To: K-list
Recieved: 2001/12/09 19:51
Subject: [K-list] EMDR explained
From: emilybATnospamsympatico.ca
On 2001/12/09 19:51, emilybATnospamsympatico.ca posted thus to the K-list:
> From: Mystress Angelique Serpent
>
> Thank you for sharing this beautiful story. It is always profound to
> read of someone making that discovery -in whatever form it takes- of some
> method that works to find the way out of the box. These growth experiences
> are always the best reading, for me!
> I would like to know more about the EMDR process.
Hi Mystress :)
Thank you for your welcome and for your kinds words. I'm glad that you
enjoyed reading my experience.
I've tried to explain below the EMDR process as clearly as possible. Please
feel free to ask any questions.
Also see below that the EMDR technique can be used to install positive
beliefs and emotions.
The therapists recommend that this EMDR be done with a therapist. There are
some people who have some very serious reactions while reliving past
traumas, because the full intensity of the trauma will be relived as it
happened. Some people have heart attacks while reliving a particular trauma.
I don't want to scare anyone but I do want to warn everyone. If you have
extremely serious traumas to treat, you might prefer to do it with an
experienced therapist. But I have done it on my own and I have had some
serious traumas but all might not be comfortable doing this on their own.
Perhaps it's best to do as I do, and experiment with smaller traumas,
annoyances, fears, anxieties before attacking the big ones, Get used to the
technique, to its powerful effects. You will be amazed with the results.
With a therapist, he/she will ask you to rate your negative feelings on a
scale of one to ten, ten being the worse. You reevaluate the negative
feeling after each set of EMDR (about 3 minute sets). It should be
diminishing with each set. You stop when you reach zero, or one. The
remaining discomfort will probably be reprocessed in your brain later on.
You are also asked to formulate a positive belief. Example: "I don't feel
anxiety from the rape anymore," "I feel I am lovable," . And this you rate
on a scale of one to seven, seven being the most believable. After each set,
you should rate higher on your believability scale.
You concentrate on an emotion that you have, caused by a negative thought,
an unpleasant memory, a negative belief in yourself, anything. While
concentrating on the emotion, you do eye movements to the right and left.
They can also be upper right/lower left, upper left/lower right or up and
down. BTW these are good hatha yoga eye movements for keeping the eyes
healthy and strong. :)
You do this for sets lasting from 1 to 3 minutes according to the books, but
I have done sets lasting much longer. I have found that doing longer sets
allowed me to travel inside my subconscious and uncover all sorts of
strange, childish negative sentences which still had an emotional impact on
me.
After difficult, painful sets, I found it useful to take a few deep breaths
or even to meditate to pull myself away from the 'drama' of this
incarnation. I reminded myself that I am eternal and that I had to live
through all of this for a reason. I could picture my eternal being floating
above my body, calm and serene, just watching what was unfolding below.
Instead of eye movements, you can tap alternately on your right and left
thighs with your right and left hands. You can also use alternating sounds
in your left and right ears, which I do when I have my light/sound machine
close by.
The older the trauma, the more time it takes to root it out of the
subconscious. It's as if a past trauma acts as a magnet for further
problems, so it takes longer to undo the knot.
My therapist gave me an example of an easy case she had just had. A woman
came to hear suffering from post-traumatic stress from having a miscarriage.
After questions on her personal history, it was apparent that this person
had lived what my therapist called "an uninteresting life". For my benefit
no doubt, she called my life "very interesting". ;)
So she only had to work on the miscarriage, a recent trauma. It took only
one session to release the trauma.
You might be wondering why I didn't continue seeing this therapist to do
EMDR.
Normally, you see a therapist twice in order for them to get to know your
history, then you start EMDR sessions.
The therapist I saw teaches EMDR and is the official EMDR therapist for the
Montreal police and fire departments and she consults for the Canadian Army.
She is extremely well known and respected.
I went to see this eminent therapist 4 times, 90 minutes to 2 hours each
visit. She still hesitated to do EMDR with me after all that time because of
my most 'interesting' life history of multiple large traumas. She even
called collegues in the US to consult on my case. Yet, she knew I had
started doing EMDR on my own and said I was very brave but warned me against
it. She even asked me to promise that I wouldn't continue to do EMDR on my
own, which I couldn't do. After spending so much money, I decided to
continue doing EMDR on my own and stopped seeing her.
Now back to instructions. ;)
If you can stand 45 minutes to an hour of EMDR, then do it. Do whatever you
feel comfortable with.
INSTALLING POSITIVE EMOTIONS/THOUGHTS IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS
You can also use EMDR to install positive messages in your subconscious. To
do this, you use the 'butterfly' tap. You cross your arms and use the right
hand to tap on the left upper arm and vice-versa, alternating right/left
taps.
