Re:head injury clarification

Neither head injury per se nor epilepsy are contraindications for EMDR. People have been on the alert for problem case reports re epilepsy, but I have not heard of any problem cases.

Head injured individuals vary widely - certain types of problems may interfere, for example, people with attentional, tracking, memory problems may lose their place in EMDR, so the therapist may need to redirect more than one would usually. Also, if there was loss of consciousness in a traumatic event, there have been a number of case reports of the EMDR processing including a period of apparent loss of consciousness, which spontaneously resolves as the processing continues, as if the entire episode, including the loss of consciousness, were being processed. People with problem solving or abstraction difficulties may have some difficulty with spontaneous insights, so more positive installation may be needed. These are all based on clinical experience and reports, not controlled studies.

Some individuals with head injuries may prefer one mode of bilateral stimulation over another, for reasons related to their head injury (e.g., tracking, distraction).

None of these things is a contraindication to EMDR.

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