emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hello!

I'd like to have some statements from people who are currently implied in an emdr sessions in order to share experiences.
Actually, I had 2 sessions and nothing happened I'm afraid!
I'd like to know what I'm supposed to feel, what could show me that it works!
For example, if someone felt the same as me at the start and noticed an improvement afterwards, what did he or she feel during the sessions?

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

Read you soon, bye!

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

So far no clients have answered, so I'll comment. I'm both someone who provides EMDR treatment and has received it, so I have some understanding of the process and the felt sense of it.

It depends what the target it, and how symptomatic one is. If one has a trauma, and is able to allow that material to come up in processing, one is likely to have rather impactful experience during the processing, whether cognitive, emotional, bodily sensation, or some combination. If there isn't much of a trauma history,or if the memory of trauma is completely blocked, there may not be much of a response during the processing.

If one is using EMDR to process something beside a trauma, the felt sense may be not very strong. There may or may not be progress with the symptoms. There is no controlled research on the use of EMDR with non-trauma conditions, although many of us use it successfully that way.

There is another thing, and that involves the client understanding the instructions. That can be an issue when English is a second language, and the therapist doesn't speak the client's first language. The instructions say, "there are no supposed to's in this work, your job is to just allow whatever comes up to come up, without judgement." Sometimes people try effortfully to think or concentrate on something, in order to get an outcome they believe is needed. Rather, if we just notice what comes up, as if we were looking at scenery out of a train window, or as if we were watching tv, then no effort is necessary. Whatever needs to come up will come up.

If the target is not one that EMDR can help with, then nothing much would happen.

let's see if others talk about their experience.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

What I most noticed after my first EMDR session was incredible fatigue, followed by vivid dreams.

Sometimes I'd feel worse for a few days, then feel a sense of strength and an ability to handle things that had been previously missing.

I've never had a session with nothing, but I expect that people react differently and there may still be effects.

Good luck!

Diane

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hello,

I am a client who has gone through EMDR. I spent several months preparing for it by learning about going to my safe place and other adaptive psychological tools. My therapist felt it was important to go through preliminary training and many evaluations and also my emotional state was all over the place and she did not feel comfortable taking me through EMDR.

Then this summer, we went through five EMDR sessions. I did A LOT of processing between sessions. The sessions took place over a period of eight weeks, some times taking a week off. By the end and now, six weeks after my last EMDR session, I have limited anxiety attacks and when I do I am able to work through them by relating them back to something that happened in my past or go to my safe place.

Just a little background, I have PTSD due to years of emotional abuse from my biological parents who divorced when I was three years old, and other family members. Prior to EMDR, I was triggered by many things from abusive employers to friends, and most currently my girlfriend who I've been dating since May 2007. The combination of an unhealthy work environment and having a girlfriend who triggers me a lot since she tends to act like my mother in terms of being emotionally unavailable, not validating and discounting my emotions, etc. I had anxiety in other areas of my life, even mundane activities like driving past a cop or being followed by a cop. One negative feeling that I've overcome is "I am doing something wrong." This over rode many aspects of my life. I went to great lengths to the point of negating my needs to please others to make sure that I was not doing things wrong. At work, any time I was criticized I went into this emotional spiral of negativity where I thought I was always doing something wrong.

But through EMDR, I've come to realize that my girlfriend is NOT my mother and that while she triggers negative emotions from my past, I am in much more control of my emotions and I can work through my anxiety in a more healthy manner.

In terms of my girlfriend, she has worked on herself as well and realizes that she has not been a good partner to me. She is making a lot of effort to ensure me that she is not abandoning me and also encourages and supports my feelings, and validates my emotions. It may be a combination of EMDR that helped me to overcome my negative thought process and also her realizing what she was doing and affirmed the need to be a better partner for herself and me.

With regards to EMDR, as my therapist told me, EMDR does not work for everyone. Some people don't feel any changes, others like myself have a major mind shift, and for others, it makes things worse for them, because they cannot detach from the past and they continue to relive stressful locked emotional periods from their past.

