Why EMDR Doesn't Always Work | Kati Morton

I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!
#katimorton #therapist #therapy

MY BOOKS (in stores now)

ONLINE THERAPY

Join this channel to get access to perks:

YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY SHOPPING WITH OUR AFFILIATE LINKS

PARTNERSHIP

PLEASE READ
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room.

[amberphelpsschweda]

I am an EMDR therapist. When a client has difficulties staying present there are ways we can help them stay present during reprocessing. Just because a client is dissociative doesn't mean EMDR won't work. You just need an EMDR therapist that understands how to work with dissociation. For therapists I highly recommend Jim Knipe's work with complex trauma and dissociation.

[GraceSings]

I will say I just finished EMDR back in September and it was the best choice I've ever made. Changed my life.

[kittymachine]

This makes sense. EMDR has been darned near miraculous for me. I think my therapist was wise in that we started with a rather minor trauma. I was able to get a feel for the treatment and build confidence for the harder things. When you're ready & able to finally face that pain, feel it completely, and experience the release as it finally becomes processed, it's like being reborn somehow. And it didn't take *years* of talk therapy, it only took a few hours. I'm immensely grateful this treatment had been developed, and I hope it continues to be refined so that is a viable option for more people.

[krisgreen]

EMDR worked for me and helped me become functional again.

[slarkaminsky]

I started doing EMDR at the end of 2015 and continue to do it about once every 1-2 months. When I started doing it, I started having even more anxiety and depressive moods, flashbacks, and nightmares. Those symptoms made me want to stop, but my therapist encouraged me to continue to see if it lessened. After doing it for about 6 months, those symptoms started to fade and I started feeling less weighed down by my trauma. I stopped having panic attacks (haven't had one in just under 3 years) and I rarely have flashbacks or nightmares anymore. Healing from trauma is a process that is long, exhausting, and slow, but I have become stronger, happier, and more resilient because of my continued work.

[jeffrybrickley]

I try to explain this to others. A few people have tried to tell me that EMDR always works for PTSD patients. I have tried to explain because of severe PTSD from repeated trauma (aka C-PTSD), I dissociate. I am accustomed to lifelong abuse, so when trying to wake up these events instead of dealing with them I merely endure them over and over again as I have always done. All EMDR does is add an additional waking nightmare of my past.

[KiJiHoon]

EMDR has been the best type of therapy I've ever had. Sometimes it is difficult, you feel drained and you continue to process for hours and sometimes days after a session, but it is worth it.

[agcoolgirlrocks]

I'm currently doing emdr with my therapist and it has helped me so much! I do understand how it wouldn't help some though. It's very exhausting and so easy to zone out and not think.

[hollygamble]

The first time I tried it was catastrophic. Even the therapist called the very next day to say again that she was deeply sorry. Something went very wrong and it ruined our ability to work together, so we stopped having sessions after that. 4 years later I found a new therapist that, for some reason or another, made me feel comfortable enough to eventually give EMDR another try. I'm so thankful that I trusted her because it helped a lot. It's not that the other therapist was bad or anything. Maybe I wasn't ready or maybe we were just a wrong fit, who knows. But I wish I could thank her for trying :( and I wish I could tell her that I was eventually able to work it all out for the better. She seemed very hard on herself for what happened.

[jessiewrites]

I did EMDR when I was at residential treatment at Sierra Tuscan in Arizona (that place is amazing). That was 4 years ago now. I don't think it worked for me because I just dissociated the whole time. I never even got to phase 2. My outpatient therapist that I've seen on and off for years told me that EMDR can sometimes be re traumatizing. I'm sure that would really depend on the person though. My therapist specializes in trauma and BPD. She said that we are going to do Prolonged Exposure Therapy eventually when I'm ready. I've also done Somatic Experiencing Therapy. I liked that! My therapist for that was amazing!! It was still hard to stay grounded though. I really just want to work though my trauma. I've grown so much in the past years and I never thought it would be possible! I actually work at a hospital with psychatric patients now in the emergency room. I know it seems ironic that I work for a behavioral health hospital but it just goes to show that recovery is possible. For those out there in the depths of your illness, keep fighting! Stay strong! You never know how you may be able to use your experience to help someone else!

[GnomiMoody]

I had one EMDR session and it was an amazing experience that worked wonderfully for me.

[valliebeagle]

Well said, I am an EMDR therapist and of course no model fits all! Some clients however are so damaged and fragile that part of the treatment needs to be stabilising and resourcing long before any processing can be done. in the many years as an EMDR therapist I can only count on one hand the people who did not respond well to EMDR. Any experienced therapist will use their clinical professional knowledge to gauge which modality a client may best respond to. I use internal family systems therapy ( IFS) or psychotherapy to help a clients on thier journey to recovery.

