emotional distress.
The tapping is said to create a new default for that memory.
Ms Oakley, 56, is a registered psychotherapist and “executive coach” with 20 years’ experience in both private practice and the public sector, working in the UK, Europe and the US.
She offers sessions in London and via Skype, which she appeared to be using with Prince Harry.
Her website reveals that she has a particular interest in “new, fast developing effective therapies” and that she both teaches and consults colleagues in therapy and EMDR around the world.
It says the “cutting edge and clinically-proven psychotherapeutic technique” has become a “passion” of hers.
Ms Oakley has previously worked for London Underground and was among a team of therapists that carried out work in the immediate aftermath of the July 2005 London bombings.
She has also worked at The Centre for Victims of Torture in the US.
Her website features a link to a YouTube video of Jameela Jamil, a British actress and campaigner, speaking about the benefits of EMDR.
Jamil was among the 15 women chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to feature on the cover of the September 2019 edition of Vogue, which she edited.
Her Instagram account was also one of a selection recently highlighted by the Sussexes in 2019 and she has been a vocal supporter of the couple.
It is unclear whether she is also a client of Ms Oakley.
