Questions about EMDR

I underwent EMDR treatment for a year with a certified EMDR therapist. It was a devastating experience, and has left me with questions about EMDR.

The therapist I saw uses EMDR exclusively, considering it to be a complete therapy in itself. Recently I have read on this forum and elsewhere that EMDR should be used as just one component of a comprehensive treatment plan. What would a comprehensive plan include, in addition to the EMDR sessions?

In response to a post, Dr. O'Brien mentions the importance of pacing. Can you explain how EMDR treatment should be paced? My therapist continued with EMDR at weekly sessions for months, even though I was clearly becoming overwhelmed and was sinking deeper and deeper into severe depression from the treatment. Does EMDR training include instruction about pacing?

I began treatment to recover from grief over my husband's sudden death. As therapy progressed, completely repressed memories of traumatic episodes (sexual abuse) in my childhood surfaced. Are there any studies on EMDR and traumatic forgetting(amnesia)? Can EMDR trigger false memory syndrome? If a client struggles with denial of the memories, can EMDR still effectively process these memories?

I want to thank you for opening up this forum to the layperson. You are providing a much needed resource to EMDR clients.

Replies:

Re:Questions about EMDR, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe, PhD, 01/11/01

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