what can I expect?

I have a history of trauma and stress - witnessing violence in childhood, very negative school experiences, abuse in adulthood and, after all of that, a # of years of intensely stressful life events/crisis. I had a couple of years of great therapy in the midst of the later crisis and seemed to be regaining my sense of self and personal power. Have been told by others that I'm a very resilient person. However, further crisis have led me back into therapy and I'm now giving emdr a try. We are moving slowly and carefully as many earlier issues were not dealt with and because - well, I guess I finally hit the wall (ptsd).

What can I expect with/from the emdr? Will the initial effects be lasting - egs. times of feeling a sense of calm I've never really known before; times of sensing my brain and body are communicating and it isn't quite so overwhelming. Or, will I find some of the effects lessening as other issues surface? I sense that I feel better after a session but it doesn't really last or, perhaps, the initial sense of feeling better is overshadowed by unaddressed issues. It seems to be a real up/down experience for me and I feel, at times, like I'm going around in circles. Things are confused - one day it's the childhood stuff, next it's the later years of crisis, next it's something else.

So, would the initial effects of emdr be, or appear to be, temporary? Will they be minimal? What can I expect? My therapist has said that the up/downs are to be expected and isn't surprised by them.

Replies:

Re:what can I expect?, by Robert P. O'Brien, Ph.D., 09/14/00 Re:what can I expect?, by client, 09/15/00 Re:what can I expect?, by Robert P. O'Brien, Ph.D., 09/16/00 Re:what can I expect?, by Bonnie, 04/18/01 Re:what can I expect?, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe, PhD, 04/21/01

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