Has anyone done EMDR Therapy? (1 Viewer)

Wingfrost · 13 March 2023

My doctor says that it should be something I consider doing in the future once I get on a new medication that helps improve my mental health. I looked it up and it sounds absolutely terrifying (which explains why she doesn’t want me doing it until I have a better medication but still…). I found this online but I think it explains the therapy best:
When you undergo EMDR, you access memories of a trauma event in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps you reprocess what you remember from the negative event.

That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. Remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.

See, terrifying I was just wondering if anyone has done this therapy and your experience with it? If you don’t mind sharing of course.

Ahsoka · 13 March 2023

I’ve never done it though my old therapist thought I should. But we never got around to it and I moved on to a new therapist.

Wingfrost · 13 March 2023

Vikki said:
I’ve never done it though my old therapist thought I should. But we never got around to it and I moved on to a new therapist.

Do you mind me asking if you wish you would have done it?

Ahsoka · 13 March 2023

Wingfrost said:
Do you mind me asking if you wish you would have done it?

Honestly I didn’t really agree I that it was something that would help me greatly, given my reasons for going to therapy. I didn’t have a single specific traumatic event that I was like “yeah, that’s my focus for EMDR”. More like sucky things and situations that went on long term. I have read that it might be able to help with things other than PTSD caused by a single event, but overall EMDR seems to be lacking in good solid scientific studies, particularly in problems outside single event PTSD. There is research that shows it can help generally but it’s too limited and contested for my liking. Maybe when more studies on it will be done with positive results I’d be more okay with it but right now idk, it sees shaky. It might help, there’s a chance that those studies are accurate. I just don’t know, it’s possibly a waste of time and money. I’m not a psychologist, I can only say how it seems based on what I’ve seen on google.