Re: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I've heard of and tried EMDR - It can be a pretty amazing thing...It

does not work for the kind of trauma I deal with and I don't think

they mean the kind you are describing - but it might be worth talking

to a practioner...?

> Hi all,

>

> I'd never heard of EMDR (description below) until recently, and I'm

> wondering if anyone on the list has done it.

>

> Apparently it's a treatment for trauma survivors, and I'm wondering

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

I have heard of EMDR. A CFS patient of CFS researcher, Dr. Jay

Goldstein told me about it a few years ago. Dr. G thought it would be

a useful treatment. I don't know if Dr. Goldstein has listed it on

his website www.drjgoldstein.com .

Al

> Hi all,

>

> I'd never heard of EMDR (description below) until recently, and I'm

> wondering if anyone on the list has done it.

>

> Apparently it's a treatment for trauma survivors, and I'm wondering

if it

> would help people who have suffered the trauma of becoming

extremely ill

> with neurological, immunological and endocrine abnormalities,

profound

> fatigue, pain perhaps--followed by inappropriate or nonexistent

medical

> treatment and loss of function, friends, jobs, etc. Isn't that

trauma? A

> sort of natural disaster? A loss of your future? A loss of life as

you knew

> it?

>

> " Eye movement desensitization " sounds so nonjudgmental...

>

> They say that some people meet their goals in three sessions. The

site

> wasn't as specific as I would have liked, but here's one

quote: " Three forms

> of EMDR were compared: EMDR with eye movements initiated by

tracking a

> clinician's finger, EMDR with eye movements engendered by tracking

a light

> bar, and EMDR using fixed visual attention. " More below.

>

> Sue B.

> upstate New York

>

> --------------------------------------------------------------------

----

> From the website: http://www.emdr.com/

>

> EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and

Reprocessing. It is

> an innovative clinical treatment that has successfully helped over

a million

> individuals who have survived trauma, including sexual abuse,

domestic

> violence, combat, crime, and those suffering from a number of other

> complaints including depressions, addictions, phobias and a variety

of

> self-esteem issues.

>

> EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy that integrates many of

the

> successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches in

combination with

> eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation in ways that

> stimulate the brain¹s information processing system. With EMDR

therapy it is

> unnecessary to delve into decades-old psychological material, but

rather, by

> activating the information-processing system of the brain, people

can

> achieve their therapeutic goals at a rapid rate, with recognizable

changes

> that don¹t disappear over time.

>

> Fourteen controlled studies support the efficacy of EMDR, making it

the most

> thoroughly researched method ever used in the treatment of trauma.

The most

> recent 5 studies with individuals suffering from events such as

rape,

> combat, loss of a loved one, accidents, natural disasters, etc.

have found

> that 84-90% no longer had post-traumatic stress disorder after only

three

> treatment sessions. A recent study financed by Kaiser Permanente

revealed

> that EMDR was twice as effective in half the amount of time

compared to the

> standard traditional care. However, clients and clinicians should

note that

> EMDR is not a race. While many people show dramatic responses in a

short

> amount of time, there are also those who will progress more slowly

and that

> the slower progression is not abnormal. Just as in any therapy, we

all

> progress at the rate appropriate to the individual and the clinical

> situation.

>

> The major significance of EMDR is that it allows the brain to heal

its

> psychological problems at the same rate as the rest of the body is

healing

> its physical ailments. Because EMDR allows minds and body to heal

at the

> same rate, it is effectively making time irrelevant in therapy.

Given its

> wide application, EMDR promises to be the therapy of the future.

>

> Dr. Francine Shapiro is the creator of EMDR. She is a licensed

psychologist

> and a senior research fellow at the Mental Research Institute in

Palo Alto.

> She is the Executive Director of the EMDR Institute®, which trains

> clinicians in the EMDR method. She is the recipient of the 1993

> Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award presented by the

California

> Psychological Association.

> ===============

[Guest guest]

Sue B.-

I did this several years ago. I pretty much thought it

was silly and don't believe it helped me any. I was in

very bad shape at the time.

