I've tried EMDR and CBT. Somehow with EMDR it's like trying to talk about the event over and over while body memories come up. CBT is just thought restructuring to me. The one I have found most effective would be DBT because of the models it incorporates. With PTSD to me it seems I need help in recognizing how I feel and dealing with social anxiety provoking situations.
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Which Therapy Has Worked Best For You?
- Post starter jmni
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Deleted member 1860
My IFST dealt with parts work, in the sense that we all have parts. My parts included little me, and a lot of different feelings. It is not parts work in a DID sense.
Lucycat
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I have found EMDR alongside sensorimotor psychotherapy to be very effective. They complement each other, so you don't do one then the other, but do them both simultaneously.
I have not tried any others, but am interested in Brainspotting if I were to need further help.
I have not tried any others, but am interested in Brainspotting if I were to need further help.
Like Abstract, I have not been helped by some treatments that are generally found helpful by others. I'm not being negative about anyone else's choice of approach or treatment - different things will work for different people. I thought I'd mention what works for me in case it's helpful for anyone to know about some of the alternative options.
I have been retraumatised by CBT/exposure type therapy. I don't mean that they brought out difficult reactions - I expect that from any trauma therapy. I mean that for me they compounded the trauma instead of doing anything towards healing it.
It's probably worth saying that my goal is not to manage symptoms. I'm working to heal from the trauma and be free of the symptoms. If my goal had been to manage symptoms, I still don't think persisting with CBT/exposure would have helped me with that. They seem to be useful to many people. My mind and system react very badly to them, and react well to other things.
One reason I chose not to have EMDR is that there are serious questions about its use where the client has had selective amnesia, ie "forgetting" some or all of the trauma.
The things that have helped me are:
Craniosacral therapy (a branch of osteopathy, a purely somatic therapy with no talking/thinking about trauma but encouraging the body's own healing of the central nervous system, eg releasing long-held fight or flight energy)
Dialectical behaviour therapy
Talk therapy with a trauma specialist
Art therapy
Body psychotherapy
Transpersonal psychotherapy (issues of meaning, life purpose and spirituality/metaphysics are an important part of the therapist's training)
By the way, this hasn't involved a different therapist for each thing. I see an integrative psychotherapist, who is trained in several different approaches.
I have been retraumatised by CBT/exposure type therapy. I don't mean that they brought out difficult reactions - I expect that from any trauma therapy. I mean that for me they compounded the trauma instead of doing anything towards healing it.
It's probably worth saying that my goal is not to manage symptoms. I'm working to heal from the trauma and be free of the symptoms. If my goal had been to manage symptoms, I still don't think persisting with CBT/exposure would have helped me with that. They seem to be useful to many people. My mind and system react very badly to them, and react well to other things.
One reason I chose not to have EMDR is that there are serious questions about its use where the client has had selective amnesia, ie "forgetting" some or all of the trauma.
The things that have helped me are:
Craniosacral therapy (a branch of osteopathy, a purely somatic therapy with no talking/thinking about trauma but encouraging the body's own healing of the central nervous system, eg releasing long-held fight or flight energy)
Dialectical behaviour therapy
Talk therapy with a trauma specialist
Art therapy
Body psychotherapy
Transpersonal psychotherapy (issues of meaning, life purpose and spirituality/metaphysics are an important part of the therapist's training)
By the way, this hasn't involved a different therapist for each thing. I see an integrative psychotherapist, who is trained in several different approaches.
I have been doing EMDR for about a year. It has made an unbelievable difference in my life. It has changed some life long beliefs about traumatic event in my life. It can be a little uncomfortable at first. I have been able to isolate traumatic moments and repair the damage they did to me. I also have a very good therapist though. That makes a difference too. It has allowed me to connect my feeling with events again. I actually feel things as they are happening now. I don't disconnect and review events and then attribute feelings to them anymore. I am starting to have a real emotional response system now. I live life on life's terms as unfamiliar as that is to me. Good luck on your therapy.
Peace
Peace
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Deleted member 12723
I believe EMDR has been the best therapy I have ever had. I have been in therapy and out of therapy with many therapists and processes but nothing worked like EMDR. I heartily recommed it.
It has changed my life for the better. It has helped me so much. I used to have memories and pain and shame all of my life until EMDR. It has changed everything for me fo the better.
I hope to do some more. I hope this helps.
It has changed my life for the better. It has helped me so much. I used to have memories and pain and shame all of my life until EMDR. It has changed everything for me fo the better.
I hope to do some more. I hope this helps.
Ok. I am back!
I have had a lot of therapy but in many ways it may not be that relevant as I never thought trauma was part of what I was dealing with. Mostly it was eating disorder related issues and depression/breakdowns that brought me to therapy. But regardless I will share.
CBT backfired in many ways and was not helpful. I will not say I didn't learn things. I did. Very little though as I have always been able to see the outside perspective from my inner experiences. All in all it was re traumatising for me and I did not have the ability to know this so kept going. A lot of my problems or obstacles to getting better seem to revolve around lack of self awareness and disconnection from myself and CBT made this worse and I gained almost zero self awareness from it over very many years of CBT therapy. My self hatred and other related issues got worse too.