For me, standard psychotherapy was not helping me to improve in the time frame that I wanted. That is why my therapist suggested using EMDR and it has rapidly helped me to unlock emotions from my past, experience them, and then move on.

Six weeks after EMDR and it is still working. Some examples are:

1) My friend was talking about correcting his daughter not to chew on her pacifier and they have abruptly taken it away from her. This reminded me right away about my Mom who tried correcting me with sucking my thumb. I remembered one time when I was five years old staying with her sister, my Aunt, and she called and yelled in the phone,"What did mommy tell you. STOP SUCKING YOUR THUMB!" I did not feel an emotional charge from this memory, there was no anxiety, my friend's experience just brought back that memory.

2) With my girlfriend, I've taken many things she tells much less personally and our relationship feels like it was before I took this awful job that I started in January and have recently resigned and accepted a new wonderful job.

3) My mom and I have had NC (no contact) since early April this year. I have chosen to not communicate with her because I've had issues with blending our past into the present and getting angry with her. Recently, she went into the hospital. My family, including a cousin who moved to Colorado in August, and my stepdad subtly tried to guilt me in terms of pointing the finger at me for her hospitalization since I emailed her a strong letter a couple weeks before she was hospitalized. I refused to give into guilt since guilt was another mechanism my Mom used to try to "fix" me as a child. I did support my Mom by calling and leaving messages and also emailing her, but reinforcing my boundaries.

I hope this helps.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

The following is a post-script to my original reply to the query about "nothing happening."


By all means let's have other people respond, and I'll offer a few thoughts (since that's my job here).

First thing is that we don't have nearly enough information to comment or compare or say what went wrong, and we don't do that here anyway, so I'll just offer a few possible ideas:

1) the targeted memory may not be related to the symptoms, or was otherwise poorly chosen

2) the symptoms may not be amenable to EMDR (not everything is)

3) the negative and positive cognitions may not have been well chosen or may have been skipped altogether (as a few clinicians think they can be skipped, tho that's not emdr if they are skipped).

4) there may have been one or more blocking beliefs in the way that weren't identified and untangled, so that the emdr could only loop

5) there may have been a false expectation of an extreme emotional response, which doesn't always happen by any means

6) there may have been a change, but it is so organic that the person doesn't register it to be a result of EMDR. I've heard before, someone says, "I don't think the EMDR is working, Doc, by the way, I've left my job, getting back with my wife, and going back to college."

7) the processing may have been incomplete. If the target is well chosen but large, it may take numerous sessions to get resolution

8) the method may not have been optimal. some people do better with eye movements, some with tactile or auditory stimulation. To be EMDR, it has to be one of those forms of bilateral stimulation.

9) there may have been another problem with the correct use of the standard protocol, e.g., processing to the end of each channel, then going back to target, until SUD equals zero and VOC equals 7 (SUD means subjective units of disturbance, and VOC means validity of cognition, referring to the desired positive self statement from the beginning of the target workup).

10) if screening for dissociation is skipped for a highly dissociative person, then a protective part of self will just shut down the processing, with a "so there!" attitude.

So there are a few thoughts,hardly a complete list. maybe some others will speak up about their experiences with apparently having "nothing happen."

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Sandra,

Hi there.

I am confused. Was your reply directed towards me? I thought I was being helpful. :D

I guess I may have missed the mark on the requested info, I do realize that I did not provide specifics on how I felt during those EMDR sessions...okay, well here it goes...

1) Session 1: Felt really good...a huge weight had been lifted for me. I remember being in a store with friends and joking out loudly.

2) Session 2: Felt absolutely exhausted.

3) Session 3: Felt tired and bewildered.

4) Session 4: Felt relieved.

5) Session 5: Felt relieved.

During most of the sessions, I cried, ranted, raged, etc. It was an emotional roller coaster.

