Experiences with EMDR or major trauma work when therapy is irregular?
December 21, 2018 3:42 AM   Subscribe

My therapist wants to start EMDR at some point next year, but I'm not sure either of us can commit to the schedule involved. Have you had experience with doing this kind of work while possibly having a four-week therapy break? [Details inside]

My work requires a somewhat flexible schedule, but it's very hard to make + change appointments on short notice. For context, my therapist currently has no available slots for five weeks and my pdoc for four (I go to the one public clinic for my diagnosis in Singapore - they don't mind out-of-hours sessions, but the hospital won't give them a room to do it).

I know several people who did EMDR privately and they had sessions up to 4x/week. Is this common practice / how do you survive the worst parts without that level of support?

(Re: negotiating with work, I can try but there are certain things I do that are hard to re-assign. I have a small window, but need a back up plan if we need to interrupt EMDR. And yes, I will discuss in more detail with my therapist but their general stance is that hospitalization is the main contingency plan.)
posted by ahundredjarsofsky to Health & Fitness (3 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think this may depend on the type of trauma you are working to overcome. Is it something acute or chronic?

I had EMDR as part of short-term therapy (6 weeks) and EMDR only took 2 sessions. But that was because the trauma I experienced was only from one event, so I didn’t have a lot of memories to process.
posted by jilloftrades at 6:22 AM on December 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


I've had EMDR as part of therapy over the past year and a half. I'm a big fan of it! Also, even when I'm doing talk therapy, I feel better because my therapist is so smart, educated, and aware. Like jilloftrades said, it depends on the various incidents and trauma you are processing. A good EMDR practitioner can and should complete a treatment during each session, i.e. you are supposed to leave feeling relaxed and safe (if tired and drained!) That is a key element: has your therapist discussed what each treatment might look like? We even scheduled mine with some weeks between to give my mind and body a chance to process it and reset. (After the first few sessions, I'd call her the next day to tell her how I slept per her request.)

A main reason we took longer breaks is because I was dealing with a great deal of present hardship in addition to the old trauma. I also eventually decided to go on a low dose of a SSRI, which was prescribed by a psychiatrist trusted by my therapist. The hardest thing for me was the not the treatment itself but my fears about how hard the treatments might be. For months I was dreading appointments but that's before the EMDR started! There are definitely people for whom EMDR is not a good match but many patients have called it life-changing. I only truly started recognizing the changes as time went on but I'm so, so glad I did EMDR.

Could you schedule appointments, say, one a week for two weeks, then take two weeks off, etc.? I think it's worth trying even one session if your therapist finds it acceptable for a start. It can feel overwhelming and almost like "witchcraft" (which is also cool but not scientific) at first but the science behind it makes sense and your trust can grow with time. Of course, it's ultimately up to you! If you're not ready, you could always wait a few weeks or months to start but it's nice to have this opportunity now. Work is important but your long-term mental health deserves as much attention if not more so!
posted by smorgasbord at 12:46 PM on December 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


I did EMDR about once a week for a very brief time - like maybe 4 or 6 sessions? It was over a decade ago and resolved TON of trauma related symptoms for me. So - it may be if you can have a handful of weekly appointments it won’t be an issue if you have breaks?
posted by hilaryjade at 8:31 PM on December 21, 2018


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