[michelle421]

hi there,

i am wondering if anyone has had experiences with the EMDR technique to help with PTSD. my partner struggles with many issues from past trauma and i want to be very supportive. she let me borrow two books on EMDR and i found it super interesting. i don't even know where to start a conversation really. all i can say is the brain is an amazing thing. i am so grateful that humans have learned to adapt to trauma. i care about my partner so much, and i can't even believe she survived the life she's lived. it will be ok. i want to support wellness and health in the community and i hope this technique can really truly help people live the rest of their lives with more hope and peace.

i am just wondering if anyone has had any personal experience with using this technique at all, and if you are willing to share your experiences i would really be interested in learning more about this therapy aside from the books i read.

thanks so much.

Sorry, michelle421, I have not had any experience with this technique. Hope it all works out for the best.

[Rapunzel]

I have used EMDR as a therapist, and seen some amazing results with it. I've learned recently that EMDR is very helpful for people who have a limited number of traumatic experiences to process, but doesn't work as well for those with many or ongoing types of trauma. It can still help, but might be more difficult and also needs to be done a bit differently. I don't see EMDR as an alternative to other types of therapy, but more as a tool that can enhance therapy or allow for trauma to be processed faster. It allows people to form new connections and change how they feel faster than they might otherwise, and does take a significant amount of energy to do.

[splitimage]

I have done EMDR off and on with my therapist for over 10 years now, and have found it to be incredibly helpful. We kind of go through phases, where we do EMDR for a while and work on trauma stuff and then I need a break and we work on more immediate coping skills kind of stuff.

I have found EMDR to be incredibly helpful in both processing trauma and and in connecting to my emotions better. I used to be completely disconnected from my emotions and simply could not describe what it was i was feeling.

But it is a very intense form of therapy and it's important that the therapist be well trained in the most up to date protocols. My T was one of the first to start using it in Toronto, when it was still relatively new and controversial, and we jumped into the trauma stuff to fast. I wound up literally throwing up after the first session. It can also cause or increase dissociation, if that is an issue at all, so it's probably wise to do the dissociative experiences index scale first to assess risk so that you can work on grounding techniques.

I round it helpful to lay out a narrative of traumatic experiences, kind of like a road map of my life's story, that we then worked through linearly. That helped keep it manageable for me.

I still react very strongly psychosomatically to EMDR - to the point that I sometimes twitch and experience intense physical pain during sessions, but then I somatize everything so this may not be a normal reaction.

I often leave an EMDR session feeling highly energized, only to crash a couple of days later.

I'm glad I'm having it as part of my therapy, but it's definitely an interesting experience.

I hope it works well for your partner.

--splitimage

[Hunny]

Michelle421,

I have tried EMDR and found it fairly helpful but intense. I happily settled on a similar therapy based on EMDR called OEI: http://www.sightpsych.com/ Observed & Experiential Integration

I found it a gentler way.

Hunny

[KaitlynGant]

Dear Michelle-
I went through EMDR therapy over a 3 years period and found it very helpful. I had been in and out of therapy most of my life and always ended back where I began. EMDR let me evolve more and , although, intense, allowed me to deal with the traumas more effectively. I suffer from childhood amnesia as well and often experience flash backs.

It is critical that the person receiving such treatment has an implicit trust in the therapist and that the therapsit is highly qualifed and compassionate. Many therapist would not treat me unless I was under drug therapy with a Psychiatrist as well. This was unacceptable to me as being a former drug addict, I knew drugs would not be the answer for me, personally. Then when I had almost given up all hope I actually entered the office of a woman who changed my life. She was even an intern and not the most experienced but she was guided by the hand of God in treating me. I still have issues that flair up but that is life with PTSD as there will be no cure- one just learns better management of it. EMDR takes the edge off the trauma(s) and helps you to reprogram your responses to them in a non-destructive manner. I am an advocate of it. I actually documented my 4 years journey and now my writings are under the direction of a publishing house and within the year I hope to be releasing a book. It was my goal to give people a resource through one of the darkest periods of their lives. I wanted them to know they are not alone and others have survived and thrived. My best to you and your friend, Kaitlyn

Originally Posted by michelle421

hi there,

i am wondering if anyone has had experiences with the EMDR technique to help with PTSD. my partner struggles with many issues from past trauma and i want to be very supportive. she let me borrow two books on EMDR and i found it super interesting. i don't even know where to start a conversation really. all i can say is the brain is an amazing thing. i am so grateful that humans have learned to adapt to trauma. i care about my partner so much, and i can't even believe she survived the life she's lived. it will be ok. i want to support wellness and health in the community and i hope this technique can really truly help people live the rest of their lives with more hope and peace.

i am just wondering if anyone has had any personal experience with using this technique at all, and if you are willing to share your experiences i would really be interested in learning more about this therapy aside from the books i read.

thanks so much.