EMDR Lashback - When EMDR Goes Wrong

[Deleted member 28740]

the most effective treatments for trauma.

I read here somewhere that it should not be considered if external stress is high as in living conditions are not secure (as in constantly facing eviction) no consistent financial help or means to stabilize "home" life. Tremendous stress from external and internal issues. True?

emoticon for between a rock and a hard place exist?

 

[anthony]

No therapy, period, should be done under such circumstance.

 

[Hope to help]

Many people have asked about EMDR.. so I thought I would share part of what is going on with me.. and it's d...

It is very unfortunate that you are continuing to experience such a level of distress. It sounds like your practitioner did not develop your resources effectively enough before beginning the process. This is so important because resources allow you to cope with what you are experiencing. It also sounds like you have not fully completed reprocessing, which is why you are continuing to experience such a level of distress. My recommendation is to seek another therapist who is EMDRIA trained to develop healthier coping skills and finish the reprocessing. It's kind of like opening a portal, metaphorically, and leaving it open. You need to continue the process to learn how to close it. It will close. Your brain will heal. It just needs to continue to do what it needs to do to complete the healing process and right now the healing process is stalled. It is important to know, too, that three sessions with individuals experience severe or multiple traumas may be no where near enough sessions. Hence, the reason why resource development is essential. Good luck and if I could encourage one more thing, don't give up on your brain's ability to heal itself in this way. It does work. I just sounds like you were not cared for appropriately, which is really a shame. (From an EMDRIA trained counselor).

 

[anthony]

You're quoting 2007 content. EMDR was not efficacious in 2007, especially its practitioners. There were lots of issues, hence the post date and associated complications that were quite normal then.

 

[Ed Norton]

I had exposure therapy not EMDR but after reading this thread, I'm very confident that it was done correctly. I had/have PhD student psychologists and they were very good. I was lucky. I know that they are slightly different modalities but the pre and post exposure prep and debriefing were always done. That being said none of it was pleasant. It is retraumatizing no matter what, I don't see how it can't be no matter how carefully and slowly approached. I am much better, in terms of anxiety which wasn't guaranteed, just that I would tolerate anxiety and decrease avoidance. It was awful.

 

[Deleted member 20978]

@anthony
Just seeing your posts about EMDR being more effective than when introduced. I had a bad experience but also felt wary of the therapist's credentials which I didn't ask to see. Do you have any advice about finding practitioners that would be more qualified? Also wondering if this applies to CPTSD, that it may now be safer.

I had very good results from first session or two, then started having too much coming up to contain and was highly symptomatic. I was also in a more acute period from recent traumas at the time so also a factor.

 

[Knak]

I read here somewhere that it should not be considered if external stress is high as in living condit...

That is where I am now and taking a break from EMDR because what you say is true.

I have been married 30 years to a narcissist and can't get out of it on my own, but through EMDR I realized the abuse from family and childhood through adulthood led me to overlook signs and marry him anyway because all I ever wanted was to have a family and I was already 36. I trusted others who knew him over 20 years and vouched for him and identify him as a church leader.

The EMDR was the only thing that ever made me grow beyond the repeating self condemning voices in my head. Talk therapy has been useless for me.

I just saw a medical research paper titled, essentially, "never use EMDR on childhood PTSD" but it was too hard to focus on it at the time to see their reason. I should look for it again to see if its premise is relevant.

My therapist was very good and I identified with her (including her own unhealthy family), but she wasn't getting therapy herself to my knowledge, and I recognized some things she said that were harmful. She is human. Other therapists are so much worse.

The damage came when she let me keep talking, which I can't control, except I told her several times I don't like to talk about it. I wanted to stick to the effective objective and slower approach of EMDR.

As a result when I left sessions I was extremely upset having been reminded of the pain, which was more intense since I'd finally come to realize the hate, not love, it took to impose it on me and turned me into a willing scapegoat.

I began having accidents and am constantly dissociating and endangering myself other ways. I have alienated myself from others but I have been agoraphobic since age nine or ten. I am trying to stop being so impulsive but it is impossible.

I wouldn't sue her because I can't even do what I need to do on a daily basis, but she helped me and nobody else did, so can't say I would.

