[Miako]

Hello, has anyone been treated with EMDR and wouldn't mind helping me with a few questions?
I'm due to have my first session on Tuesday but I don't really know what to expect. I know I'll be listening to ticks rather than looking side to side, but I don't know what I should expect to feel.
As it is at the moment I don't have PTSD and can recall my trauma fairly easily and with no distress. However, I have no memories of emotions from the event and cannot feel anything when I play back the memory in my mind. My therapist said it's due to the event being frozen and getting stuck during processing and he says the EMDR should help me reprocess the whole memory effectively and break the dissociation I have with this event. For whatever reason I can only write about the event, no matter how much I want to, I cannot verbalise it at all, the words just get stuck.

Will I have to say out loud what images are going through my mind?

Do the emotions just come flooding in and do you have to try to describe them?

How do people usually feel after EMDR?

I don't expect anyone to be able to properly answer these questions, I'm just after a general idea about what affect this is likely to have. I'm worried I'll just be an emotional wreck afterall, there's a hell of a lot of buried emotions up there somewhere! If anyone would like to share their experiences I'd be grateful.

[pattijane]

I'm a little unclear as to why you're even targeting this memory if it doesn't cause you any distress and you don't have PTSD. Is it somehow interfering with leading a happy and productive life? Regardless, let me tell you what to expect in EMDR therapy.

I use EMDR therapy as my primary psychotherapy treatment 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 therapy (certified by the EMDR International Association and trained by the EMDR Institute, both of which I strongly recommend in an EMDR therapist) I have used EMDR therapy successfully with panic disorders, PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief, body image, phobias, distressing memories, bad dreams, and many other problems. It's a very gentle method with no significant "down-side" so that in the hands of a professional EMDR therapist, there should be no freak-outs or worsening of day-to-day functioning.

One of the initial phases (Phase 2) in EMDR therapy involves preparing for memory processing or desensitization (memory processing or desensitization - phases 3-6 - is often what is referred to as "EMDR" which is actually an 8-phase method of psychotherapy). In this phase resources are "front-loaded" so that you have a "floor" or "container" to help with processing the really hard stuff, as well as creating strategies if you're triggered in everyday life. 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.
In phase 2 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 therapy is that YOU, the client, are in control NOW, even though you weren’t in the past, during traumatic events and/or panic/anxiety. You NEVER need re-live an experience or go into great detail, or say aloud what images are going through your mind, 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, or any method of bilateral stimulation that feels okay to you) 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 say just a bit of what you’re noticing, anything different, any changes. (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 therapy techniques that help make it the gentlest and safest way to detoxify bad life experiences and build resources. One of the objectives of EMDR therapy is to NOT have you flooded by emotions, and you certainly don't have to describe anything that you'd rather not describe.

People often feel tired after EMDR therapy processing. I always suggest the first session of EMDR processing be done on a day when you don't have anything serious to do after, so that you can go home and rest. In addition to feeling tired, people sometimes feel elated, excited, relieved, curious, ready for more, and very, very rarely, in some distress. With a professional EMDR therapist you won't walk out of the office in a distressed state because the therapist will help ground you using some of the strategies from Phase 2. But I have to say that in the 20+ years I've been using EMDR therapy, 99% of the time people walk out of the office saying "Wow! That was amazing!!"

Grounding exercises are essential. You can 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). The book is 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.

Pacing and dosing are critically 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 can use 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. They are called "cognitive interweaves" that your therapist can use, and that also can help bring your adult self's perspective into the work (or even an imaginary Adult Perspective). 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.

You might want to take a look at a description of EMDR therapy: EMDR Network

[Miako]

Thanks for all the info. Makes things a bit clearer.

The reason this memory is being targeted, is because although it doesn't cause distress, it doesn't do so for the wrong reasons. It's never been processed properly, which is why it's not a complete memory. Also, I think it was around the time of this event that I started being far too defensive over all minor upsets and now it's got to the point where I've become very avoidant and I find it hard to form relationships with people. My therapist hopes that if I can use a more helpful coping strategy with this trauma, then I can apply better methods with minor daily life issues. At the moment its just serving as a barrier and is stopping me feeling emotions.

Thanks again for your reply, I appreciate you taking the time