1 treatment fits all

I was wondering your ideas on whether one type of treatment could fit all. For example, I just went to an EMDR specialist who believed there wasnt any patient that it couldnt help. perhaps I took it wrong but I suggested that I had been through neurofeedback and this was supposed to not have any patients that it wouldnt help (yet it didnt help me). Now I am skeptical. It seems like sometimes they don't know what types of clients it helps and doesnt help.

The problem is not the treatment but the people are "different". Maybe technically one could help all but that isn't the way we work as humans; the human element wants things we like/agree with and "enjoy" working with and feel will help us. Since we all have different, individual ideas about what that thing is. . .

I have generally found that people who claim that their treatment will cure everyone should not be trusted. No competent health professional in any field would ever say their treatment helps everyone.
Even in the most positive EMDR studies, it does not help 100% of patients, Can he back-up this statement? is he getting this opinion from a randomised control trial or his own anecdotal experience which is tainted with small sample sizes, bias in so many ways, select patient groups - I could go on but you get my drift

I'm sure he has had good results with many patients - but these may have been uncomplicated, 'easy' problems. There is a whole new set of rules when someone has a complicated history of ineffective treatments

good luck smiley....keep us posted.....Jin xxxx

Hi Esther,

Maybe this EMDR specialist is someone with a positive outlook who wants to believe that he can "help" everyone and doesn't give up on anyone. Also, I wonder about his definition of "help" vs. "cure."

My T used EMDR a couple of times with me but the second time it left me tooo spacey and dissociated, in a way. So, he thinks that "talk" therapy is just right for me right now. But, I know that EMDR has helped Sunrise because she has posted about it. Maybe you can ask her, because it may very well help you too!!!

As far as I know there is no "one size fits all."

Peace

Hi EV, yes, sister is right, I have done EMDR several times and found it very helpful for processing the stuck trauma of past events. I don't think it is a therapy, though, that is useful in all situations. I think mostly EMDR is used for trauma, so if your presenting problem was depression, for example, it wouldn't necessarily be a good fit (unless your depression were due to trauma).

I think the worst thing about your specialist's statement that EMDR can help everyone is that it may have biased you against both him and EMDR. And if that is true, this therapy probably won't work for you even if it might have if he had not said that. Does that make sense?

Maybe you could talk to the EMDR specialist some more about his statement.

When I look back on the EMDR, I think not only was it helpful to me with my trauma, but it was early in my therapy with my T, and I think going through this somewhat weird therapeutic technique together helped us bond. I trusted him to take me through this off the wall protocol about which I knew nothing and was highly skeptical. I just had to sit back and trust him to know how to drive the bus. And he did.

Best of luck.