Hey Jo,

I've never done EMDR, but my T wants to do it with me. So far, I've said No, because it has these series of steps and I get all weird when I have to do something a certain way. I get all rebellious and don't want to do it. Plus, I think that I would just laugh when she's doing the little tick tick thing, or whatever (I don't know if you've read enough about it to know what I'm talking about.). Plus, therapy is working for me as it is. She says EMDR would speed up the process. I'm not sure if I want that to happen, cuz that would mean that I'm closer to termination

I have a friend who has the same therapist and is doing EMDR work with her. She loves EMDR so much that she wants to marry it or at least be its BFF. She says that it's such a peaceful euphoric feeling each time that she does the work. She says it's not weird, and not intimidating, and she hardly even laughed the first time she did it, which is amazing, cuz she's like me and laughs at everything.

So, do some research, and then go for it! It just might help you make it over that hump.

Let us know if you do it. I'm particularly interested in talking to people who have done it, so if you do, I'd love to chat with you about it.

catgirl

Hi

Yeah I had that fear too about having to terminate sooner than I wanted to because of emdr. I know what you mean about being rebellious against structured things too.

I have researched it and even did it once with my old T. It went well. But that's the thing now I see a new T and I don't konw her that well and I am skeptical etc. I didn't laugh about it really. Well yeah I guess I did laugh at first. She taps my hands which is better than some of the alternatives.

I am afraid of what I will uncover. But then the new T assures me that it will be all contained. My fear is that what if it's not all contained?

Hi Jo,
I've never had EMDR but it really wasn't that widely used when I was working through a lot of the trauma. But I've heard really good things about it. There's a website by a therapist Robin Shapiro who does a LOT of EMDR work (she's written a text book for therapists on the technique) and there's a lot of good information on her website, the link is below.

Trauma and Attachment Therapy

There's a lot of good info on her site but I really love her because it's on her website that I found a link to Myshrink!

And it might help if you talk about your fear of having to leave sooner. I know it made a huge difference to my therapy when my T told me I was welcome to come as long as I wanted to.

AG

Hi Attachment Girl, nice to see you again. That's neat you're talking about Robin. She's actually agreed to write an article on EMDR for MyShrink.

I'll let everyone know when it's available. Maybe I can talk her into doing a webinar. That'd be cool eh.

Shrinklady

Thanks Shrinklady! It's good to be back around, especially because everyone is making me feel very welcome back. That's awesome that Robin will be writing an article for the site, she's a very clear teacher and its a topic she knows really well. A webinar would be awesome! I'd say "eh" but my Canadian accent is terrible!

AG

I have yet to introduce myself but I want to say that I really appreciate reading the interaction on this site. Trauma therapy is an arduous and lonely process and I need the support right now more than ever. I have used EMDR with my T on a few occasions and found it amazing. I prefer she tap on my knees with my eyes closed than to follow her finger with my eyes open; the visual technique is too distracting for me. I would like to try an auditory option but have not addressed that with her yet. The first two times I tried it, nothing happened. T said I was dissociating. Years later, we tried it with a memory fragment and though it did not uncover further visual memories, the body remembers and it told me there is most likely some trauma hidden behind the sliver of memory that I do have. Fear has kept me from additional EMDR sessions, but I plan to return to it when I feel stronger. I think I am afraid to uncover new material in an EMDR session then run out of time to absorb it with my T.

Welcome to the site, deeplyrooted.

So, has your T used EMDR to uncover things that you might not remember? My T wants to use it to work through feelings of past events. Does your T use it for that, too?

In what way do you mean that EMDR was amazing?

I can't say much here except I've heard mostly positive things about EMDR.

It's similar to other types of trauma therapy like exposure therapy except it adds the element of the eye movement to it.

It's good your therapist knows how to do it and likely worth the try.

I can say that trauma therapy is very difficult in whatever theraputic form it comes in.

AG- Hey there!! Nice to see you! Finally a familiar and friendly person. I have felt like no one knows me since I came back =(

BW

BW,

But we're getting to know you . But I know what you mean. It's good to see old friends.

catgirl

dont get me wrong. I like getting to know the new people too heheheh.

ty catgirl

Hi jo,
I've used EMDR in the past a couple of times but it was for things I remembered... i don't know if i like the idea of forcing repressed memories to the surface. Or if EMDR is even the right way to do it. They tend to cause enough problems when they come through without forcing them. But as far as EMDR goes it seemed to help with the intensity of the feelings and the vividness of the memory. But it wasn't something I particularly liked and haven't tried again. But most people seem to have great success with it. The best advice i can give is to do what you're doing - read up on it and see if it's something you think will work for you. And talk to your therapist about what you are / are not prepared to do.
LTF

I am new here, but wanted to comment upon my experience with EMDR. My T used it to rid me of a pervasive nagging image of something that kept surfacing unbidden. When it did, it was upsetting and brought the whole incident back to mind ike it was yeaterday. One session and the memory is still faintly there but it is as if it was laid to rest in my mind. Very spooky! I would avail myself of the process anytime.

Hey butterfly! I am not sure. I think you used to post here? Or did you change your ID? Anyway I think I remember you and am glad you are here.

Good to see you too AG! I meant to comment in the thread where I asked about you but times have been rough and though I have looked in on this board I mostly didn't feel I could respond to ayone. I had a rough couple of weeks.

