Has emdr been helpful?

[Sharon Morris]

Because my Dad is really ill (a stroke and vascular dementia) I took a break to help my Mum. I have now gone back to my counsellor, a brilliant and talented art Psychologist; but what I wanted to ask was if anyone has gone through EMDR and did it help? He has referred me but I'm scared.

 

[Freida]

I've been doing it for a little over a year now. I won't lie -- it is HORRIBLE. But. It has an 85% success rate for getting ptsd to a place where you can live without fear and it helps send all those intrusive thoughts and reactions to a place where they are no longer banging around in your head.
The time it takes to work depends on how many traumas you have to process. Some people get completely done in 8 to 12 sessions. Some like me -- yea..still working on it a year later and have another year or so to go.

Basically it tricks your mind into thinking it is in REM (where you are when you dream) and it helps move the ptsd thoughts and emotions from present tense to long term memory. But. For it to work you have to remember and re-experience the event. And that sucks. It's emotionally and sometimes physically painful. I can only do very short bursts - which is why I'm still chipping away at it all this time later.

The good news is that it is completely worth it! When it works it is amazing! I walk into the session all freaked out about something and walk out with it no longer bothering me. It can be that fast -- which is why I keep going back.

It is critically important that you find a therapist who knows what they are doing. There are horror stories out there of therapist who push to hard or don't pay attention to what is happening and that can make your entire problem worse. Getting a referral from your regular T is a good way to start.

 

[littleoc]

I've been doing it for a little over a year now. I won't lie -- it is HORRIBLE. But. It has an 85% s...

I agree.

I'm doing it currently and have in the past. It's very difficult, but it's very helpful as well. Very helpful. Good luck :)

 

[Victory]

I've had EMDR and it worked briefly. Much prefer Havening. Go to You Tube and type in Havening Paul McKenna.
The other thing I'm trying right now that is bringing me comfort is a Brain spotting CD I bought on Amazon by David Grant, but if I listen to the music more than once a day, I get an unpleasant physical reaction so explore accordingly please.
And I continue my therapy as well.

 

[Lucycat]

I had EMDR and found it very helpful. Like others have said it is not easy, but it was very effective. However my therapist has since trained to do Brainspotting as well, and he says that has just as good results. I guess it depends what is available to you. My EMDR was on the NHS. so I know I was really lucky. I am no longer seeing my therapist - having been discharged a year ago, but I am always allowed to get back in touch with him if I feel the need to, which is very reassuring!

 

[garden]

It works for so many people. I was very optimistic about it, and it was going well in the beginning when we were just imagining 'safe' places and sort of taking inventory, but I began loosing function at some point, a lot, enough that I had to step away. I was utterly lost and useless in function, which has happened before, but this time it was too overwhelming, like a ton of bricks in the form of wordless emotions and body sensations were falling on top of me and I thought I was gonna die under the crushing weight, and even though I understand now as I am typing that I wasn't going to die, it certainly felt like I had to stop or I was going to die...totally irrational, right? It's been months and I have not returned. I am only now beginning to think about therapy again, but I don't see myself going back to the very experienced practitioner I saw before. I don't think it's his fault, I think it's just too complex and for some reason I responded the way that I did, which is a bummer. Right now I am looking into self-therapy. I do plan to look into brain spotting and havening, thank you @Victory.

I can only say to proceed with extreme caution when it comes to EMDR, especially if you have a long and varied trauma history that spans the developmentally vulnerable years of life.

 

[user27357]

As I have traveled down this rabbit hole of therapy over the past twenty plus years, two things have actually had effects along with the side effects. One was alprazolam (benzo) and the other has been EMDR. I have been with a few different therapists and you really have to be careful who you trust to do the work with you.
My first one was all gung-ho after just a weekend convention center quicky training course and was totally unprepared for the can of worms she opened. I never went back but she apologized through another counselor for what she had done and I went away knowing there was something to the whole EMDR thing.
My next exposure was so timid and by the book that we never got any work done and it became talk therapy pretty quickly.
My current (after a few others) is also by the book but I think she read a better book. We get in, pull out the trash and sift through it, hoping to make some sense of it and storing that new perspective in a place where it is easily reached when needed. The trash is still there, but I know how to quickly understand that it is just trash and I can leave it at the curb, no need to sort it all out anymore.
Long story, bottom line: Remember that the counselor is an employee and can be replaced, but find one that has a track record of successful EMDR and will make sure the work is getting done in spite of your protests along the way and then get to work, it has an effect along with the side effects, better than the drug and chat methods by far in my estimation.

 

[Missycat]

As some of the others have said , its very hard at times but the results can be amazing. It certainly helped me work on some extremely painful and difficult memories / flashbacks. My advice would be to find an emdr therapist who specialises in trauma.