Cedric Bertelli is the founder of the Emotional Health Institute and the co-creator of the groundbreaking EmRes® method, which helps individuals effectively resolve debilitating emotional patterns. The Emotional Health Institute provides comprehensive training to therapists, coaches, and other professionals in mental and emotional health worldwide, equipping them with the tools to integrate EmRes® into their practices. Additionally, the institute connects individuals with certified practitioners and offers specialized training designed to foster lasting emotional well-being.
Cedric Bertelli, Founder
Cedric, your journey into emotional health has been transformative. Could you share your story, how you came to found the Emotional Health Institute and how it aligns with your personal mission?
I was born in a tiny village in the south of France with a population of about 80 people. My childhood was modest yet pleasant. However, as I grew up, I was an anxious child, and that anxiety followed me into my teenage years, accompanied by a lot of self-directed anger.
One of the most formative figures in my life was my paternal grandfather, a humble and decent man with personal integrity. He was a World War II veteran, and as I grew older, I became deeply curious about his resilience. His life and approach to overcoming challenges influenced my work and the way I approach life in general.
After middle school, I felt out of place in the traditional education system and decided to pursue culinary school, eventually studying hospitality management. This led me to the luxury hospitality industry, and I had the opportunity to serve as Director of Restaurants for The Ritz-Carlton Company until 2009. In this role I learned to manage large teams and observe emotional dynamics and the outcomes they produce, giving me deeper insight into my own emotions and those of others.
My journey into emotional health began when I became aware of the limitations in how emotional difficulties are addressed. Most approaches focused on learning tools to manage emotions; I was inspired by the way the elders in my village and mammals in the wild processed potentially traumatic events. This led me to consider that there may be a more integral way to address the root cause of emotional struggles. So, I delved into somatic therapy, neuroscience, and philosophical works by thinkers such as Henri Bergson, François Roustang, and Baruch Spinoza. Through these explorations, I co-developed Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®) and founded the Emotional Health Institute. Our mission is to empower individuals to reconnect with their innate ability to resolve emotional difficulties, enabling them to live freer and more fulfilling lives.
You co-developed EmRes®, an approach that focuses on resolving recurring emotional difficulties. How would you explain EmRes® to someone unfamiliar with it, in simple terms?
EmRes is a methodology that helps people resolve debilitating emotional patterns of anxiety, anger, or fear by tapping into the body’s natural ability to heal. It doesn’t rely on complex techniques or theories, and it ensures that the practitioner takes a minimal role in the process to limit any risk of transference. The focus is on permanently addressing the root cause of the disruptive emotions, so they dissipate rather than on finding tools to manage ongoing emotions.
EmRes uses sensory awareness to help the body integrate unintegrated past experiences that trigger current emotional reactions. In simple terms, the physical sensations we feel during an emotional difficulty (what we conceptualize as emotions) are outdated predictions from the brain, as explained by Lisa Feldman Barrett in her research. These predictions occur when the brain encounters elements in the present that remind it on a subconscious level of a past traumatic event.
During moments of dissociation in past traumatic events, the brain records specific physical sensations associated with the experience. When a situation that contains elements akin to this past experience arises in the present, the brain makes a prediction, generating those same sensations to prepare us for what it perceives as a threat, even if the current situation is completely harmless.
The problem is that we often control or suppress these predictions through breathwork, denial, or self-talk, which inadvertently reinforces the brain’s outdated belief that we are indeed in danger. EmRes guides individuals to let these interoceptive predictions play out fully without interference from the person in pain or the practitioner. The brain can run the full course of its prediction, then recognize that the anticipated danger did not surface and update its predictions for the future. As a result, the outdated emotional pattern is resolved.
It’s also worth noting that the bedrock of EmRes is a trauma-informed approach: the method never draws directly on the past traumatic event itself as the emotional trigger. Clients don’t need to share their trauma with the practitioner. As I often say, trauma healing as a concept isn’t quite accurate: trauma is a fact; it has already happened, and we cannot change that. What we can do is heal the emotional wounds it left behind. EmRes focuses on resolving the current impact of past traumas, whether the traumas are recognized or unknown, so that emotional responses become congruent with the present moment, rather than being shaped by unresolved events from the past.
Many methods focus on managing emotions or developing coping mechanisms. What makes Emotional Resolution® stand out?
The key difference lies in resolution versus regulation.
EmRes doesn’t teach people how to cope with or manage their emotional triggers; instead, it focuses on resolving the trigger entirely. By working directly with the body’s physiological predictions (Interoception), the foundation of our emotional responses, EmRes addresses and integrates the recurring neurobiochemical imprints left by past traumatic events.
This approach leads to lasting emotional freedom, not just temporary relief.
The Emotional Health Institute is leading a paradigm shift in how we view emotional wellness. What is your vision for the Institute in the next five to ten years?
My vision is to make Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®) accessible to people worldwide. I want to see it integrated into schools, workplaces, and healthcare systems because emotional well-being is foundational to a healthy and thriving society.
Currently, fear is at the root of many of our toxic societal issues and dynamics. It’s the sickness that erodes our collective well-being, and addressing this through EmRes could bring about profound change.
To achieve this vision, we need more clinical research published on EmRes and greater media coverage to spread awareness of its potential. The Emotional Health Institute is currently present in the USA, France and Japan, we are looking forward to expend in the next years.