One exercise is to think of 3 of your strengths that help you get through
problems. Mine were inquisitiveness, courage, and compassion towards myself.
You think of a situation, you get an image of where you experienced the
first quality and you put your consciousness at the place in your body where
you feel the emotion caused by thinking about that quality. While
concentrating on the physical location of the emotion, you do the butterfly
tap for about one minute.
You go through each quality in the same way. Then you concentrate on the 3
areas in your body where you felt the 3 qualities and imagine a ring of
energy, of light surrounding those 3 areas. You do another one minute set of
butterfly taps. Repeat the exercise as often as you wish till you feel
secure that you have firmly installed the 3 emotions/beliefs in your
subconscious.
I hope that I've given sufficient information but if you have questions,
I'll do my best to answer them.
I'm including a page of info from the EMDR International Association
website.
May you have a safe and rewarding journey of self-discovery.
Emily xoxoo :)
-------
http://www.emdria.org/
EMDR
International Association
----------------------
WHAT IS EMDR?
EMDR--Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing--is an innovative method
of psychotherapy which has been used by trained mental health professionals
to help an estimated half million people of all ages from many different
countries. The focus of EMDR treatment is the resolution of emotional
distress arising from difficult childhood experiences, or the recovery from
the effects of critical incidents, such as automobile accidents, assault,
natural disasters, and combat trauma. Other problems treated with EMDR are
phobias, panic attacks, distress in children, and substance abuse. Another
innovative focus of EMDR is performance enhancement: which aims to improve
the functioning of people at work, in sports, and in performing arts.
HOW WAS EMDR DEVELOPED?
In 1987, psychologist Francine Shapiro discovered, by chance, that her
voluntary eye movements reduced the intensity of negative, upsetting
thoughts. Dr. Shapiro studied the impact of EMDR on reducing the symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam combat veterans and victims
of sexual assault. She found that this new method showed promise in
decreasing thenightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive negative thoughts of the
participants in her investigation.
Since 1989, EMDR has developed through the contributions of trained
clinicians and researchers from all over the world. EMDR is now a complex
method that brings together elements from the major clinical theoretical
orientations, including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, and
client-centered. There are eight phases of EMDR treatment (Shapiro, 1995),
to be utilized by licensed mental health professionals only after completion
of an approved training curriculum.
HOW DOES EMDR WORK?
It is not clear how EMDR works because neuroscience researchers are still
exploring how the brain works. Therefore, how any method of psychotherapy
works has yet to be established definitively. However, there is evidence for
an innate information processing system that exists as part of human
thinking processes. What research has suggested so far is that when a person
is very upset, the brain cannot process information as it normally does. The
event that provoked the upset becomes Œfrozen in time¹, and Œstuck¹ in the
information processing system. When a person remembers this event, the
recalling of sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, and emotions can feel as
intense as when it actually occurred. Such upsetting memories may have a
profoundly negative impact on the way a person sees the world and relates to
other people. Present-day incidents and interactions re-stimulate the
experience of this upsetting event.
EMDR appears to produce a direct effect on the way the brain processes
upsetting material. Researchers have suggested that the eye movements
trigger a neurophysiological mechanism that activates an "accelerated
information processing system." Accelerated information processing is a
phrase used in EMDR to describe the rapid working through, Œmetabolizing¹,
of upsetting experiences. Following successful EMDR treatment, the upsetting
experiences are worked through to "adaptive resolution". The person
receiving EMDR comes to understand that the event is in the past, realizes
appropriately who or what was responsible for the event occurring, and feels
more certain about present-day safety and the capacity to make choices. What
happened can still be remembered by the person, but with much less upset.
Many types of therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR can be thought of as
a physiologically-based therapy that allows a natural healing process to
emerge. Clinical reports and some research findings suggest that the eye
movements and the specific targeting of information about the upsetting
events may permit direct access to the stored pathology in the brain and
more rapid working through of disturbance than more conventional forms of
therapy.
WHAT IS AN ACTUAL EMDR SESSION LIKE?
EMDR is a client-centered approach in which the clinician works with the
client to identify the specific problem or problems that will be the focus
of treatment. Following a defined protocol, the mental health professional
helps the client identify the images, self-referenced negative belief,
emotions, and body sensations associated with a targeted problem or event.
The client is then asked to develop a new positive belief about the self to
replace the negative belief. The believability of this new belief is rated
while the client thinks of the disturbing event.
