East Anglia Networking Day (26 April 2025) and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (08 November 2025)

Presented by Cassandra Manning MA, MSc, EMDR and EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Integrative Psychotherapist

As an introvert, I rarely put myself in the position of writing and sharing my own experiences. However, attending the East Anglia regional day last year in Ely was such an inspiring event for me that I felt getting out of my comfort zone and sharing with others would be a good idea.

I should probably point out that I am fairly new to the practice of EMDR. I am in the process of applying for my accreditation and I look forward to many more years of practising and learning more about what has now become my favourite modality of all.

The East Anglia Group networking day last April was Sandra’s very first presentation about her practice and innovations integrating music as an interweave. Ad de Jongh’s use of Queen’s We Will Rock during COVID-19 lockdowns served as a catalyst. As a professional singer with training in music and imagery therapy, Sandra took the natural step of exploring further music’s power as an interweave. Apparently, she had very tentatively raised her hand at the end of the previous regional day when attendees were asked if anyone would like to volunteer and share any innovation in their practice. I am sure I am not alone in feeling very grateful for that moment of courage to share her work with us.

Excitingly, the presentation started with an experiential exercise. We were asked to think of a recent positive experience and were invited to tap it in as Sandra played a selection of four or five tracks. After listening to the tracks, people were invited to share their responses to the exercise. This felt like an extremely revealing and powerful entry into the world of EMDR+Music. It was fascinating to hear about the range of reactions to each track. Examples of responses included: ‘I loved this track’, ‘I found that track so irritating I could not stay connected to my positive experience’, and ‘something clicked and it made my positive experience even more vivid in my mind’s eye’.

This was a great illustration and reminder of everyone’s uniqueness and the danger of assuming otherwise. Like everything else in life, music is received and perceived by the listener in a unique manner. What might sound majestic to me might sound ridiculous to you.

For my part, some tracks felt a little disconnected to my experience but one felt like it fitted and clicked into place like the last piece of a jigsaw or a new pair of glasses that allows you to see and feel things more clearly (apologies for the average metaphors but it is hard to describe). The track somehow enhanced how I already felt in relation to my chosen positive experience. It made it more vivid and colourful in my mind’s eye. It was a very physical experience too. My body felt incredibly light and I could feel the joy of that original moment in a very focused and intense way.

The track in question was Spring I by Max Richter’s Recomposed (Vivaldi, The Four Seasons). Some found it irritating or even repetitive but, for me and for reasons that neuroscientists might explain much better than I ever will, it just felt right.

After that, Sandra explained how music can potentially be used in different phases. From resourcing to processing or installing PCs, music could be used to augment what is already there or help unlock what might need accessing more fully. I loved the idea that music could help those who might struggle to connect with a difficult emotion. It also made so much sense, knowing how powerful music can be at expressing or evoking emotions.

Like the reassuring presence of a co-facilitator in the room, music could be there to hold your client’s hand with its steady (heart) beat and returning form. It could also meet your client where they truly are by matching their emotions – whether deep sadness or anger – as if to say ‘I get it, I feel it too’.

To illustrate these points further, Sandra shared some of the most genuinely powerful demonstrations I have ever seen. I would like to acknowledge my sincere gratitude to Sandra’s clients for agreeing to share those incredibly moving and powerful moments with us.

After the Ely workshop, I found out that a full-day workshop was planned later in the year in the beautiful Yorkshire Sculpture Park (November 2025) and decided to attend, as I felt eager to learn more. The Yorkshire workshop was another great day with more time and space to expand on each aspect presented in Ely. Yet again, hearing about people’s unique experiences during the experiential learnings was fascinating and at times very moving.

Drawing from neuroscience research, Sandra also mentioned some very interesting facts such as the unique and active process at play when our bodies, like instruments (neurons and hormones included) literally resonate internally with the music we hear. I was also quite taken by the idea that our brains can adapt to new music in a way that is helpful to the EMDR process.

This is only a brief overview of what Sandra shared during those two workshops. There is much more to discover and understand about the use of music in EMDR. For my part, I feel inspired to carry on learning more. As well as my regular supervision, I have started attending one of Sandra’s supervision groups and am in the process of developing my offering of music as an interweave to some of the people I work with.

Resources

Huberman, A. (2023, 18 September). How to Use Music to Boost Motivation, Mood & Improve Learning. Huberman Lab Podcast. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gveDhZW-rUk