[Tiffanydw]

Thank you for clearing this up, I personally tried EMDR several times however it's been totally NOT successful. I feel like it's impossible to say what comes to mind and stay in the present moment when talking about my particular traumas. I truly believe it's just not for everyone.

[sadiegirl]

I am so glad you did this video because I have tried to explain to others that EMDR is not for everyone. I also think it's important that you have a therapist you trust, one that is going to go slow, one that explains everything about the process, a therapist that is well trained in EMDR. Also you need to have your imaginary container to put all the stuff in, to hold it there until your next session. I am so blessed to have an amazing therapist! We've been doing EMDR and it's helped so much!

[tearfulxsoul]

This comment is for anyone discouraged. I have Cptsd and a dissociative disorder with seizures from severe childhood trauma.

When I first started EMDR months ago it helped with a major trauma that I remembered vividly, I stopped blaming myself for my dad losing his life and my best friend, stopped having nightmares. But then, working on emotional abuse and other things that I didn't remember vividly (that I now realise were too painful to stay present in) I would dissociate and go catatonic. I had a massive emotional blockage and my body and mind couldn't take it. I was discouraged.

BUT this was months ago, and after a lot of work, I was finally able to process some trauma again during EMDR a few days ago - it actually did the complete opposite than previous times where I dissociated ongoing, I temporarily would dissociate for a few seconds then become present again intermittently, by the end it stopped me from dissociating altogether - (still, only temporarily after the EMDR as I have a long way to go). I felt much relief and better afterwards, free from this specific somatic memory. I truly believe this was because I got to know my parts better, one was present, trusting and ready to work together and process things. It just took some time to build the trust within my system.

My takeaway is that EMDR is amazing, but sometimes there are some memories you're not ready to process, and that's okay - don't give up, take a break and work on other techniques. I found Polyvagal Theory, IFS and Ego state mapping helped me a lot. Plus, using the butterfly hug technique, the tetris blink technique and listening to bilateral/8d music helped my nervous system regulate, I can't say for sure but I do believe this helped me get there. It is a huge misconception that people who dissociate cannot do EMDR. There is dissociative disorder-based EMDR research and modalities out there if you look for it in the right places, it's just that not all professionals have the knowledge or skills. (I am a lived experience Mental Health Worker & Psych Student).

It just has to be with someone who you trust a lot, who can keep you present and can help you regulate (someone very
Being trauma-informed, understanding yourself and the mechanisms/triggers underlying your dissociation is also hugely helpful.


Anyway not medical advice just my experience x

[thenobleandmightybeaver]

EMDR when employed correctly may have incredible results. If rushed into it could be devastating.

I saw a therapist for 3 years for trauma recovery. I was seeing her weekly for at least a year before we started working towards EMDR. what I remember of it we wouldn’t actually do the EMDR for a very long time and we didn’t do it every session. EMDR is incredibly intense and you need to have some healthy coping and grounding skills to soothe yourself after. You also need to have a great deal of trust in the practitioner which takes time.

[MsTaraVlogs]

Good video Kati. My flashbacks are very intense and I just try to self sooth myself. I did try EMDR but staying in a moment is like quicksand for me. I'm not disappointed that it did not work. Recovery is a journey and so much is learned more than "fixed" in our lives. May you find kindness today in yourselves. ❤️

[kaycieleaver]

EMDR worked well for me. I was undergoing therapy for a few months to treat moderate social anxiety. I've been able to keep my anxiety to a minimum after EMDR and it rarely is a problem for me anymore.

[katielarisa]

I’ve had 3 or 4 sessions of EMDR but I had a really patient and understanding therapist. I could only last about 20 minutes before I got overwhelmed, and if I wasn’t feeling in the right head space she didn’t force me to do it, BUT if I had a positive-ish reaction, like beginning not to blame myself for my past abuse, she would try get me to do a couple more minutes so we could try to process THAT feeling too! I was sceptical at first, and I found it difficult because I struggled to contextualise how I felt, but we came up with ways around that like I would tell her where I was feeling things instead of what I was feeling, or I would tell her how old I felt etc. For me it was important to do EMDR after my therapist had learned as much about me as possible during about 7 previous sessions too. But it’s a long process, and if somebody already at a breaking point or doesn’t have a support system, I can imagine it would be too much, because it brings back the trauma a bit too vividly sometimes if your therapist isn’t good at reading you and knowing when you’re too far in...that’s just my two cents!

[angeladeeb]

I found that there is a lot more to the process than observing the moment of trauma (for example). The way I understand it is there is quite a bit of talk therapy leading up to the EMDR. One of my therapists just jumped right to that modality instead of giving me a whole bunch of time to reveal what was really going on. I'm not opposed to trying that again, I just might need to do more research. I'm really glad your channel is here. It's helpful.