Sandra, again, I am confused...I thought I was being helpful, but after reading your reply three times, I can't help feel that you are being critical of me? Why? Are you a practitioner/therapist? If so, I would think that your reply would be less judgmental.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

No, sorry about the confusion, I wasn't even responding to your post at all when I wrote my points about what may have gone wrong. I was responding to the original post in a hurry, without noticing that your post was more recent. I apologize for giving the impression that I was responding to yours, and would certainly never be critical of any client on an open forum.

Thanks for sharing your experience, which is precisely what he was asking for, since to him, "nothing's happening." Which might be true for him and clearly wasn't true for you.

Yes I'm a senior EMDR practitioner, and it's my job to moderate this forum on behalf of Francine Shapiro, the originator of EMDR. And I do EMDR a great great deal with people, for the last 17 years, so have a sense of what kinds of things will provide a "nothing's happening" response.

I do hope that others will continue to post their experiences, whether alot happened, or whatever nothing seemed to happen, during their EMDR processing.

Warm regards to all, --Sandra

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Alex,

I also employed EMDR in the treatment of complex PTSD. It is hard to separate what I felt with the EMDR with what I felt with remembering and mastering the memories and associated feelings. My treatment went on for years, so the theme for me is that, no matter how bad it felt at times, the EMDR generally made the feelings more managable. It was often a journey.

You haven't mentioned any background or details, but I would say that if you are trying to deal with a long term and deeply felt issue or trauma, you need to be well prepared for it. Safe places have been mentioned. It is also important to feel safe with your therapist. And if there is some disassociation, I can speak from experience. If there is a threatened part, it/he or she will make sure that you don't feel anything. The preparation for EMDR can sometimes take a long time, but without it, the EMDR just won't work.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

I have no reactions when trying to do the standard EMDR protocol. I have a variety of dissociation, so it seems that it keeps me from getting very far in the standard protocol. I balk and get confused at the first SUDS question.

What has worked, kind of magically (to me anyway) was using EMDR to install safe places. I was very skeptical at the time, but for some reason, it worked.

When I meet with my therapist, we use the Bilateral stimulation during session and I have noticed (and hated to admit it) that my behavior after sessions is not so off the wall. So for now, until parts get more on-board with this stuff, and the depersonalization wanes a little bit, its just the buzzers or the headphones for me. Maybe when the memories are less fragmented and more believable I can try again.

Take care.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Although this may or may not apply in your case, there are specific step by step protocols to apply when a client is very dissociative.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Thanks,

We have tried some other methods, and she has consulted with a couple of people, especially after attending the EMDR conference last year which had a number of sessions on dissociation.

I think sometimes I am just very stubborn. Mostly I think she is cautious as I tend to not process anything in session (EMDR or just talking) and then, after sitting on it for a few hours or more, have a major freakout. The majority of my stuff is early CSA, neglect, and avoidant-attachment.

I find it very difficult to take a snippet of a visual flashback, and answer questions about it concerning 'where I feel it in my body' or 'on a scale of 1-10...) when I am not feeling anything, and the only disturbing thing is that I have thought of this image, yet can't make heads or tails if its real or not, no matter how many times it comes up. Add a few ego-states to that and usually one just blows the whole thing off. So I end up back at safe places, and trying to get communication happening.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Sorry

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Although I know nothing about your case and therefore have nothing to say that applies specifically to your situation, I can say this, in general. Therapists should not use the standard protocol on highly dissociative clients. The standard protocol is about lighting up the neuro-network, which is akin to applying the accelerator. Dissociative clients more typically need ego state work first and then fractionated EMDRs, which is rather like applying the brakes.

What should never ever happen, is for bilateral stim to be used in a directionless way, in hopes of thinning dissociative barriers in the absence of an appropriate focused stepwise protocol includnig on-point ego state work. To use bilateral stim in a global and diffuse way wiht a dissociative client is unwise ....That would be like removing the option of applying brakes, in order to hope to coast downhill. It sounds like a good idea at the beginning.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Oh Thanks, I forgot I posted here.

