EMDR - It was all negative

[cinna]

Can someone get better from ptsd if all they were instructed during EMDR was to focus on the negative events and feelings ? Nothing on the positive was ever done.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Not everyone responds to EMDR, even assuming it is done by someone properly trained in its use, and there are clients who have a nagative response to EMDR.

The fact is that despite a number of anectdotal reports of success, EMDR has not yet been validated as a treatment by empirical research using appropriate controls.

See:

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/emdr/13428-emdr-taking-a-closer-look.html

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/emdr/26049-emdr-and-acupuncture-selling-non-specific-effects.html

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/emdr/16841-emdr-eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing.html

http://forum.psychlinks.ca/emdr/136...ng-that-helps-people-recover-from-trauma.html
​

 

[cinna]

Thanks David, I agree with you.. If I can be more specific, is just focusing on the negatives in EMDR leaving out a vital part of the therapy according to the EMDR protocol, and those who teach it? Or can just focusing on the negatives be ok? I know that there is the Francis Shapiro protocol (Behavior OnLine - 8 Phases of EMDR) and from what I read she definitely has positive reinforcement via EMDR. The reason I am asking is that I had the most highly qualified EMDR therapist for a long stretch of time and he only had me focus on the negative events/feelings during EMDR. I am at a loss to understand this because my experience with EMDR was very painful and depressing, and at the end was a failure in helping me to heal. I am concerned that for all that time I did not get the full therapy the way it was designed..

 

[David Baxter PhD]

As I understand it, the point of EMDR is to help you revisit the traumatic memories while using EMDR as a kind of distraction to diffuse the emotional impact.

To be honest, my personal opinion is that it's a gimmick but if it helps people that's fine with me.

 

[Dragonfly]

The fact is that despite a number of anectdotal reports of success, EMDR has not yet been validated as a treatment by empirical research using appropriate controls.

A Multidimensional Meta-Analysis of Psychotherapy for PTSD -- Bradley et al. 162 (2): 214 -- Am J Psychiatry

This is a 2005 peer-reviewed meta-analysis of different types of treatment for PTSD - including EMDR. (Meta-analysis meaning that the authors look up all relevant studies of scientific validity and attempt to put the results together in a coherent way). In essence, the conclusion is that EMDR is beneficial for the treatment *of some people* with PTSD. It would no longer be considered ethical to study EMDR with blind controls - without eventually offering the treatment - since it is known that EMDR is effective.

In terms of the therapeutic protocol cinna, it is generally accepted that before a traumatic event is re-processed, the individual needs to have installed both a positive representative image and cognitive construct (thought) to help settle or diffuse the predictable anxiety from exposing the traumatic event. So, for example, suppose someone wants to and needs to re-process seeing someone hit by a car (because it causes them undue anxiety when trying to cross streets). Before the specific event is re-processed, they might choose a representative image and cognitive construct of (say) gardening .... and that they are safe in the world. At any point during the processing of the target memory, when (not if) anxiety arises, the therapist might well have the person go back to their image and thoughts of safety. The idea is to re-pair the event with a thought and image.

cinna - there are some generally accepted formal diagnosis where EMDR is specifically not recommended because it can make matters worse. And there are times when a person has too much going on in their (real) life to deal with any residual anxiety. If you feel more distressed by the therapy, please consider talking with the therapist about it. Or get a 2nd opinion. But please. If you can, avoid thinking of yourself as a failure. Its not about "passing" or "failing". Its about finding ways to reduce your suffering in the world.