EMDR

My new T tried it with me but I think I didn't know her well enough and she zeroed in on one of the most stressful things I could face. I think I had a major reaction to it that didn't go well. Mostly I stopped doing it in the middle and I left sort of early. Then I came home and wanted to not exist anymore and was really beside myself, crying and angry and I called and quit therapy etc. After I calmed down I realized that all of it was a reaction. I told my new T this and she agreed wholeheartedly and said that she is learning how to work with me and in the future if I am getting that worked up she will know to back up.

She wanted me to process my old T of 16 years leaving me. It is deeply rooted in my loss of having a close attachment to my mom when I was a kid. When I even brush up against this subject I get very upset because it leads to feelings of dying. LITERALLY. My body everything responds as though I am about to die. I liken it to drowning. Never being able to take a breath again as my brain dwindles away into unconciousness. Everything inside me fights this.

It has plagued all of my life that I can remember.

Do you know what ECT stands for, anyone?

Shrinklady

Oh my goodness, that ECT! I forgot all about it. Yes, most definitely there are other treatments out there that are better than ECT.

The description in Wikepedia states it's used "when other treatments have failed". Well, they are referring to the typical CBT, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic treatments that have failed.

There have not been attempts, to my knowledge, to use an attuned therapist with EMDR or body psychotherapy. Both of these therapies, in the hands of a grounded therapist, can be enormously beneficial

In any case, the key, no matter which therapy approach, is to have a good connection with your therapist. An attuned therapist wouldn't be engaged in the things I wrote about Top Ten Signs of a Wonky Therapist and if they are brought to his or her attention, the therapist makes a good effort to correct them.

Shrinklady

Hi you all, this is a great topic. I'd also be glad to read something about EMDR by Robin...that'd be cool.
When I first shut down and stopped working they gave me ECT treatments. It was only 8 weeks into my depression and they gave me 24 in a row. It fried my memory and I feel grateful to still have enough brain power to function. I wondered if I'd be able to do school but seems that I can.
I would never recommend it. I fought against my clients having ECT and lost...

I have had some EMDR sessions. I found it was helpful, not the whole answer but i agree that its a good tool. The most important thing i think, is to have good stabilization skills in place and a good level of trust in your T BEFORE you do any emdr....because it destabilized me. Don't know if that'd be true for others or not. I am not a giant fan of it, but I'd do it again if my P thought I needed it.

Itshardtosay

Hi All

I know this topic isn't really about ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) but I just wanted to give my own personal opinion / experience on this topic.

I've had ECT. It was a last resort (both times) in my case and thankfully it worked to get me out of the rock bottom state I was in. The first time I had ECT I was suffering from severe postnatal depression and spent 16 weeks in a Mother-Baby Unit. I didn't want to hold my newborn child (whom my husband & I had desperately wanted and planned for). I just wanted to die. I could see no way out.

ECT is still very controversial and I respect that there are differences of opinion on this topic - but in my case it helped, it wasn't scary (but it's not a walk in the park either), and to be honest, if I ever needed it again (which I did after the birth of my second child), I would do it in a heart beat.

Having ECT hasn't "healed" me of past hurts. It just got me to a place where I could get out of bed. I am still working through long-term issues with my T and am a firm believer in the right brain / experience side of therapy which Myshrink promotes on her website.

Sorry for highjacking this topic - I wasn't even clear how ECT got brought up here in the topic on EMDR!

Cheers!
I'm OK

Hello Everyone,

I too have had ECT treatments and they have helped me tremendously--although, I initially agreed to have them because I engage in self-harm...and I thought that the ECT's(being so extreme) would accomplish a similar result as my cutting would...anyway...since the ECT's, I have felt much happier and much more ready to tackle some of the work I'm doing in therapy now. And, I would choose to do ECT's again if I needed them, this time not for self-harm but to lift me out of despair...mlc

not doin EMDR or ECT/
samy

I have done EMDR work with my T. I have found it very effective in getting past the "logical" side of me and into my "emotional" side. My T uses a light bar, and I follow the lights as they light up back and forth with my eyes. Usually, she lets me determine the length of the set in response to whatever question she has posed for me to try to get an answer to. Then we discuss whatever images, thoughts, or feelings have come up. We have also used it as a relaxation technique when I have come in so activated that I needed to calm down.

I would absolutely recommend it. But, only if you are truly ready and prepared. Stuff can come up that you weren't really aware of. But in the hands of a T trained in EMDR, he/she should be able to help you process whatever you find.

Musical Me

Hi Everyone-
I have tried EMDR on 2 occasions without much success. Eventhough I was excited about trying it to uncover some past stuff that I had very little memory of, EMDR did not work so well with me. Part of the preliminary process is to find a safe place. This was my stumbling block. My T said EMDR is not for everyone.

Hi, and thanks for this topic. I appreciate everyones comments. I am truly learning a lot.
I tried EMDR after researching it quite extensively, but when it came right down to working it, I could not find a safe place- which is one of the preliminary steps. My T and I tried it a few months later, but It did not work for me, and I did laugh a little. I just think it scared me too much. I really like the idea of it though. It seemed as if it would help me uncover some forgotten- repressed ugly stuff. (My T did assure me that we do not have to force this stuff and we can take things slowly.)Perhaps I will try it again, not sure though. My T used vibrating intermident buzzers held in each hand. I think that I could not relax enough to allow it to work. In theory- I am not against it.