EMDR FORUM ARCHIVE, 2000
Reiki and EMDR
Anonymous · 12/18/02 at 3:34 ET
Dr. Inobe, What I found was that during rapid switching my energy level would be very chaotic and high making me seem very hyperactive. The bilateral stimulation worked very well to bring this energy to a calm state where each switch was still happening, but the flow was regulated, and the body didn't seem hyperactive. After my EMDR sessions, I always had what I refer to as a Jacob's Ladder Experience, meaning that a whole lot of very direct and emotionally charged stuff would come up for processing about an hour after the session was finished and would continue for a very long time. This was the reason I chose to use a CD between sessions. It brought the energy level down to tolerable levels and enabled me to process the material with less overwhelming affect and much quicker. Before I used the CD the Jacob's Ladder Effect would last for days sometimes, and I couldn't function. With using the bilateral stimulation CD, I could either contain the material for processing at a more convenient time, or I could choose to process it in a much more directed and shorter period of time. Sometimes just puting on the earphones and listening to the CD without directing anything was enough to release whatever was boiling over. Reiki calms the body in much the same way. It's experienced as heat (although that is a subjective experience, no real heat differential can be measured) and this energy is very soothing. Reiki is also very good at loosening up body blockages, reducing inflamation, and blocking or lessening pain. Also, for those who can tolerate being touched, just the feeling the weight and warmth of someone's hands on the body promotes healing. Those who are touched and touch others have better seratonin regulation, less auto retraumatization, and a better immune response. EMDR also works with the body, but in my experience the memory releases from the body using EMDR are much more like reliving the original body experience, and the release can be chaotic. For example I experienced violent shaking when reliving a memory of being very cold, and while the memory was being processed my body temperature dropped at the same time. With EMDR I knew where this was coming from because the memory was being processed and released at the same time. I also got jerks and tics in between sessions as somatic memories released while the processing continued. Also I want interject here that I specifically requested that my therapist not shut down the processing. I wanted to process between sessions. I wanted to get this done. Reiki body releases can be dramatic also, but they are not as chaotic. So a client may weep during the entire treatment, and be finished as soon as the treatment is over. Or they may suddenly and dramatically "jump" on the treatment table. But there usually is no cognitive connect between the release and the mind. The client might say something like, "Wow! Where did that come from?" and really have no clue what that release was all about. But they feel better all the same. And though I haven't collected any hard data, the effect seems to be stable over time. I do close the energy flow off from each client at the end of every session, and I have never experienced or heard of a client continuing to release between sessions. I have quite a few clients who are dissociative, some of whom are not aware of that fact, except for the parts that come to be quietly touched or to tell or talk about it. I have never had a bad experience with a dissociative client and Reiki. The energy and the process is so gentle that it is sometimes the youngest and most vulnerable parts that end up in the session, even though they are not the ones who made the appointment or came to be treated. Of course, being dissociative myself, I don't find that strange. Someone not familiar with dissociation might find it very odd to find an adult professional gently leaning and snuggling into her palm to feel her hand on the side of his face and cheek like an eighteen month old baby would. I think it is important for Reiki practitioners, when doing Reiki with dissociative clients, or any client (anyone might be dissociative to some degree) to understand that persons who are dissociative are easily retraumatized by inappropriate reactions to this kind of surfacing - by persons not familiar with dissociation. So, if for example the practioner mistook that for a sexual invitation and jerked her hand away, or said something intending to set a boundary with an adult, that would most likely trigger a bad response. So, I agree with you that there is a responsibility that comes with doing Reiki energy work to make sure you are in the right space to do the work and not be inappropriate with the client. And that entails a bit of patience and calmness and acceptance with whatever surfaces. When I see this kind of surfacing, I just allow it. In the overall context this one surfacing is appropriate at that time. This usually subsides rather quickly and the client goes into a deeper state of relaxation. Generally parts that can't tolerate touch don't surface in Reiki session. At least they haven't in mine. Diane
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