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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by vwoolf on January 4, 2004, at 9:49:23
Hi
Have any of you tried EMDR treatment for PTSD, and if so, how did you find it and what was the outcome?
Regards
Virginia
Posted by Dinah on January 4, 2004, at 11:55:20
In reply to Has anyone tried EMDR treatment?, posted by vwoolf on January 4, 2004, at 9:49:23
As you might be able to tell from my post below, I'm about to start it, assuming the therapist accepts me on for adjunctive EMDR therapy. She's going to talk to my regular therapist. I'm a bit worried about it.
There's a thread at the top of this page on it, and you might also want to look through the archives. I think the subject has come up a few times. Anecdotal reports seem to be good.
Posted by antigua on January 4, 2004, at 16:16:18
In reply to Has anyone tried EMDR treatment?, posted by vwoolf on January 4, 2004, at 9:49:23
Yes, I've tried it for PTSD. As Dinah mentioned there is a thread about this that you might want to read.
I got into EMDR about 3 months ago because I was stuck in my therapy.
I head back to EMDR on Tuesday. Yuck. It was nice being away from it for two weeks. That said, yes it has helped me a great deal. It hasn't helped as much w/memories as it has w/remembering and "feeling" the feelings I experienced as a child over the PTSD. The joke is on me, though. I've always considered myself a very emotional person, but when it comes to this stuff, I'm totally disassociated from that little girl.
If you're thinking of trying EMDR, be sure to pick a reputable therapist and be sure that you feel comfortable and safe w/them before you begin. Even better, be sure that you have someone else (your regular T?) to go over the stuff that comes up.
I haven't had any great breakthroughs (or breakdowns) but I have faced some feelings I didn't know I had (anger, devastation, loss, etc.)
antigua
Posted by Sabina on January 6, 2004, at 21:54:54
In reply to Re: Has anyone tried EMDR treatment? » vwoolf, posted by antigua on January 4, 2004, at 16:16:18
i have only been in regular therapy for about a year now (for the first time in my life) with a really great woman. i feel that due to certain factors (my age, planning to become a mother) that i need to address some ptsd issues stemming from religious and other abuse as a child. fortunately, my therapist is also trained in emdr. i saw this as a plus since i wasn't at all keen to establish trust, familiarity, etc. with a new, second person when she and i already have such a great rapport (and yes, i know how lucky i am in that respect).
during the course of today's regular session, we spoke about the possibility of trying it. she wants to make sure that i'm in a relatively steady period, mood-wise, so i'm going to go back in two weeks for a kind of briefing about the process and then in another two weeks for an actual session. it seems to me that she's taking it all terribly seriously, but i would certainly rather see that than the opposite. she doesn't want me to get home afterward and have a meltdown, setback, or something. i don't really know what to expect, i suppose, even though i've done a fair amount of online research. she says that some peopl have great success with it and others not such a dramatic change. we'll see.
i'm not really adding anything of substance to the thread at this point, other than to say, i plan to try it soon, too. good luck to us all.
Posted by antigua on January 7, 2004, at 7:16:37
In reply to Re: Has anyone tried EMDR treatment?, posted by Sabina on January 6, 2004, at 21:54:54
Sounds like you have a good plan. Getting therapy before you plan on becoming a mother is a really great thing. In my case, having children brought a lot of stuff up that I didn't even know was there--it actually got me started on therapy. As my children have gotten older I've realized/remembered certain things that happened to me when I was their age. This has been particularly helpful w/my daughter as I tend to view her as me at that age and I have to be constantly reminded that she's not me, she's a healthy, full-functioning young girl. Therapy has helped me a lot with my kids.
Good luck w/the EMDR. You are lucky to have the same person. I think I'm one of those who have been helped by EMDR but I don't think it's been really dramatic for me (not yet, anyway). But I'm not a dramatic person anyway, I move really slowly through my therapy.
Good luck,
antigua
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