Has anyone done/heard of EMDR?

[LittleDudesMom]

For those not familiar, EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing". I caught the tail end of a conversation on sirius radio yesterday afternoon with a mom whose son suffered from add and depression. She said he did an almost total turn around after EMDR.

I did a little poking around and it's historically used with trauma patients but there's not much on kids - anyone know anything about it?

Sharon

 

[klmno]

I was going to say that I had heard of it being used as part of PTSD treatment, although this wasn't used onme when I was going thru mine- at least I don't think. I have heard people say it works wonders but don't know if that applies to kids with ADHD either. It would be worth a try, in my humble opinion.

 

[timer lady]

Sharon, kt has done EMDR ~ it was a terrifying experience for her. psychiatrist, therapist & I decided that it be approached, if need be, in her mid 20s.

I did much research about this process before we started & will try to find that info for you.

I do remember when it was started that kt be as relaxed as possible & focus on the words, not the mechanicals behind it. I'll see what I can dig out & the resulting reports & recommendations presented me for that treatment option for kt.

 

[CrazyinVA]

Youngest's last counselor talked about doing this with her, she was trained in it. Youngst quit going before I could even do any research about it though.

 

[exhausted]

My daughter started EMDR therapy(but for PTSD) before being placed in this last residential. She started when she was fifteen. We had not completed enough sessions to make a huge difference. She did say she though it was going to be the most help. They don't make you delve deep into the traumas or problems, nor is there a lot of guilt inducing cognitive processes. Our family therapist said her partner has has good success with many kinds of mental issues-including ADHD-however, starting in the teen years. The real research has been done on victoms of sexual abuse, and war veterans. It seems to have one of the longest treatment effects for these issues. I could not find research for kids and ADHD. I just know what some of these therapists have claimed. Our daughters EMDR therapist said he would try it with her, but that some kids could not handle it ( thus KTs reaction). I say anything is worth a try. by the way, we had great luck with biofeedback training with my ADHD son when he was 10 and 11. Only one place did it here at the time, expensive and not covered by insurance, but it enabled him to get off medications by Junior high.

 

[susiestar]

It has been very helpful for Jess and I. Many tdocs use it with other forms of therapy. It has an excellent record from what I have seen. You can google EMDR and get info on the group that teaches and certifies therapists, plus a list of therapists who practice it. We have several in our town - which means that there are likely a couple in yoru town also.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Thanks Linda! I would appreciate any information you come across.

exhausted - there was discussion on biofeedback for add as well - I'm going to look into it.

Susie, there are a number of folks in my area that do it - I already googled it - I was just looking for information from folks who might have done it or their children did it. It was mentioned for ADHD, but I couldn't find much on the net about that component vs trauma therapy.

Thanks!

Sharon

 

[flutterby]

EMDR is the most studied/tested/understood treatment in psychology. It is the gold standard for treating PTSD, but is also being used for anxiety. I don't know that I've heard about it being used in treating depression, but I can see where it might work. I'm trying to find the website that a former therapist sent me to that is designed for practitioners. Found it: http://www.emdria.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=56

It is important that before EMDR is started that the patient is given skills to cope with what EMDR might bring up. This may be more important for trauma patients than it is for anxiety/depressed patients. I remember my former therapist going through EMDR as a precursor to learning how to do it herself, and she had to stop and develop skills - becoming mentally stronger, if you will - before continuing. Also, for some people it is difficult or even uncomfortable to do the eye movement. What is most important is that both sides of the body are doing something, so if you can't do the eye movements you can tap your hands on your leg, for example, in the same pattern as you would be doing the eye movements. The reason is that in order to get the memory to move from the "feeling" part of the brain into the "thinking" part, you need to have both sides of your body engaged. What happens in trauma is that those events, or memories (or whatever they call them), get trapped in the "feeling" part and they need to be transferred to the "thinking" part so they can be adequately processed. In very simple terms...

 

[hearts and roses]

difficult child and I have both had EMDR (difficult child was around 8-10 yrs). It was fairly effective for difficult child and a little bit for me. Our therapist was special trained and certified. It's important to find someone who hasn't just researched it and feels comfortable doing, but rather someone who truly understands and is trained in using EMDR. Misuse of this type of therapy could actually be harmful on some patients.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Thanks for the info Jo and Heather!

 

[AnnieO]

The old counselor started this with Onyxx. No tools to deal with what it might bring up. And after what we found, we're not even certain she was certified.

NOW, that said - EMDR can be wonderful! Just a caution to check out the therapist who will be doing it.