Any experiences of EMDR?

[ProzacAndWinePlease]

After a long long wait, I've finally started EMDR on the NHS (yay). I have complex PTSD issues from childhood abuse and later rapes, and the list of "traumatic events in your life" we've been writing with the therapist does seem quite long.

When I started, the therapist told me this was a short term form of therapy. But I've been seeing him for about two months now, and we've still not started on the actual EMDR work. He keeps wanting to focus on positive imagery work. I'm getting worried that my allocated allowance will run out before we even get started!

Has anyone else here had EMDR, and if so, how soon did you actually get stuck in with the work?

I've had some. I had an introductory appt to talk about why I was there. Second appointment was talking more about the technique and then how to visualise a safe place.
Third appointment was when they actually used emdr.
The appointments were a week apart.

I wouldn't class my issues as serious as yours though.

That was kind of my expectation Janine. We had an introductory session, then some general talk about the treatment, then made the list of the traumatic stuff... and after that it feels to me we've not really done much, apart from all the positive imagery. But I'm not there for positive imagery - I'm there to deal with the crappy memories and flashbacks.

I would speak to your therapist about it. Really it's only fair you know how many sessions you'll be having.

They haven't specified the amount of sessions - only that it's short term. I did try to approach this issue in my last session, but didn't really get a clear answer. He said we will eventually, hopefully be moving onto the bad memories, but nothing more definite.

I spent around 10 weeks discussing my history and practicing the safety/positivity stuff before getting round to any actual EMDR. And I think my list of traumatic events may have been a bit shorter than yours.

Everyone is different though. We have different histories, different reasons for seeking therapy and some people can learn how to do the visualisations than others, so your therapist may not be able to tell you how long it's all going to take.

Meant to say some people can learn how to do the visualisations MORE QUICKLY than others.

Thanks Hatie. It's good to know it's not just me taking longer to get started.

Honestly maybe I'm being pedantic but I think he needs to offer more clarity as to what short term is (short term psychodynamic therapy would be a few years, short term CBT would be a few sessions - short term can mean anything!)

Do keep questioning him when you need to, you have every right to do that

I think because of your history he wants to provide grounding and other techniques first so that you can manage your emotions better during the therapy- which can be hard.
I think it's a sensible approach- hope it goes well for you

I had 9 months of weekly hour long sessions for ptsd. It didn't work too well for me but that might be because I wasn't honest enough or open with my therapist.

I see a private counsellor and she treats me with EMDR. I've been seeing the counsellor for four years and have built a really good relationship with her. We tried EMDR in 2014 for a few months and it worked really well. We are currently working towards another round of EMDR, but have been building towards it for 3 or 4 months now.

It can take a long time to establish a good enough relationship with your therapist. It also is really important to have coping mechanisms in place because EMDR can be very draining. I often came away with a headache and feeling very tired and emotional. That is probably why your therapist is spending a lot of time on positive imagery and building some coping mechanisms for you.

Wishing you best of luck, it can be an excellent treatment if you're in the right frame of mind for it.

Thanks everyone. I think you're all probably right. Even without going into the bad stuff, I've been finding it tiring. I actually fall asleep as soon as I get home after every session. I'll definitely bring my questions to the next session, though.