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LtlPinkCoupe
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04 Feb 2013, 1:27 pm

Hello, everyone. :) My therapist told me the week before last that she wants to try EMDR (which I believe means Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) the next time I see her. She told me that it doesn't hurt, but it's kind of sad and scary.

I'm not even really sure what it is I'm posting for; maybe just an idea of what I can expect? Some reassurance that it will go okay? I'm not even sure of what could have happened to me during my lifetime that I need to become "desensitized" to, or "reprocess." I can think of a couple of events, but what I could have thought was traumatic may not be traumatic to another person experiencing the same thing, and vice versa, you know what I mean? This has been bugging me ever since she told me about it a couple weeks ago. :?

Anyway, I'm approaching this with an open mind...I'll probably be bringing my little friends with me; you know, Dory, Rebound, Susie, Ralph, Miss Important, Truffles, Sgt. Calhoun and Penny Ling....perhaps you've seen my posts about them in other threads.

I hope I haven't wasted anyone's time with my stupid questions and rambling, or triggered anybody...I'd appreciate any input anyone has to offer. Have a good day. :heart:


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vlinder
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04 Feb 2013, 4:31 pm

EMDR is great. Very easy, you hardly have to do anything. You just watch this light go back and forth for a few minutes. Right before that, you talk a little about the event you're trying to process. It turns the thought into just a memory....then you remember it, but it doesn't evoke strong emotion as much when you think about it.



drpattijane
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05 Feb 2013, 10:56 am

I'm a therapist who uses EMDR therapy as my primary method and I've also personally had EMDR therapy for anxiety, panic, grief, and “small t” trauma. As a client, EMDR worked extremely well and also really fast. As an EMDR therapist, and in my role as a facilitator who trains other therapists in EMDR (certified by the EMDR International Assoc. and trained by the EMDR Inst, both of which I strongly recommend in an EMDR therapist) I have used EMDR successfully with panic disorders, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief, body image, phobias, distressing memories, and bad dreams. Often people, like yourself, minimize disturbing experiences and don't feel comfortable labeling them as traumatic. The fact is that there are what we call Big T traumas (rape, incest, war...) and Little T traumas (everything else that feels personally traumatic like emotional abuse, abandonment, divorce, death...) and both kinds respond very well to EMDR! So forget about whether someone else would consider your experience traumatic, and remember that you're entitled to have bad life events "detoxified" so that they are not affecting your present life.

One of the initial phases (Phase 2) in EMDR involves preparing for memory processing or desensitization (memory processing or desensitization - phases 3-6 - is often referred to as "EMDR" which is actually an 8-phase psychotherapy). In this phase resources are "front-loaded" so that you have a "floor" or "container" to help with processing the really hard stuff. In Phase 2 you learn a lot of great coping strategies and self-soothing techniques which you can use during EMDR processing or anytime you feel the need.

Grounding exercises are terrifically helpful. You can also use some of the techniques in Dr. Shapiro's new book "Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR." Dr. Shapiro is the founder/creator of EMDR but all the proceeds from the book go to two charities: the EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program and the EMDR Research Foundation). Anyway, the book is terrific. It's an easy read, helps you understand what's "pushing" your feelings and behavior, helps you connect the dots from past experiences to current life. Also gives lots of really helpful ways that are used during EMDR therapy to calm disturbing thoughts and feelings.

As I’ve mentioned about Phase 2, during EMDR therapy you learn coping strategies and self-soothing techniques which you can use during EMDR processing or anytime you feel the need. You learn how to access a “Safe or Calm Place” which you can use at ANY TIME during EMDR processing (or on your own) if it feels scary, or too emotional, too intense. One of the key assets of EMDR is that YOU, the client, are in control NOW, even though you may not have during past events. You NEVER need re-live an experience or go into great detail, ever! You NEVER need to go through the entire memory. YOU can decide to keep the lights (or the alternating sounds and/or tactile pulsars, or the waving hand) going, or stop them, whichever helps titrate – measure and adjust the balance or “dose“ of the processing. During EMDR processing there are regular “breaks” and you can control when and how many but the therapist should be stopping the bilateral stimulation every 25-50 passes of the lights to ask you to take a deep breath and ask you to say just a bit of what you’re noticing. (The stimulation should not be kept on continuously, because there are specific procedures that need to be followed to process the memory). The breaks help keep a “foot in the present” while you’re processing the past. Again, and I can’t say this enough, YOU ARE IN CHARGE so YOU can make the process tolerable. And your therapist should be experienced in the EMDR techniques that help make it the gentlest and safest way to neutralize bad life experiences and build resources.

Pacing and dosing are extremely important! So if you ever feel that EMDR processing is too intense then it might be time to go back over all the resources that should be used both IN session and BETWEEN sessions. Your therapist should be using a variety of techniques to make painful processing less painful, like suggesting you turn the scene in your mind to black and white, lower the volume, or, erect a bullet-proof glass wall between you and the painful scene, or, imagine the abuser speaking in a Donald Duck voice... and so forth. There are a lot of these kinds of "interventions" that ease the processing! Bringing your adult self into the memory is a great strategy. Your therapist can use what we call "cognitive interweaves" to help bring your adult self's perspective into the work as well. Such interweaves are based around issues of Safety, Responsibility, and Choice. So therapist questions like "are you safe now?" or "who was responsible? and "do you have more choices now?" are all very helpful in moving the processing along.

In addition to my therapy practice, I roam the web looking for EMDR discussions, try to answer questions about it posted by clients/patients, and respond to the critics out there. It's not a cure-all therapy, however, it really is an extraordinary psychotherapy and its results last. In the hands of a really experienced EMDR therapist, it's the most gentle way of working through disturbing experiences.



LtlPinkCoupe
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06 Feb 2013, 1:43 pm

Thank you, vlinder, for your input on what EMDR is like, and thank you too, drpattijane, for explaining to me about what the process entails and about "Big T" and "Little T" traumas. :D I really appreciate it.


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oatwillie
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31 Aug 2016, 5:57 pm

This thread is very helpful as I have had the same questions and concerns about EMDR. I had my first session last weekend and I'm still trying to process what it's all about, but as I learn more, I'm seeing more benefits and as the days have past, I am experiencing better results. The first couple of days seemed like I was a little hungover with a dull headache and I did not feel like eating much, but that could have been just me.


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czarsmom
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06 Nov 2017, 7:10 pm

I'm looking forward to my first EMDR session this Friday. I have HFA and also PTSD from abuse in childhood, and perhaps other stuff.


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