EMDR vs. Rescripting - personal experiences with doing both?

[QuirkyTofurkey]

Can anyone speak to their experiences doing both EMDR and Rescriptiong (or switching from one to the other)?

I have been doing EMDR for the last few months with little progress. In fact, I've been doing a lot worse. After checking with his team, my therapist proposed we transition from EMDR to Rescripting. He feels that given my type of trauma (childhood sexual abuse), there are a lot of other things that have affected me, and it's not just about reprocessing my trauma, but also re-learning how to access and know my needs.

I'm curious if anyone out there is doing either EMDR + Rescripting, or has switched from one to the other. What have your experiences been like? What benefits or disadvantages have you experienced or noticed? (Can you even compare the two?)

 

[Movingforward10]

I haven't done EDMR, so sorry can't respond to that.
But the rescripting, what does your therapist mean by that?
My therapist does transactional analysis and 'scripts' are part of that model of therapy. I.e. we behave and follow our scripts we were given at the time, such as " don't have needs", "don't exist" etc. And I've done a lot of work of re-writing my scripts, where I learn to identify my feelings, and then learn to express them, and learn to know what i need, and learn to know to ask for that etc. So don't know if that is the same as what your therapist is saying.
But it does sound a good thing to do. CSA (also my trauma, along with emotional neglect and various things with my parents) is challenging, and I feel i needed to build up all these safety nets around me to manage talking about it. And all that work on being able to know your feelings, and express them, are things that then help with delving into the trauma.

 

[Wendell_R]

I hadn't heard of the term rescripting, but when I looked it up, it's clearly something I do a lot of with my therapist along with EMDR. Sometimes the rescripting happens by itself. Other times, it will come up while we are doing EMDR, or we will do a little EMDR after the rescripting to "tap in" the rescripting story. In that sense, the EMDR is there not to directly address the trauma, but to affirm the new script. I grew up in an environment where my normal little-kid desires were punished and forbidden. So a lot of our work is making room for those desires. There's a lot of fantasy work. So, instead of directly confronting the distance of my mom, we have worked a lot on my imagining a mom that is caring, responsive, and emotionally available. As that sense of having support and care in my life increased, it has been possible to go back to the traumas.

 

[BIgLittle]

Hej,

I am doing EMDR and Rescripting for almost 2 years now and before several years of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Rescripting is essential for me to reparent me, myself and I to emotionally regulate and getin touch with my needs, feelings, emotions, thoughts, boundaries, values, principals and of course Little Me.

When doing an EMDR session on a topic that I have chosen, first I and my psychologist go back to my memories of the traumatic event with the tapping on my leftand right leg while spelling a word backwards. Then I feel the rage, abandonment, hollowness, sadness, etcetera. After this, when I stay a few moments with those emotions and feelings in full awareness, we go to how I wanted it to go, what I needed, what was good for me and we do the same technicus with using my installeren safe place and if necessary my vault to momentarily stash topics that are to shocking at that moment and were we will get back to later.

Handwriting is key to getting it all out. When I write with my non-dominant hand, mening left, it feels as if Little Me is writing about his feelings and needs.

Hopefully this feedback will help youon your Journey of Healing and Recovery.

Courage.

 

[arfie]

EMDR theories didn't formalize until i was near to graduating from formal therapy to the "therapy maintenance plan" i graduated to around 2k. during my intensive therapy years (80's and 90's) we invested many therapy hours on, "rescripting." eye movements were a formal part of the "rescripting," but i never heard of the acronym until after graduation. i don't care to do the research, much less defend the theory on an afternoon talk show, but i have often wondered if the theories are connected. i confess to having grown apathetic about the latest, greatest theories.

for what it's worth
"rescripting" works well for me. it remains an active tool in my therapy maintenance. it feels like a blast from the past to hear it mentioned here.

 

[Sideways]

Rescripting didn't work for me (haven't done EMDR). I also have DID, and I couldn't align rescripting with the conflicting needs of my different parts, so it created a lot of inner conflict.

 

[shimmerz]

Rescripting is essential for me to reparent me, myself and I to emotionally regulate and getin touch with my needs, feelings, emotions, thoughts, boundaries, values, principals and of course Little Me.

This to me sounds like Matrix Re-imprinting, which I have done. EMDR was horrible for me, but I hear that often for people with developmental trauma. EFT worked better for me and had a component that used the eyes (which resets the nervous centre). So for me, EFT and Matrix Re-imprinting worked very well and were complimentary for me. I would say that they were the most important and effective parts of my healing.

 

[shimmerz]

I also have DID, and I couldn't align rescripting with the conflicting needs of my different parts, so it created a lot of inner conflict.

I hadn't thought of this but it totally makes sense. Thanks for this @Sideways.

 

[Soleil]

EMDR worked very well for me because:
1. I was a super compartmentalized person, where I put all of my painful memories in boxes, which turned out to be in a larger box of one particularly impactful abusive memory.

2. It allowed me to feel those painful feelings in a safe space.

3. I could feel those feelings with another *person*, whereas all of my previous processing occurred alone. In large part because I didn't trust others. The other because my friends couldn't handle the horrors I'd endured; I needed a professional.

Like many others have said, my EMDR was never a full session. We talked about the memories. I provided context, and it included CBT and other talk therapy solutions.

I've not heard of the term "rescripting," but I'm grateful for it, because now I know what to ask for. So thanks so much for that!

I also need to do more EMDR therapy, to keep attacking that anchor memory, which holds all of the other boxes (primarily griefs), because I don't feel strong enough yet to face them alone.

Thanks so much for this post!! (And everyone's replies!)

 

[Friday]

Scripts & Schemas are simply another way of conceptualising Cognitive Distortions & Core Beliefs.

IE if they work for you, where cognitive distortions and core beliefs fall short? Awesome.

Same thing. Different language.