About To Start Emdr For Childhood Abuse

[SophiaWisdom]

Thanks for this thread - I'm about to start EMDR for childhood abuse and even the search is stressful. Not only is the demand greater than the supply, but not all the insurances cover it. In fact, the office I called had to refer me to a new hire they brought in just to cover the overflow.

I myself actually went to grad school for MFT so not only do I believe highly in therapeutic modalities, but I also have a high skepticism for it as well :) I know many who are not a good fit, so thank you for reminding me to protect myself and make sure I feel 100% comfortable before jumping. I just know I can't suffer a second longer and need treatment asap (I need to do SOMEthing to get better than where I am now).

 

[Muted]

I hear ya... @SophiaWisdom I feel so at the end of my rope.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

I hear ya...@SophiaWisdom I feel so at the end of my rope.

Yes! We will keep going.

I thought of your post exactly tonight because I talked with a therapist on the phone and felt instantly comfortable with him.
However this thread reminded me not to jump to conclusions so I'm still talking to at least 2 other therapists to see how I feel with them.

Plus I have to use my health coverage because I don't know how much longer I'm fated to have it so why not? But absolutely I won't make the mistake of going with the first therapist I find like I did my first 2 times. (Third was good.)

 

[Muted]

I'm glad @SophiaWisdom ! I hope things go well and I hope checking several out will save you having a bad experience. Looking back, I was hesitant after speaking to them on the phone, so I think you already having a positive feeling is a good sign. Trust your gut always!

 

[SophiaWisdom]

I'm glad @SophiaWisdom ! I hope things go well and I hope checking several out will...

Thank you for saying that! As sufferers know, we have trouble with judgment and boundaries, so when you remind me to pay attention to our initial feelings, it's life-saving advice :)

 

[Missycat]

Hi, i am currently having emdr and it has / is helping me.
A therapist who is emdr trained and has experience of using with clients and has training in trauma is essential.
It is tough and me and my T spent a lot of time building the therapeutic relationship so i trust her. A lot of the preperation was ensuring i was strong enough to deal with the process and was able to be grounded after a session.
We dont do emdr every session as i dissociate quite frequently but when we do i see the benefits afterwards.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Hi, i am currently having emdr and it has / is helping me.
A therapist who is emdr trained and has exp...

Thank you for sharing! All of this is helpful for me too as I begin my EDMR journey. My fear is staying grounded outside of sessions - I am so calm in sessions but on my own I lose my chill easily. I always calm down, but I'm so anxious inside right now.

 

[Muted]

Thank you for sharing! All of this is helpful for me too as I begin my EDMR journey. My fear is st...

I hear ya, I'm anxious too... this isn't an easy process. I don't know what your situation is like in your life, but the more daily demands on you, the more of a challenge it can be. I think this is especially true the further you get to the roots of things. I feel like I'm hanging by a thread right now.

I don't want to discourage you, but I think those are valid fears and I hope you can talk with your T about this. I highly recommend having some type of way to contact her for emergency type of situations. Some T's aren't willing to be on call and you have to decide if it's worth the risk. I do think this is an essential safety net. Not everyone is okay with or willing to call some hotline or check themselves in to the hospital.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

I hear ya, I'm anxious too... this isn't an easy process. I don't know what your situation is like in y...

Thank you for the support! Yes I emailed him to let him know I wanted to talk about upping the frequency and if he's not able to, I'm very open to getting a secondary therapist for support or just talk therapy.

Also good reminder that any challenges on our lives we can support with more help!

 

[Muted]

Thank you for the support! Yes I emailed him to let him know I wanted to talk about upping the fre...

That's a positive that you can email him. I think having sessions to just talk are quite helpful.

 

[Missycat]

Its good that you can email him. I found it very difficult to talk about my trauma, even with my T so i wrote it down and emailed her. With emdr you dont have to actually say out loud what has happened etc (unless you want to) , i wanted to but really struggled. By emailing her she understod what was going on in my head and was able to support me opening up and then being able to process the memory.
It has been hard and still is but i know ive made progress. Where possible we have a double session which allows us to do emdr (in between me dissociating ) and allows time for her to help get me grounded before i leave.
Is this something you could do? Some Ts allow longer anyway for emdr , mine does 50 mins.

 

[Muted]

Its good that you can email him. I found it very difficult to talk about my trauma, even with my T so...

You can do EMDR in between disassociating?