As far as my husband goes I stay away from him and ignore him as much as possible, also I learned to fight back but it is sick and would hate to treat others the same way. I have to remember the good things I have.

 

[Deleted member 28740]

The EMDR was the only thing that ever made me grow beyond the repeating self condemning voices in my head.

Thanks for you post. Gives me hope. Sort out the outside shit and then will try EMDR. Talk did not work for me either. She was kind but way over her head which I why she wanted the EMDR. She knew about all the outside stress including a recent violent assault on a neighbors property walking my dog early spring evening. Then eviction notice letters. I could not open the envelope and brought it with me to her. She asked why I did not open it. I had to explain - what is the point of opening a communication which will be highly stressful that I have no resources to alter the outcome? If I had the money I would pay the rent. Can pay is beyond my control. "Can't be an ostrich, makes it worse". Really???? How???

Repeating dialog in head, for me is trying to rewrite how I responded to the abuse, also a narcissist that is extremely wealth, and immune from the law. Millions to fight any puny suits I could and need to bring against him. That is even more cruel, degrading and beyond frustration. He destroyed my life on every level with impunity. Sociopath, was totally out of my realm of experience, and loved him. There was the unfortunate death of his father and I gave a pass on much of his behavior due to grief. It was not grief. It was the real him after the courting stage and I was under his control.

 

[Knak]

Thanks for you post. Gives me hope. Sort out the outside shit and then will try EMDR. Talk did not...

Sorry you have so much going on. Sociopaths are like a death trap. Not having money is my greatest fear. Few therapists have a clue if they didn't go through it themselves and recover to show you the path out.
I will pray for your peace of mind and hope EMDR can get the repeating messages out of your head. Also I pray you find a good EMDR therapist as it is crucial!

 

[ngail]

Many people have asked about EMDR.. so I thought I would share part of what is going on with me.. and it's d...

Bec,
Hi I wanted to introduce myself. I wanted to let you know that the exact same things happened to me. I know of someone else it happened to as well. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but hearing someone else same the same tilts the scale. Some horrible horrible things happened to me. I also had 3 sessions. At first, I felt amazing even though I was going through some extremely hard to deal with things, I was calm and the three sessions seemed to be enough. My acquaintence I mentioned earlier had done the same. After about 3 or 4 sessions she thought she was fine and quit. She had the same results as you and I. My husband and my brother also did EMDR, they both did the recommended amount of sessions and they had good results and the results have remained. I am just now starting the sessions over and I am actually on my second. I am going to go ahead and do as many as they recommend and see if I have different results. If you like, I will keep you posted.

ngail

 

[Knak]

I ran across a scholastic paper with a title how it's not appropriate to do EMDR on those with childhood abuse, but didn't get the gist and didn't read it more intensely. I can't find it now.

I just heard Spartanlifecoach say how some groups advertise giving you peace of mind or power or the like, but just want money. He said they encourage you to divulge your deepest pain/secrets and then leave you hanging. It un-glues your defense system and leaves you a mess and vulnerable to their propaganda if you believe them in the first place.

I think talking about my deepest pain without resolution not only reminds me of pain but also frustration of no answers and feelings of helplessness and puts me back at the bottom.

The EMDR done well at least takes you to the end where you do feel resolved in parts, without touching the entire origin, in my case. You have to keep going back to the original pain to run through all the misconceptions or fears stemming from it, which takes forever but done properly has helped me quit the repeating questions and repeating what happened, trying to figure it out, and allows me to see things I did not see before and grow.

I still have so far to go I don't think I could ever resolve it all enough to feel normal. It's a shame my therapist would't stop encouraging me to talk instead of the EMDR, as I told her I don't like to do that. I think it is because she is too tired or confused in getting a handle on my issues.

 

[Knak]

Bec,
Hi I wanted to introduce myself. I wanted to let you know that the exact same things happened to me. I know of some...

I would like to hear how your therapist carries it out, and the education they provide you about how the mechanism works. I had good information on that and learned more on my own. It gave me confidence, as did the positive results. However the pain I went through was horrible for a long time.