Posted by Toby on May 28, 1999, at 12:33:04
In reply to For Toby--lost messages, posted by DL on May 26, 1999, at 20:36:14
Sorry, I hit "enter" instead of "tab" so I didn't actually write anything in the previous post. Sorry I missed your post from April; I've been looking for it but missed it I guess due to the end of the month.
All of the things you talked about in your post are normal occurrences for EMDR. The more extensive the trauma history, the more of all that stuff happens in the days following the session. I hope you have had more sessions since that one. It's best usually to have at least one session per week for the first month of so, especially for an extensive trauma history so that all the "flashcards" can be dealt with and don't just get recycled. Aches are common after the first session and any really intense sessions because we do tend to tense up unconsiously. Those moments you described of realizing things about the past or about your mother that you hadn't thought of before are very common and those are the things that help you move forward, grow and help put the past to rest. EMDR really does seem to open the flood gates initially because people tend to dam everything up and not look at it for so long that when the gate is opened, it all rushes out. However, please know that, just like releasing a flood of water, it will become a trickle as you move past it and resolve it for yourself. Don't try to stop it and dam it back up again. It will get better.
Advise about switching therapists: if it is feasible to continue seeing her often enough to keep the memories flowing and work on them (so you aren't stuck with them just recircultating around in your head for weeks at a time) I would say stay with her until she completely moves (especially since she will be around in the fall, that may be enough time to complete your treatment in totality). The thing about EMDR is to resolve things quickly so that you don't need to stay in therapy for such a long time. If everything isn't completely resolved by the time she moves she may be able to refer you to someone else, or if you are getting really good at doing EMDR, and only have a few relatively minor issues left, she may be willing to teach you the self-EMDR technique (don't worry about that now) and there are even a few audio tapes available now that can be used as relaxation tapes (they have some music on them while a therapist talks) but can be used to concentrate on issues and resolve them (they also have bilateral clicks that substitute for the eye movements).
And you asked about the eye movements versus hand taps. Both are fine, which ever you like best and can concentrate best with. It's perfectly fine to close your eyes while doing the hand taps.
More questions? Ask away.
poster:Toby
thread:4833
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990601/msgs/6733.html