I don't think that the bilateral stim is used directionless. I did notice that in sessions that were only about ego-state work, perhaps 2 hours after a session, I would eventually react to the work and often have a switch that was hard to deal with. Using the bilateral stim (hand zappers), with guidance, tended to ground me a little more. It was also subtle-y helpful for ego-strengthening and getting a little bit of non-violent dialogue between parts started.

I would dissociate to a specific part using the light box, and then all bets were off about doing any helpful work at all, and the aftermath was pretty wild. So I think we only tried that a couple of times and stopped when I finally told the therapist what was going on behind the scenes and after session.

Working with parts takes a long time and I wish I could get it together to do a full on protocol, but I think it will take a while, if ever.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hi, I don't know if this will help or be relevant at all, but I have had a couple of clients feel as if nothing was happening initially. In one case, I think this was because focusing on the trauma was not as overwhelming and awful as she predicted; I think she expected to feel a lot more and so did feel as if nothing could be happening. The other was quite dissociative initially. However, they did both make progress, and EMDR was successful for both in the end. Best of luck.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

I have just reread this thread above, and am not responding to any particular post. However, I am saying as clearly as I can, in the plainest language I can find, that EMDR therapists should never use EMDR with dissociative clients without using an appropriate dissociative protocol. Doing ego state preparations with highly dissociative clients BEFORE doing EMDR will prevent a great many harms. Many EMDR therapists do not think this applies to them, that their clients are dissociative because they "haven't seen that" as if it shows, or is tattooed on clients foreheads. If nothing happens, it is sometimes (not always) because a protective part has stopped the work. Better to bring that part on board first. If there is a struggle between parts, better to have that dialogue in part first. Parts need to be oriented to present time, place and the one body they are in. I can tell when I read here that these steps are sometimes not occurring, which is not in the clients interest. I'm doing a day-long preconference workshop at ISST&D this year in Atlanta to help EMDR practitioners get this. Also, this years EMDRIA conference in Minneaplis has a theme of dissociation.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Nothing happened for myself either. I wish I could be more help to you.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hi, I am new here. I am visiting a psychologist and she has suggested I try EMDR. I myself have studied psychology but I am an absolute zero in my own psychology ./ I have tried two sessions and nothing has happened!!!!! I have not seen one single picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so angry about it!!! And disappointed, it was my last hope. Since three years I have been trying to solve my problem of sexual coldness, I hate sex but I am married I want my husband to be happy. So I have been doing it secretly all this time but in vain. So my psychologist said it would help. I would like to know WHY I cant see any picture and cant feel anything????? I just sit and smile and even analise what the psychologist is doing! I cant help it!!!! What am I doing wrong, by Jove????

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Well, the stance you describe is not ideal for EMDR for several reasons. 1) there may or may not be a "picture," 2) a stance of curiosity rather than anger at the process is ideal, where possible, 3) I can't comment about you specifically as I obviously know nothing about you, but for many people whose EMDR is blocked it is because a protective function, defensive part of self, is stopping the EMDR for some kind of reason that is understandable. I use ego state therapy to identify if that is true and solve that problem. I'm a bit puzzled as to whether you got proper instructions, because the first two points are part of the instructions, including "there are no supposed to's" and "just let whatever happens happen" or "let whatever comes up come up."

You might ask for a repeat of instructions. The other thing I'd wonder (and I wonder this about EVERYBODY, not just you) is whether there had been an appropriate screening for dissociation. Everybody getting EMDR should be first screened for dissociation, as that will identify whether protective parts are likely to block the EMDR. May or may not apply in your case.