Have you observed any commonalities in the root cause of why people come to see you?
Trauma is at the root of most debilitating emotional patterns. And when I say trauma, I am not only referring to trauma with a capital T. Trauma occurs when an experience overwhelms us emotionally or physically at the time it occurs, leaving the brain unable to process it fully. But it’s not just the event itself—it’s the dissociations that happen during the trauma that creates lasting emotional wounds.
Another common theme I see in my clients is a pervasive feeling of isolation and distrust. About 70% of my sessions reveal a deep belief that “no one has my back.” While this may not be the direct cause of a person’s presenting issue, it creates fertile ground for fear and emotional pain to thrive.
Can you share a couple of success stories where EmRes made a profound difference in someone's life, showcasing its effectiveness?
There are so many. One example is a client who struggled with severe anxiety around public speaking. She avoided situations where she had to speak in front of groups, which significantly impacted her career opportunities and personal life. After just one EmRes session, she experienced a profound shift. She later shared that she could confidently speak at events without the usual feelings of panic or dread. This transformation wasn’t about willpower; her body simply stopped reacting with fear.
Another client was on the verge of great success as a coach. She had the knowledge, interpersonal connections, and an engaging personality, yet she couldn’t take the steps necessary to advance her career. Even when public opportunities were handed to her, she felt blocked and unable to act. Through our work together, we resolved deeply rooted shame and guilt surrounding a secret she was carrying and her inability to forgive a family member involved in that secret. The change in her career was drastic and almost immediate.
Often, old secrets can prevent us from moving forward. On a subconscious level, it’s as if the mind fears that becoming more visible will expose everything about us, including our secrets, vulnerabilities, and struggles. I’ve observed similar dynamics with clients dealing with secret addictions, where this subconscious fear of transparency keeps them stuck.
What can you tell us about resilience and why some people are more resilient than others?
Today, the concept of resilience is often misunderstood. Resilience has come to be seen as a personal quality, something people are expected to possess or develop on their own. We frequently hear phrases like, “Be resilient,” “You need to be more resilient,” or “You should learn how to be resilient.”
But true resilience isn’t something we achieve in isolation. It cannot exist without a loving and nurturing environment to support the resilience process. Trauma, a tough childhood, or so-called "tough love" don’t make us resilient; they make us afraid. What truly fosters resilience is being part of a supportive and caring ecosystem, ideally from an early age.
If someone is going through a difficult time, the best way to nurture their resilience is to simply be there for them, attentive, loving, and present while ensuring we don’t take up too much space in their process.
In many ways, EmRes sessions provide this kind of space for resilience to emerge.
I also highly recommend exploring the work of Boris Cyrulnik for a deeper understanding of what resilience truly means and how it develops.
How would you define emotional healing?
A quote from François Roustang resonates deeply with me: “Healing is being reintroduced into the circulation of the Whole.”
For me, emotional healing means emerging from the stagnant narratives that confine us and rejoining the dynamic, interconnected flow of life. It’s about stepping out of isolation, whether physical, emotional, or mental (our story), and recognizing our place in a constantly evolving global ecosystem.
Ultimately, emotional healing is about fully accepting what we feel and what we have experienced. It’s adapting to our current reality without clinging to regrets, resentment, longing, or nostalgia. When we align with what is, we can act with clarity and intention, unclouded by fantasy or distortion.
You’ve worked with individuals from all walks of life. What patterns or commonalities have you observed when it comes to how people experience and resolve emotional difficulties?
Walking around with unresolved emotions is a universal experience, no matter the culture, background, or age. But what’s just as universal is the body’s innate ability to resolve these emotions. Many people carry the belief that they’re “broken” or beyond repair, but once they experience an Emotional Resolution (EmRes), they discover something extraordinary: the power to heal has always been within them.
In a way, we’re all like haunted houses, each carrying our own ghosts, echoes of past experiences, fears, and unresolved pain. Often, these ghosts, quietly or not so quietly, run the show, influencing our emotions, our decisions, and our actions. EmRes provides the process to escort these ghosts back to where they belong: the past. With those ghosts laid to rest, we can finally reclaim full ownership of our house and our lives and live with clarity.
For readers who are curious but hesitant about trying something new, what would you say to encourage them to explore EmRes?
I’d say: Give yourself the chance to experience freedom from emotional patterns you thought you’d have to live with forever.
EmRes is a respectful, fast process that doesn’t require you to relive painful memories. It’s not a leap of faith. It’s a step toward reclaiming emotional congruence with your current reality.
EmRes supports individuals in operating from the epicenter of their lives, enriched and informed by all their past experiences, yet no longer weighed down by the pain those experiences might have caused.
Where can people go to learn more about Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®)?
People can learn more about EmRes by visiting here. The website provides comprehensive information about Emotional Resolution, including how to connect with certified practitioners and details about the courses we offer.
We have several classes scheduled for early 2025, such as The Practitioner Training, Shifting Old Beliefs with EmRes, and EmRes for Physical Symptoms, among others.
As a non-profit organization (501 C3), the Emotional Health Institute also welcomes donations. These contributions are vital in helping us bring EmRes to the community, fund clinical research, provide scholarships, and offer affordable training for broader outreach.
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