The client is prepared for EMDR and then is asked to bring to mind all the
negative information identified with the problem. The client follows the
fingers of the mental health professional to produce the voluntary eye
movements. After each set of eye movements, the client is asked to briefly
comment. The mental health professional facilitates the client¹s attention
and works to support the client as he or she processes the upsetting
material, making clinical decisions about the direction of the intervention
along the way. The goal of EMDR treatment is the rapid processing of
information about the negative experience and movement toward an adaptive
resolution. This means a reduction in the client¹s distress, a shift in the
negative belief to the client¹s positive belief, and the possibility of
behaving more optimally in relationships with others and at work.
WHAT IS THE RESEARCH EVIDENCE FOR EMDR?
Several controlled studies (Carlson et al, 1998; Marcus, Marquis, & Sakai,
1997; Rothbaum, 1997; Scheck, Schaeffer, & Gillette, 1998; Wilson, Becker, &
Tinker, 1995; Wilson, Becker, & Tinker, 1997) have since been conducted, and
results indicate that EMDR is a valid treatment for civilian PTSD. As part
of the survey conducted by the American Psychological Association Division
12 Task Force that reviewed psychotherapies and their effectiveness,
Chambless and her colleagues (1998) recently placed EMDR on a list of
"probably efficacious treatments" as an intervention for civilian PTSD. This
designation specifies interventions which were "beneficial for patients or
clients in well-controlled treatment studies" (p.3).
A meta-analysis (Van Etten & Taylor, 1998) looking at 59 studies of PTSD
treatments indicated that EMDR and behavior therapy were both effective for
reducing the symptoms of PTSD. EMDR treatment time was shorter than for
behavior therapy (5 vs. 15 hours). Other controlled studies have shown that
EMDR is effective in treating phobias (de Jongh & ten Broeke, 1998; de
Jongh, ten Broeke, & Renssen, 1999), in reducing stress in law enforcement
employees (Wilson, Logan, Becker, and Tinker, 1999), and helping reduce the
distress experienced by traumatized children (Chemtob, Nakashima, Hamada, &
Carlson, in press; Greenwald, 1994; Puffer, Greenwald, & Elrod, 1998).
REFERENCES
Carlson, J.G., Chemtob, C.M., Rusnak, K., Hedlund, N.L., & Muraoka, M.Y.
(1998). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for
combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress,
11(1), 3-24.
Chambless, D.L., Baker, M.J., Baucom, D.H., Beutler, L.E., Calhoun, K.S.,
Crits-Christoph, P., Daiuto, A., DeRubeis, R., Detweiler, J., Haaga, D.A.F.,
Johnson, S.B., McCurry, S., Mueser, K.T., Pope, K.S., Sanderson, W.C.,
Shoham, V., Stickle, T., Williams, D.A., & Woody, S.R. (1998). Update on
empirically validated treatments II. The Clinical Psychologist, 51(1), 3-16.
Chemtob, C.M., Nakashima, J., Hamada, R., & Carlson, J.G. (in press). Brief
treatment for elementary school children with disaster-related PTSD: A field
study. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
De Jongh, A., & ten Broeke, E. (1998). Treatment of choking phobia by
targeting traumatic memories with EMDR: a case study. Clinical Psychology
and Psychotherapy, 5, 264-269.
De Jongh, A., & ten Broeke, E. & Renssen, M.R. (1999). Treatment of specific
phobias with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): Research,
protocol, and application, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13, 69-85.
Greenwald, R. (1994). Applying eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
in the treatment of traumatized children: Five case studies. Anxiety
Disorders Practice Journal, 1, 83-97.
Marcus, S.V., Marquis, P., & Sakai, C. (1997). Controlled study of treatment
of PTSD using EMDR in an HMO setting. Psychotherapy, 34(4), 307-315.
Puffer, M.K., Greenwald, R., & Elrod, D.E. (1998). A single session EMDR
study with twenty traumatized children and adolescents. Traumatology, 3(2).
Available Internet: http://www.fsu.edu/^trauma/v3i2art6.html.
Rothbaum, B.O. (1977). A controlled study of eye movement desensitization
and reprocessing for posttraumatic stress disordered sexual assault victims.
Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 61, 317-334.
Scheck, M.M., Schaeffer, J.A., & Gillette, C.S. (1998). Brief psychological
intervention with traumatized young women: The efficacy of eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 25-44.
Shapiro, F. (1995). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. New York:
Guilford.
Wilson, S.A., Becker, L.A., & Tinker, R.H. (1995). Eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for psychologically
traumatized individuals. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63,
928-937.
Wilson, S.A., Becker, L.A., & Tinker, R.H. (1997). Fifteen-month follow-up
of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for
posttraumatic stress disorder and psychological trauma. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 1047-1056.
Wilson, S.A., Logan, C., Becker, L.A., & Tinker, R.H. (1999, June). EMDR as
a stress management tool for police officers. Paper presented to the annual
conference of the EMDR International Association, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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