Re:Sensations

Thank you for a most interesting post. I guess you know that we can't do case consultation here because you worded your question as a general question. Your case, being complex is a great example of how misguided it would be to do a case consultation here! You have a lot going on and deserve careful and appropriate treatment.

There is no research on EMDR and conversion disorders; the diagnosis of conversion is rarely made these days. There are case reports of EMDR for somataform disorders, of which conversion is a cousin, or special case. Many people conceptualize conversion as a dissociative phenomenon, although it is not formally a dissociative disorder. The work of Nijenjuis and others speak to the dissociative aspects of somatoform phenomena. I tend to look for the specific developmental ages at which trauma may have occurred to formulate the function that dissocition and/or conversion may hold. Specifically I would use the conference room technique to find the age specific ego state which is holding the conversion function. If none is found, I would speak to the body symptom which would energize and egotize it, and engage it in EMDR. Actually, that's only needed if the standard protocol of EMDR failed to resolve the conversion; being robust it may succeed by itself.

It is common for symptoms of any stripe to fluctuate and flicker in the days following EMDR. I think of it as a kind of "dust bunny" or sawdust left after the processing. If it causes disturbance or worsening of condition for ANY EMDR client, the therapist should review all the red flags and see if they might have missed something.

Replies:

Re:Sensations, by Jenca, 10/04/03 Re:Sensations, by Kathy, 10/05/03 Re:Sensations, by Sandra Paulsen PhD, 10/05/03 Re:Sensations, by Jenca, 10/17/03

| Behavior OnLine Home Page | Disclaimer |

Copyright © 1996-2004 Behavior OnLine, Inc. All rights reserved.