Emdr Therapy

[Rey324]

After a 3 month wait I finally get in to see new T. She does EMDR so I figured she is skilled in trauma. However after initial intake she seemed overwhelmed and I told her the easy stuff. It was clear in her body language and she looked at me and kept saying wow and my my.... Made me feel bad. I know I am responsible for my own feelings and cant make people feel a certain way but still...thats the part of people pleaser in me. If they do EMDR does that mean they have trauma training?

 

[Muted]

Do you know how much EMDR training she has? You could always ask what type of trauma training she has.

Do you think it's possible you may have misread or misunderstood her reaction? She may have been surprised. Or when she said like 'my my' did it sound shaming?

What about her body language made you think or feel she was overwhelmed?

It's possible she was having countertransference.

I understand it's important to feel like your t can handle hearing about your trauma and also be able to help you.

 

[Rey324]

I don't know how much EMDR training she has. I know I need to ask these questions next time. I wanted to ask yesterday but it was about getting my info together. I need to know for certain she is skilled in trauma to prevent re-traumatizing me like last therapist did..I get I am a challenge because of the cptsd, dissociation, and attachment disorders - then add in the social anxiety and eating disorder. All this is related to the trauma and been not so lucky in terms of finding the right help/

When I mentioned certain traumas she tensed up and body was stiff looking and her facial expressions looked horrified. Not sure what countertransference is so can't say. Just made me uncomfortable and bad.

 

[Muted]

I don't know how much EMDR training she has. I know I need to ask these questions next time. I wanted to...

I agree, it sounds like her reaction was quite odd. Countertransference, as I understand, is when the therapist may identify with the client's situation or trauma and they project their own judgement or emotions onto the client. This makes it extremely important for the therapist to have worked through their own issues so that they don't interfere with their objectivity etc...

It is hard to find a qualified therapist and one that is a good fit. But, it's well worth the time and energy to find the right t for you.

 

[Crow]

Emdr does not equate to trauma training. If you can find someone with somatic experiencing or somatic psychotherapy specialties. They'll almost always have emdr experience and be trained in trauma.

 

[Rey324]

When I go back next month I will ask what all her training is. I need this to be a good fit. Insurance makes it not that easy :(

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Insurance makes it not that easy :(

I hear you! It took me almost 2 weeks of nonstop calling to find a therapist who does EMDR AND takes my insurance and I only found mine because the one I called was completely full (EMDR is such a hot treatment now that everyone is referred to the few specialists there are) and so she hired another T who does EMDR and it was this guy.

The drama of having to actually deal with so many Ts and health insurance customer service agents made me SO crazy I was getting angry every day and my symptoms almost seemed worse before I finally got in to see him.

Glad you shared this with us. The best advice I got on these forums when I started my search (I have a thread on here too if you want to look at the wonderful responses) was to trust my deep feelings of comfort or discomfort early on. Our first phone convo with the T went SO well (I had positive transference from the first second) that I felt comfortable. The transference has since gotten a little tough cuz I'm working on not crushing on him, but I knew that it felt comfy from the start and I could say so many things to him already - the therapeutic relationship is very key to our healing work so I always focused on that foremost. I also asked the front desk about his background to make sure he had trauma experience - he apparently had worked both with combat vets as well as adolescents at a hospital who had been abused so that was good enough for me.

 

[Rey324]

Well that was quick. The therapist I met with last week called to say she wasn't trained to help with complex trauma. Really disappointed bc I waited 3 months for this but at same time am very happy she was honest and up front and not drop me like my other did in Oct - and that wasn't bc she couldnt help me. It was bc she thought she was committing insurance fraud and dropped me like a hotcake.

This really sucks trying to find a skilled trauma therapist who takes Medicare ONLY. Like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This also comes at a really bad time a close friend of mine died suddenly Thursday and really need support. I am isolated bc of the trauma no family and the only friend I had was the one who just died. :( :( :(

 

[SophiaWisdom]

Well that was quick. The therapist I met with last week called to say she wasn't trained to help with co...

YES! I was on medicare but had so much trouble just going in to a regular doctor that I paid extra to get on ACA and even though it's way more expensive I did it just to get the health care I needed. This system is very difficult.

They have online therapy now that is much quicker - I'm not sure if they take medicare but they will check for you so you don't have to do the work. Those therapists respond SO FAST (like an hour for some!)

Glad to hear your therapist was honest with you. It's so frustrating - I ended up in screaming rages every night the week I was making those phone calls and I had to write my girls to start a prayer chain for me. I had desires to mass murder the entire world at certain points in that week (don't worry it's just feelings, not actual intent) so I understand how deeply this affects us.

 

[Rey324]

I talked to Medicare last week about the ACA. They said it was against the law to purchase a ACA plan while on medicare. You would have to disenroll completely (parts a/b/c/d) in order to get it. They also said once you disenroll you would have to pay back all Social Security benefits. So curious as to how you were able to get ACA?? Are you on SSI? I have SSDI

None of the online stuff is covered under Medicare. Skype and FaceTime therapy not included

Yeah I was happy she was honest to not waste my time, funny and risk re-traumatizing me. But it's hard as hell to find a provider skilled in trauma who takes this shitty ass insurance. 6 yrs I been fighting to get help. All the help is on the Medicaid side and I don't qualify. All the community mental health places are focused on the drug epidemic and it really creates people like me who has no drug/alcohol issues to walk in the shadows so to speak. I hear you on your frustration and know it's just though you mentioned. It gets tiring not being able to move forward because all these red tapes in our way. I get it. I just got off the phone few mins ago with a referral place here and they had nothing to offer. Sarcastically I said could you refer me to another state where I might get HELP....So tired of this.

 

[Rey324]

*funny in third paragraph
meant money
smh lol

 

[SophiaWisdom]

I talked to Medicare last week about the ACA. They said it was against the law to purchase a ACA plan wh...

Good questions. You're right you have to go off medicare into ACA (there is a list of ways to do that on the websites that usually involve a change in what you file for taxes) and that takes you from free to PAID so it's not always possible for everyone. I'm actually wondering if there are threads here about medicare and therapy? Or if that's even allowed on the forum. If it is, I bet you'd get people chiming in if you started the thread! We probably have others in the same boat. I'm not a financial pro and actually my math is so horrible I'll probably make people fail tests if they ask me, so definitely seek somebody who knows lol. (I'm an English tutor and I abhor math and science, unfortunately, which keeps me poor in this world lol).

Even on ACA I can't see the doctors I want - my personal doctor who is amazing and goes to my church doesn't take ACA. sigh. and my T and I had a two-session issue we had to deal with b/c insurance doesn't cover everything. It's so sad taht our healing and treatment is compromised or even impacted by these issues. ACA is likely going away in 11 months so I definitely feel a pressure to "heal" by the end of the year while I still have it.