Another and final thought: for those people who had very early attachment injuries or trauma that interferes with relationship functioning, there aren't pictures because the memories are stored in implicit memory. There are special EMDR procedures for that.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hi again, thank you very much for answering. The problem is I have only 5 sessions paid by my ensurance and I can't afford paying the therapy on my own so I am limited to these 5 sesions. I have already attended three of them, the first one was kind of an introduction, the second one was talking and trying to find "the secure place" (I found it enormously hard to visualise a secure place in my mind) and the third one was EMDR itself. I do know I must let whatever happens happen but I can't. I just can't. I must say I have a VERY VERY strong self-control in all life situations and I am a person of intelligence rather then emotions. My friends say I am a stone, absolute emotionless whatever happens. I do feel emotions but deep, so deep in my "soul" or whatever it is (I am sure emotions are just empulses in the brain) so that noone not even my husband has an idea what I feel. I am always neutral and well-natured. I believe one can control one's emotions but NOT feelings (here is what I would call God since I am a religious person.) I suppose feelings are still explainable but not for us, at least not at this level of intellectual development.
So....Where were I? EMDR.....I only have two sessions left and I am really worried that I will just spend this precious time in vain!!!! What would you advise me? How can I find this blocking thought? (myself? - WEll I do have a KIND of psychological education athough in "educational psychology") What can I do to be a normal person and like sex with my husband? I have been trying EMDR at home ever since and have not succeded....I just don't see anything in my mind! It is absulutely empty, or I just start thinking about some sort of thing like cooking or my job or whatever....
I am really desperate.....:mad:

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

I can't advise you because I don't know you, haven't assessed you. But I'll make a few general comments.

Five sessions is not enough to deal with long standing reluctance or defenses against emotions. Five sessions is only enough to help someone who is basically in good shape to get back on their feet.

Some people (I don't know if this applies to you) learned, usually very early in life, that emotions are overwhelming or bad or for permissible and/or safe or for someone else. They may also have learned to cut them off (they are in the right hemisphere, to make a long story too short) and live with words and logic and analytic reasoning (in the left hemisphere).

Such people can come to terms with their ability to feel emotions and body sensation, but it takes time. It takes careful resourcing, sometimes through spiritual resources, or nature, or other positive and life enhancing experience. It also take working directly with self protective parts of self to get them oriented to present time and circumstances (example, present family is not the same as the original family, if the original family was dangerous and present family isn't). This can take a few months or can take years.

For many people, EMDR wouldn't be the first order of business to solve this problem, unless there was a specific single sexual assault causing the sexual avoidance. People who can't generate a "safe place" typically are not suitable to proceed with EMDR by definition. This is part of the training in EMDR. Such people need more resourcing, containment, stabilization, grounding, and increased comfort with body sensation and emotion before doing EMDR successfully. That's why the treatment takes a long time.

Don't know if any of the above applies to you. Good luck to you!

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Hello,

what can I do to be able to "see pictures" or let them come up?

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

I posted a lengthy comment yesterday but in the wrong place maybe? I commented that there may not be pictures for some people, especially if 1) there are protective parts blocking the processing or 2) if the trauma or neglect was in preverbal first few years of life. Perhaps you might read that post if you can find it...I think somehow it's before this one.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Thank you very much for answering. I did read the post but I still wonder how can I change the situation. If there is something blocking how can I break the blockage? I want to help my psychologist because we only have two!!! sessions left. :(
I had great difficulties visualising a "safe place", too....I thought of a white room with white walls and no windows and no doors...with light coming out of the walls....I can't say I felt safe....I suddenly thought what would happen when the light goes out.........

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

I don't know if this applies to you, but in MY office I'd be interviewing and appreciating the block for keeping you safe all these years, asking if the block knows it is 2010 and its not happening now (whatever "it" is), that the block is in the same body with the rest of the self, and that the rest of the self wants help.

I'd ask if the block would permit progress in the two remaining sessions, or what the block's concerns were. I'd have the client listen internally and look at an internal whiteboard or better yet an internal conference room.

Hard to do all that in two sessions. Good luck!

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

do you mean, she should hypnotise me? I'm afraid all kinds of "mental dialogues" are quite a big problem to me.....I just can't visualise...

