Posted by Toby on March 12, 1999, at 12:20:38
In reply to Re: EMDR, posted by Betsy on March 11, 1999, at 16:38:17
If anybody wants additional information about the mechanics of EMDR, check their website at www.emdr.com; it explains what happens, how it is suspected to work and has a listing of all the research that has been done on it. There has actually been more studies done on EMDR than on any other treatment for PTSD. Some of the earlier studies done by people not directly involved with EMDR did show that it was not effective, but those studies were not well-designed and did not even use the correct protocol for doing the procedure. More recent studies done with the correct procedure and control groups do show that it is more effective than exposure therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, interpersonal therapy or supportive therapy. I believe they are doing some comparison studies of EMDR with hypnosis as well since some clinicians have the mistaken idea that EMDR is just hypnosis and suggestion.
JoAnn asked about intensive therapy for 4-5 days vs EMDR. Is this program like a partial hospital program? These programs are very helpful and do give the opportunity for insight and growth and since it is very intensive, much can be accomplished in a short while. I can't really compare it to EMDR without knowing what it is that is being addressed (depression, anxiety, trauma, etc). I don't recommend that Xanax or any other medication be taken specifically to deal with the anxiety that is provoked during therapy since it is the anxiety that really propels the changes that occur (emotionally, chemically, behaviorally). Of course, that is still an individual question and is best addressed between the patient and their doctor.
To Dottie: In general, psychiatric records are different from regular medical records and are not released directly to the patient. The reason being that what therapists say about patients can be hurtful to the person. Therapists don't go around insulting patients (I hope) but the language that is used in psychiatry is not the same as in everyday language and can be misinterpreted by patients who aren't familiar with the specific psychiatric meanings. Also, therapists document lots of detail about how patients look, act, talk, and lots of things about underlying meanings etc that helps the therapist try to dig out what is causing the patient problems. However the patient is usually not aware of all the underlying meanings and is usually unaware of how they look and act and talk and may find all of this detail distressing and feel that the therapist has a low opinion of them, when really it's just the way we document what we see and is meant to be beneficial in the long run. For these reasons, psychiatric records are generally not given to the patient (although some doctors and therapists will sit down with the patient and let them read the chart so they can be available to answer any questions the patient has).
poster:Toby
thread:3230
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/3636.html