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  #1  
Old October 22nd, 2004, 03:08 PM
Piper William Piper William is offline
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Default EMDR

thank you very much for your help.

Last edited by Piper William; October 31st, 2007 at 10:43 PM..
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  #2  
Old October 22nd, 2004, 10:49 PM
dmuldawer dmuldawer is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

It is entirely appropriate to call a professional for an appointment, especially one you've established a good working relationship with. Listen to yourself and take care of your own needs. A reputable therapist can certainly take care of his/her own needs and will let you know if you are overstepping any boundaries.

Diane
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  #3  
Old October 24th, 2004, 02:57 PM
Sandra Paulsen Sandra Paulsen is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

Thanks for your post. I need to say first that we don't do case consultations here as we just don't have enough info to do a good job. Your therapist has much more information about your specific situation.

But I'll make some general comments that may or may not apply in your case.

First off, its part of EMDR training that therapists advise clients to call if they have emergent disturbance after an EMDR session. Its not unusual because the processing may open up a King Tut's Tomb of sequestered emotions, thoughts, body sensations. Its best if a therapist has helped a client develop containment skills and strategies to help manage those emerging things between sessions, but sometimes things emerge that simply need to be dealt with between sessions.
Sometimes the frequency of appointments needs to be adjusted as things unfold. Most clients working on trauma processing need weekly sessions (not always for EMDR, sometimes for support, containment, and synthesizing what's been percolating) and some need more frequent appts.

Some individuals with good ego strength and oodles of containment skills can go two weeks or, rarely, three weeks between appointments. The therapist needs to assess what the client needs and make recommendations. The problem comes when client's budget conflicts with their needs. Sometimes people need to save up for a while so they can do an appropriate level of treatment frequency while they do their trauma processing.

In short, whenever a client has severe discomfort they should follow the emergency procedures the therapist has laid out for them, which is variable indeed. Some have pagers, some check messages, some have a back up person on call, some ask clients to use crisis hot lines or emergency rooms, so you have to know what the therapist has instructed ahead of time. All therapists have to have some strategy for crises, but there is no one right answer about what that strategy should be.

Finally, not wanting to be difficult is a virtue ---- unless its part of the memory that only seems to be about present time, but actually has its origin at the time of the trauma. Then it becomes a future target of EMDR --- and a good one!!

I hope you'll discuss all these possibilities with your therapist.
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  #4  
Old October 24th, 2004, 10:10 PM
Piper William Piper William is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

Thank you both for your prompt and helpful replies.

Last edited by Piper William; October 31st, 2007 at 10:43 PM..
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  #5  
Old October 24th, 2004, 10:40 PM
Sandra Paulsen Sandra Paulsen is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

Well, I'm glad you find the posts and archives helpful.

About dissociation --- some people dissociate a little and some people have dissociative disorders. I don't know if you do either, but once again you have a right to find out what your therapist found in screening you for dissociation.

Your description is striking of how you feel "held back" in the sessions. That may or may not be dissociative....I think if you print out all these pages and take them to your therapist he'll see what your concerns are.

I'll make some comments, per your request, about dissociation....but do remember I don't know if it applies to you or not. Deal?

Some people have parts of themselves that hold them back, or that interfere with forward movement in EMDR or any other therapy. Now those parts of self are protective, or originally were protective in their function. You could also call then defenses. In dissociative conditions, those defensive or protective parts of the self can exist in secret, unknown to the self or to the therapist unless the therapist knows to look. Sometimes those protective parts of self can be, well, cranky, and for good reason. They are trying to protect the self as best they can from a world that has been dangerous, betraying, abandoning, violating. Sometimes they are REALLY determined to keep certain things secret, either because they seem shameful or because they were told to and threatened about keeping secrets --- or else.

I always like to thank those protectors, including the fierce ones, because sometimes they really kept the person alive, or at least safer, than if they hadn't stopped them from talking. Only trouble is, sometimes the protectors are doing the job the same way they learned it decades ago -- when they were three. Sometimes we just need updated jobs, that reflect the fact that it is present time, and the person is grown up, and the dangers have changed or passed.

Very often the themes from early life injuries are evident in the relationship between the client and the therapist. So if a therapist seems dangerous it could be because the therapist IS dangerous, or more likely because the memory of danger is leaking up into the relationship with the therapist, because on some level the therapist reminds the client of something forgotten or pushed away. This "leakage" from memories is worth its weight in gold -- it gives us clues to what came before when there is little information.

Those are my thoughts for a Sunday. There is much more of course, but this is a start.

Now do remember, that it may be that none of this applies to you at all. But if you take this to your therapist and do your best to say your concerns and fears. And remember also that you, and every client, has the right -- and even the responsibility --- to choose what's best for you and sometimes that means to request more information from your therapist about the therapy, the diagnosis, the treatment plan, alternative treatments, expected outcomes and risks of those alternative treatments and what will happen with no treatment.

Just ask and follow your antennae.

Good luck.
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  #6  
Old November 5th, 2004, 01:10 AM
Piper William Piper William is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain all of that to me.

Last edited by Piper William; October 31st, 2007 at 10:44 PM..
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  #7  
Old November 20th, 2004, 05:51 AM
Clowie Clowie is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

I have not done EMDR yet, & don't know if Iwill, but I have been dignosed with DID. I am not comepletely sure how to understand it all as well as help the 'others' inside understand it. I have read about EMDR and hope it can help. I am a ball of confusion. I have learned that I dissociate but do not know how to understand it all. Do all 'people' who have DID have to do EMDR? What if 'we' are scared and not ready? Is that ok?
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  #8  
Old November 23rd, 2004, 08:56 PM
Sandra Paulsen Sandra Paulsen is offline
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Default Re: EMDR-Learning/Insight/Empowerment

No, not all people with DID have to do EMDR. In fact, lots of people with DID shouldn't do EMDR until a lot of other things have been accomplished. A person with DID should be able to tolerate and regulate their emotions pretty well BEFORE ever doing EMDR. Otherwise it can be overwhelming.

Its important that the therapist really know about DID and its treatment and about EMDR and how it is modified for use with DID folks.

The archives of this forum have lots of discussions about EMDR for DID.
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