[cmac13]

I have heard about EMDR and am wondering what it is? how long does it take to work? does it always work? Anyone out there have experience with it? thanks

[BethD1980]

Ive done it once, its suppose to stimulate ur right brain hemisphere and help u see "logically" whatever it is you want to work on. It doesnt always work, atleast it didnt for me.
beth

[cmac13]

The reason I ask is because my therapist mentioned it to me regarding my nightmares but I am not sure I can deal with having another therapist to get to know. My therapist is not trained in it. I have major trust issues. What happens in an EMDR session? How long does it takes?

[sunrise]

Originally Posted by cmac13

I have heard about EMDR and am wondering what it is? how long does it take to work? does it always work? Anyone out there have experience with it? thanks

EMDR helps stuck memories shake loose and get processed. People who report being stuck or are having trauma symptoms (frequent re-experiencing of events or flashbacks, etc.) may be helped by EMDR. It can work very quickly. You may feel better right after a session. Other people may take longer to process after the session--several hours, days, a week. I definitely took a few days. Processing those important things that shake loose definitely takes time for me. Some people have not found EMDR helpful at all. My T likes it because it can work quickly compared to some trauma treatments or talk therapy. I have had about 5 EMDR sessions, all at the outset of therapy. I had a lot of stuff stuck and needed to break it free and deal with it before I could move on to making progress in my life (and in therapy). I did find it helpful but I didn't want to do an extensive course of this treatment. Just a few times was fine for me, then we went to straight talk therapy. We would try to do each EMDR session in 50 minutes, but it is really hard to fit it all in, at least the way my T did it. We did better (not so rushed) when we had 90 minutes--scheduling the last session of the day was good for that.

This is a book I think is really good for giving people a sense of what EMDR is and how it works. It is very accessible and not clinical and technical. Very friendly and easy to read:
Emotional Healing at Warp Speed: the Power of EMDR. by David Grand
http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Heal...7&sr=8-1-spell

I have hear that people who are unstable or who don't have good coping skills may have trouble with this technique. But probably your T wouldn't recommend it to if you were in those categories. If you do decide to do EMDR, would you go to someone else besides your T? I have heard it is good to have a practitioner who has done at least the level 2 training. Good luck.

[dragonfly2]

I had EMDR about 9 or 10 years ago, and it helped me quite a bit. I'm not sure if the technique has changed any since then, but I can share with you what my treatment consisted of...

My therapist had a special lighted board, sort of like a child's Lite Brite toy. The lights would cross the board in different patterns, back and forth. At the same time, I wore a set of headphones and heard a low beep sound that alternated from side to side. While I was watching the lights and listening to the headphone tones, the therapist would walk me through visualizations of the difficult situations I was having anxiety about. The tones are soft enough to hear the therapist through.

I can't remember how many EMDR sessions I had with her, but I know it was at least three or four and they did help. She was trained in EMDR, and I was already established with her before we tried it. I can definitely understand not wanting to start with a new therapist for it, but if it could help, wouldn't it be worth a shot? Even just as a sort of short-term specialist referral situation? Then you could come back to your regular T and go from there....something to consider.

[rainbow8]

My T is a firm believer in EMDR so we've done it about 5 times so far. I find it a little strange, but I have to say I always gain something from the technique. I hold buzzers/tappers in each hand and my T controls how long they buzz, alternately right and left hand. Sometimes I wear headphones too, but I don't think that's necessary. There are many ways to do EMDR; the original way was that the T waved her fingers in front of the client's eyes, back and forth. We tried that but I got dizzy!

I close my eyes when we do it, and each time is different. The last time I felt very relaxed afterwards and it helped me a lot. My T says there's no right or wrong way to do it, and the images that come to me are not right or wrong. Sometimes they seem to have nothing to do with the incident we're trying to process. In my case, it's not major trauma, but little incidents. I don't understand EMDR but I'm getting used to doing it and it being productive. Your T needs to have training in it, and know how to modify it to suit your needs. I think EMDR Ts are gentle and calm, and would gain your trust before doing it with you. I don't know that for a fact, but a lot of Ts who do IFS like mine, also do EMDR. You can try it and see for yourself!

[sunrise]

The way my T provided the alternating stimulation was with these two little gizmos connected by wires to a box that made them vibrate. He said I could put these gizmos under my thighs (one per side) or under my feet (in my shoes). I tried it both ways and liked under my feet better. I could feel the vibrations better that way. I controlled the tempo and the strength of the vibrations by twisting dials on the control box. That way I could get it just right for me. I admit, it sounds strange! But I found the rhythm of the vibrations quite soothing. If they were too strong and distracting, I would just turn them down. I always wore clogs on therapy days just in case we did EMDR so I could easily slip the gizmos under my feet.

[cmac13]

thanks guys!