Re:changing deeply felt beliefs

Specific answers to indiviudal problems are beyond what we can do here in this setting. However, some general comments might be helpful. While EMDR is most frequently used to target specific experiences, it can also be used to target feelings. It is not unusual to find that one's head and one's heart disagree. So, in your case it might be possible to start with the feeling and work from there. Another approach would be to bring that feeling up and then find a situation in which you last felt that feeling, or a time when it was really strong or perhaps the first time you can really remember feeling this way. Then this could be used as a starting point for therapy.

While EMDR often facilitates rather profound changes in one's cognitions and beliefs EMDR is not a mechanism by which an outside thought can be inserted or forced into one's belief system. EMDR can and often does free up the processing so that head and heart can agree. A therapist cannot select a thought and implant it in your mind with EMDR.

A trained EMDR therapist would spend a number of sessions with you learning about your history and experiences. Only after this was done could a decision be made as to whether or not EMDR might be appropirate for you. Good luck.

Replies:

Re:changing deeply felt beliefs, by a client, 11/20/00 Re:changing deeply felt beliefs, by Robert P. O'Brien, Ph.D., 11/21/00 Re:changing deeply felt beliefs, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe, PhD, 11/21/00 Re:changing deeply felt beliefs and thanks to both of you s, by a client, 11/21/00 Re:changing deeply felt beliefs and thanks to both of you s, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe, PhD, 11/21/00 Oops! Re:changing deeply felt beliefs , by , 11/22/00

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