Our Mission
Making trauma therapy accessible to the people who need it most
How We Work
- We believe that anyone suffering from trauma deserves to be treated with kindness, compassion and respect.
- We take a supportive, flexible approach based on our understanding of the many different ways trauma impacts people’s lives and their ability to function.
- We use two evidence-based therapeutic approaches - EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) and Energy Psychotherapies - delivered by specially trained, experienced psychotherapists, and our work is informed by an understanding of the neuroscience of trauma and PTSD.
- We are pioneers in the use of Energy Psychotherapies - mind-body-energy techniques such as acupoint tapping - that are simple, gentle and effective, especially for people with complex trauma.
- These techniques can be easily taught and we empower clients to use them as a way of managing their symptoms during and after treatment. We also offer Self-Care groups to clients while they are on our waiting list.
Our Vision
We have a vision of a society where:
- The causes and debilitating effects of trauma are better understood, leading to kinder, more compassionate, integrated, effective approaches to trauma treatment and recovery.
- Anyone with trauma can access the therapeutic support they need.
- Energy Psychotherapies and EMDR are more widely recognised as effective treatments for trauma.
About MEET in Oxford
MEET in Oxford was started in 2014 by three psychotherapists who met through the Oxford Quaker Meeting. Experienced in working with trauma using therapies that were relatively new at the time, they wanted to help people who could not afford private therapy fees and weren’t getting the help they needed from an increasingly over-stretched NHS. The Oxford Quaker Meeting provided support in the form of free counselling space and before long other therapists joined, all working unpaid and seeing one or more clients a week.
It became clear that the service was meeting a very real need and in 2020 the charity employed a part-time Coordinator. We now work with 14 experienced therapists who have additional trainings in EMDR or Energy Psychotherapies, and provide around 20 hours every week of free or very low-cost trauma-focused therapy.
Sharing and disseminating knowledge
One of the aims of the charity is to raise the profile of the therapies EMDR and Energy Psychotherapy in Oxfordshire. We provide experienced therapists who have added EMDR or Energy Psychotherapy to their therapeutic repertoire with the opportunity to practise these skills in working with trauma. Peer groups for our therapists provide opportunities for discussion and for sharing knowledge and experiences. We work with a range of referring organisations including complex needs, domestic abuse and NHS specialist services, as well as a number of Oxfordshire charities. This offers an opportunity to disseminate understanding of the approaches we use and, through our work with the individuals referred, to demonstrate their effectiveness in working with trauma.
Our latest Annual Report can be downloaded here