I believe the theory is that the rapid eye movement we

experience in our sleep helps our brains to do

whatever it is they do during sleep. The EMDR is

supposed to create a similar physiologic response as

the REM, and hence provide the same healing effect.

Like I said, I was pretty skeptical and probably not

openminded about it. I don't remember how many

sessions I did, so it might not have been enough.

I've also done neurobiofeedback which I do think

helped my cognitive function quite a bit (but not any

other symptoms). The neurobiofeedback is very

expensive. I researched it a lot before trying it, so

I was definitely more open minded about it. I was

maybe slightly better off when I started it than when

I did the EMDR, but still in pretty bad health.

Cheryl

--- " rhbailey@... " <rhbailey@...>

wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I'd never heard of EMDR (description below) until

> recently, and I'm

> wondering if anyone on the list has done it.

>

> Apparently it's a treatment for trauma survivors,

> and I'm wondering if it

> would help people who have suffered the trauma of

> becoming extremely ill

> with neurological, immunological and endocrine

> abnormalities, profound

> fatigue, pain perhaps--followed by inappropriate or

> nonexistent medical

> treatment and loss of function, friends, jobs, etc.

> Isn't that trauma? A

> sort of natural disaster? A loss of your future? A

> loss of life as you knew

> it?

>

> " Eye movement desensitization " sounds so

> nonjudgmental...

>

> They say that some people meet their goals in three

> sessions. The site

> wasn't as specific as I would have liked, but here's

> one quote: " Three forms

> of EMDR were compared: EMDR with eye movements

> initiated by tracking a

> clinician's finger, EMDR with eye movements

> engendered by tracking a light

> bar, and EMDR using fixed visual attention. " More

> below.

>

> Sue B.

> upstate New York

>

>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

> From the website: http://www.emdr.com/

>

> EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization

> and Reprocessing. It is

> an innovative clinical treatment that has

> successfully helped over a million

> individuals who have survived trauma, including

> sexual abuse, domestic

> violence, combat, crime, and those suffering from a

> number of other

> complaints including depressions, addictions,

> phobias and a variety of

> self-esteem issues.

>

> EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy that

> integrates many of the

> successful elements of a range of therapeutic

> approaches in combination with

> eye movements or other forms of rhythmical

> stimulation in ways that

> stimulate the brain¹s information processing system.

> With EMDR therapy it is

> unnecessary to delve into decades-old psychological

> material, but rather, by

> activating the information-processing system of the

> brain, people can

> achieve their therapeutic goals at a rapid rate,

> with recognizable changes

> that don¹t disappear over time.

>

> Fourteen controlled studies support the efficacy of

> EMDR, making it the most

> thoroughly researched method ever used in the

> treatment of trauma. The most

> recent 5 studies with individuals suffering from

> events such as rape,

> combat, loss of a loved one, accidents, natural

> disasters, etc. have found

> that 84-90% no longer had post-traumatic stress

> disorder after only three

> treatment sessions. A recent study financed by

> Kaiser Permanente revealed

> that EMDR was twice as effective in half the amount

> of time compared to the

> standard traditional care. However, clients and

> clinicians should note that

> EMDR is not a race. While many people show dramatic

> responses in a short

> amount of time, there are also those who will

> progress more slowly and that

> the slower progression is not abnormal. Just as in

> any therapy, we all

> progress at the rate appropriate to the individual

> and the clinical

> situation.

>

> The major significance of EMDR is that it allows the

> brain to heal its

> psychological problems at the same rate as the rest

> of the body is healing

> its physical ailments. Because EMDR allows minds and

> body to heal at the

> same rate, it is effectively making time irrelevant

> in therapy. Given its

> wide application, EMDR promises to be the therapy of

> the future.

>

> Dr. Francine Shapiro is the creator of EMDR. She is

> a licensed psychologist

> and a senior research fellow at the Mental Research

> Institute in Palo Alto.

> She is the Executive Director of the EMDR

> Institute®, which trains

> clinicians in the EMDR method. She is the recipient

> of the 1993

> Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award presented

> by the California

> Psychological Association.

> ===============

>

>

>

>