Psychodynamic. Helped me very much in awareness and starting to be able to stay safe in relationships. I learned assertiveness and it got me to the point where I could start acknowledging the dissociation and flashbacks and past. before that I somehow just "ignored" that they were there in a profound way and did not "know" I had them. It helped me identify patterns in my life and change them. It was not reassuring enough for me and I think the "it is all about you" aspect of it was unhelpful when it came to victimising situations I found myself in in some parts of my life. I generally felt empowered by it compared to CBT and my self esteem was very much helped compared to CBT.
DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy). Helped me enormously in so many ways. It helped me deal with and accept intense emotions and flashbacks. It helped my self hatred. It helped me start understanding certain other interpersonal issues. It literally saved me when I felt things were impossible. It did what CBT never did and helped me identify emotions and understand their role. It helped me manage my life better. I find mindfulness and radical acceptance life changing and saving. I have managed my depression much better as a result too.
Talk therapy with a trauma specialist. I am not sure of her approach but suspect it was person centred with a good dose of CBT and DBT thrown in. This was very positive even though it was short. I managed a tiny bit of exposure therapy and I think it helped. I was not stable enough for EMDR but she used a sand tray and crayons and paper and drawing to help me when I could not speak (which was pretty much all the time). That was very helpful and helped minimise the shame and fear I have from being trapped in silence.
Online exposure therapy. This helped me a lot in general. I realised though that I need certain things in order for it to not be re traumatising (which it has been at times) and so can help myself more.
When it comes to healing, for me, I have found it helpful to understand the deeper concept aims of where I should be heading (the theory) and keeping that in mind as it has helped me focus on moving in the right direction. That helped very much with the things I have totally changed in my life such as long term eating disorder and managing relationships more safely.
I have had a lot of therapy but in many ways it may not be that relevant as I never thought trauma was part of what I was dealing with. Mostly it was eating disorder related issues and depression/breakdowns that brought me to therapy. But regardless I will share.
CBT backfired in many ways and was not helpful. I will not say I didn't learn things. I did. Very little though as I have always been able to see the outside perspective from my inner experiences. All in all it was re traumatising for me and I did not have the ability to know this so kept going. A lot of my problems or obstacles to getting better seem to revolve around lack of self awareness and disconnection from myself and CBT made this worse and I gained almost zero self awareness from it over very many years of CBT therapy. My self hatred and other related issues got worse too.
Psychodynamic. Helped me very much in awareness and starting to be able to stay safe in relationships. I learned assertiveness and it got me to the point where I could start acknowledging the dissociation and flashbacks and past. before that I somehow just "ignored" that they were there in a profound way and did not "know" I had them. It helped me identify patterns in my life and change them. It was not reassuring enough for me and I think the "it is all about you" aspect of it was unhelpful when it came to victimising situations I found myself in in some parts of my life. I generally felt empowered by it compared to CBT and my self esteem was very much helped compared to CBT.
DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy). Helped me enormously in so many ways. It helped me deal with and accept intense emotions and flashbacks. It helped my self hatred. It helped me start understanding certain other interpersonal issues. It literally saved me when I felt things were impossible. It did what CBT never did and helped me identify emotions and understand their role. It helped me manage my life better. I find mindfulness and radical acceptance life changing and saving. I have managed my depression much better as a result too.
Talk therapy with a trauma specialist. I am not sure of her approach but suspect it was person centred with a good dose of CBT and DBT thrown in. This was very positive even though it was short. I managed a tiny bit of exposure therapy and I think it helped. I was not stable enough for EMDR but she used a sand tray and crayons and paper and drawing to help me when I could not speak (which was pretty much all the time). That was very helpful and helped minimise the shame and fear I have from being trapped in silence.
Online exposure therapy. This helped me a lot in general. I realised though that I need certain things in order for it to not be re traumatising (which it has been at times) and so can help myself more.
When it comes to healing, for me, I have found it helpful to understand the deeper concept aims of where I should be heading (the theory) and keeping that in mind as it has helped me focus on moving in the right direction. That helped very much with the things I have totally changed in my life such as long term eating disorder and managing relationships more safely.
Lucycat
Sponsor
This was the key for me Gizmo. Identifying that shame was the problem and directly addressing that with EMDR unblocked the healing process. This enabled everything else to be processed so much easier.
CBT is working wonders for me. It's hard to slow my thoughts down enough to process them, but it's worth it. I feel less stress, less anxiety, and I've even lost weight from it!
The downside to CBT is that there is so much going on in my head, something eventually breaks through and I dwell on it so much it drives my emotions to a much higher level, but I'm sure with more time and practice, that will pass.
My therapist's goal was to help me realize that my PTSD was necessary in order for me to survive. I was stricken with a survival instinct since then and I saw everyone as hostile, and everything as a weapon. Children scared me most of all, to the point where I couldn't even play with my own two boys. Thanks to the right kind of therapy, I don't even think of all the time I lost with them. I think about all the time I am going to make up.
The downside to CBT is that there is so much going on in my head, something eventually breaks through and I dwell on it so much it drives my emotions to a much higher level, but I'm sure with more time and practice, that will pass.
My therapist's goal was to help me realize that my PTSD was necessary in order for me to survive. I was stricken with a survival instinct since then and I saw everyone as hostile, and everything as a weapon. Children scared me most of all, to the point where I couldn't even play with my own two boys. Thanks to the right kind of therapy, I don't even think of all the time I lost with them. I think about all the time I am going to make up.
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