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

After Therapy for 9 months my therapist suggested that I consider EMDR to help with the Traumas. Make a list of Big T and Small t experiences to bring with me to the EMDR Therapist. I am a bit detail oriented and made up a matrix flow diagram of life 's traumas and the points where I feel they diverge and interconnect. This chart had 18 events. I was asked for 10 but oh well. things are what they are. After a couple of weeks of establishing safe place skills and a minor t experience the real sessions began. I have to say I did like the safe place sessions. The one of the common things during and when I drive home afterward is the shaking. During the procedure I would shake vigorously at times but settle down during the closing step. This shaking would return thou driving home. I would end up puling over once almost every session. It was the worse when working on the beginning initial day memory of a SA experience. This experience was revisited during the next session but I never did get to a 1 after the second session. The following session things turned bad. We were undertaking another different sexual based experience. During the first initial bilateral whatever of the session the only way I can explain how it felt was I grabbed a live electrical wire and could not let go. She spent the rest of the sessions 45 minutes or so closing out calming me down. I stopped EMDR after that session. So yes My experience has been it helped with one SA experience but also it can bee too much as well.

It has been 9 months since then and my T and I are discussing EMDR again. Why she wants to put herself through that hell again after getting me reasonably stabilized the last couple of months. No more monthly cycle of self harm, push pull by firing her/ running away and then apologizing. I can be difficult. She once described me as a mine field. I see it like wack a mole myself. I compartmentalize very well and excel as a father and boss. Not so good in any of other other goles. I isolate mostly. People would never know what is really going on inside.

I digress my question has to do with being afraid of touching that memory/experience let alone the another memory of self harming / reenacting at 7 years old. I have no direct memory of any reason why I had to do what I did /do. During the SA experience I mentioned above all I could think of as looked at him doing things to me was that he was doing the wrong sexual act. It was supposed to hurt. We did not touch that the last time in EMDR. So as positive as everyone is about EMDR and most of my experiences with EMDR except the last session. I like my T. She has helped me. I do not want to behave they way I have when things are crazy for me. She accepts my crazyness when it happens mostly but my behaviors cause these firm boundary conversations. I just feel guilty that I caused her to angry with me. My words not hers. EMDR scares me but I do believe it works. What can I do? A very round about way of saying my experiences with EMDR were plenty eventful.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

The capacity of the person to process needs to be greater than the volume and intensity of material to process. if not the EMDR will potentially be overwhelming. it's no fault of the client. it's up to the therapist to know the following:

There are many ways to increase the capacity to process (resourcing, ego strengthening, somatic work, ego state work) and there are many ways to fractionate or titrate (make smaller) the dose of traumatic material to process in EMDR (hypnotic suggestion, ego state tucking in and other negotiations, the use of the early trauma protocol and more).

I don't know your story or whether any of this applies to you but I know this. Every client should be screened for dissociative disorder before doing EMDR and an appropriate modified protocol used if the client is dissociative.

Books available to your therapist include mine (Looking Through the Eyes), Forgash & Copeley, Luber volume 2, and otherss, the O'Shea chapters in Robin Shapiro's Solutions 2, and others.

You might print this off and discuss it with your therapist to ensure all these things have been taken into account.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Just noticed how old these posts are, this one of mine is two years late, but I thought I'd respond anyway.

I'm currently doing EMDR therapy to try to determine some blocks I may be having in my life. And as it's happening, I generally see images in my mind's eye, and sometimes, when the therapist draws her fingers downward after moving them back and forth in front of my eyes, there seems to be a subtle sensation in my head, like an energy shift. After I did the first session, I walked out of the office and noticed that the restaurant across the street, which I had been seeing as having a green onning and called Dublin's (I'm come to this therapy session twice before) actually had a black onning and was called Dahlia's. So clearly, something in my brain really did shift.

Re: emdr:nothing's happening
 

Pretty interesting case vignette. Makes me wonder about the meaning of the misperception. No need to reply; but something to take up with ones therapist no doubt.