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Suzy5654 said:
What is EMDR? I would like to make my therapy more purposeful. I'm basically talking about the same incident & crying.
</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a technique used in trauma treatment, and has some application to other areas too. It is considered a type of "information processing therapy." During EMDR, while recalling a difficult event, you engage both halves of your brain, in alternating sequence, by one of a number of different techniques. This helps the disturbing memories get unstuck and allows the brain to finally process them. I'm sure I'm really botching this explanation. Originally, people would move their eyes back and forth while recalling, but this isn't done as much anymore. (I can't do that anyway--too distracting.) When my therapist does it with me, he gives me these two little electronic gismos and I place one under each foot (some people use the thighs) and they emit sequential pulses, one after the other. You can adjust the intensity to what is right for you. (It's kind of like the vibrating of a cell phone, but more subtle.) The important thing is to engage both sides of the brain.
I've done EMDR several times in therapy and it has really helped, but not everyone finds it helpful. You just have to see if it works for you. I do not use it on my own (some people do "self-EMDR" on themselves outside of the therapy setting, but I would not advise this until you've done it a lot in therapy). The therapist should be trained in EMDR before attempting this. Most people recommend the therapist have at least "level 2" EMDR training.
Here is a site where you can read more:
http://www.emdr.com
There are other approaches to getting unstuck too. Your T may have good ideas about what has worked well in his/her practice in the past.
Good luck!
sunny