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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
 Posted - 02/09/2013 : 22:32:32
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As previously stated, EMDR has great potential in healing the trauma which is often at the source of TMS. It could be a viable treatment option for people whose recovery has stalled, or whose recovery only goes so far with the presentation of TMS information. Many psychologists view it as the most important psychological discovery in the last hundred years. However, many people either dont know much about it, and it is often shrouded in some kind of mystery.
To redress this, I have added two videos explaining EMDR to my website (www.drjamesalexander-psychologist.com), under the EMDR button.
I made these videos for my clients to watch at home, rather than have us use valuable therapy time with me just presenting the information which is important as part of the preparatory ground work. Because EMDR is a seemingly unusual approach, i think it requires an adequate explanation, especially for intelligent people who have a need to understand it.
I am happy for people who are not clients of mine to watch these videos if it helps them decide whether to pursue EMDR or not. If you do decide to pursue it, this information will reduce the amount of preparation time which would otherwise need to be spent in therapy. The videos go into a discussion about the nature of trauma; how our mind/brain naturally processes and digests our experiences; the relevance of sleep and dreams; how EMDR is thought to replicate the naturally occurring psychological digestive processes; what goes on in an EMDR session; what people can expect from it.
Unfortunately, it isnt a visual spectacular though- you just get to see me talking at you. Let me know if you have any questions about EMDR after watching them. Also, on the same EMDR page of my website, you will see links to:- an audio interview with Francine Shapiro, as well as two excellent on-line interviews in which she answers a lot of important questions about this approach.
James |
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Birdie78
Germany
145 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2013 : 01:25:09
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Hi Dr. James Alexander,
I'll watch the videos soon, thanks for providing them!
I had another question: is EMDR exclusively to be used for healing "shock"-trauma or also for "developmental" trauma which often is much more "subtle" and without any clear memory?
Kind regards from Germany sends Birdie |
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2013 : 03:07:42
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Birdie- it is used for both types of trauma. It gets a bit less straight forward when we are dealing with experiences for which the person has no memory, eg. neglect or abuse prior to 2-3. negative experiences from those ages can still have damaging impacts, which are apparent in negative emotional patterns. When there arent clear memories, we can work with general images, vague recollections; even emotionally evocative baby photos or childhood toys/teddybears as triggers to the distress. This is possible due to the nature of memory (which is more like a re-writable DVD than a once only recording). As such, in any memory, we are never dealing with what actually happened, but with a mental representation of the event. When people have negative life events from an age before overt memories are laid down. they will generally still have some mental representation of that experience- and thats what we can work with in EMDR. When we are talking about clear memories of negative experiences, it is more straight forward.
James |
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2013 : 18:45:35
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Hi, Dr. James. I am on the last chapter of your book and today I finished the section on EMDR.
Just to provide some info on where I am at in the healing process, I am at he point where I am pain-free for the most part for almost 2 months. It really was not that difficult to rid myself of the pain. I mainly used Ace's keys for this. However, I knew there were deeper issues that needed to be addressed or else the pain could COME BACK.
Last week, after reading the section in your book about EFT, I went to the website ETFuniverse.com and downloaded the beginner's instruction manual. As an aside, I was somewhat used to energy therapy because I worked with a therapist who did not do tapping, but another form of energy therapy and had good results. Also, I am able to communicate directly with the (collective) unconscious through the work I do using a pendulum, asking it questions that can only be answered with a "yes" or "no", or "no answer" response. I have been doing this on and off for almost 30 years. I can't begin to explain the difficulty with this and I have made progress through a lot of work formulating questions correctly and trying to understand it. One thing it has always made clear to me is that it reserves the right not to answer or actually lie if the proper answer would threaten my sanity or if I simply could not understand. One of the difficulties that makes it sometimes impossible to get useful answers is that it truly exists in a different reality, a reality for which space and time do not exist. In fact, I spent several years reading about particle physics and String and Superstring Theory because the "Pendulum" suggested it. This did help me understand it more. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I had not asked it's permission to get rid of my pain, in other words, if there would be no adverse consequences of which my conscious mind was unaware. It did not occur to me to ask, although I ask it's opinion about lots of other things. For awhile the pain was skirting around to different parts of my body, but I kept dealing with it and it would not amount to anything. Anyway, once I was pretty sure the pain was gone, I realized that my anxiety level and my sleeplessness was becoming WORSE, not better which is not what I expected. I became somewhat frightened because I thought perhaps this was the consequence of what I had done. So I did what I always do when I get into a jam, I consulted the "pendulum". that is my name for it. It basically said that it was ok that I had let go of the pain because I would be able to consciously handle the consequences, but that I would need to be prepared for MORE anxiety and uncomfortable emotions because I had, so to speak, "blown the cover". It insisted again what it has told me many times, that I do not in fact, have trouble sleeping. I never could understand why it kept saying that until now.(A lot of times these explanations come in dreams, while meditating or just an illumination). For about 4 days and nights, I still was pain free, but my sleeplessness became really bad and I became quite anxious. Yesterday morning, I was facing giving a picnic at my house (which actually went well) and I was feeling very tired and stressed and thinking maybe I would rather have my pain back. So I called up the pendulum and told it how bad I was feeling and was anticipating how things would probably get worse. It told me things were fine and not to worry. After my dinner party, I was feeling really good, or thought I was, when I decided to try the EFT, not really expecting too much. (I had read the entire manual). It struck me that the manual said to be quite specific when constructing the "Setup statement" and all I could think of was that I had trouble sleeping. I simply could not think, in that moment, of any specific reasons for my sleep anxiety. Just as I began the Karate Chop, I started feeling really bad emotionally and several seconds later, I got a huge data dump from the unconscious. All of the stuff that was making me angry and frustrated at that moment in time was spewing into my conscious awareness. As these thoughts would come, I did an individual EFT session on each one. Unbeknownst to my conscious mind, I had been repressing some serious anger and frustration, probably every night and going to bed with this. The issues bothering me were about six, My husband had the TV on too loud, our house is too small (it is a long story how that happened), the dogs had constant skin problems and I needed to apply the meds, the Panamanians have too many loud parties and do too much drinking, and the internet connection sucks. With each tapping session, I could feel the unpleasant emotion dissipating. I went to bed that night and had a fabulous sleep. the next morning I dialed up the pendulum and thanked it profusely. I always try to remember to say thank you. It is really cute when I am very happy and thank it - it swings in the "YES" position wildly.
I really feel I am doing better, but it has not been easy. Right now, I am just working on small issues, not tackling the trauma issues. The pendulum does not want me to do this right now.
Thanks for listening. |
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 04:22:40
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chickenbone- wow. What an interesting experience. I was inclined to think of EFT as being a 'light-weight' intervention, until i watched a training video which featured its use with a Vietnam vet who had been in hospital with extreme PTSD for decades. The effect was quite astonishing- he reported the next day that he'd had his first decent nights sleep in the decades since the war. Your experience of this data dump while doing EFT is particularly interesting. I do suspect that, like EMDR, it accesses very deep unconscious parts of our mind/brain. Thanks for sharing your experience.
James |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 07:06:18
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To be honest, I become disheartened when I see posts like this on the TMS message board as yet another modality is being introduced into the buffet of treatment options. This leaves us who are suffering feeling both confused and overwhelmed with way too much information which, in my opinion, is not even needed. Each modality takes weeks of reading and practice to learn properly and at the end most of them are not even efficacious. In the end we are once again left with feelings of disillusionment with yet another promise of relief going unfulfilled. You will have to forgive me for my cynicism, but that is the place I am at right now.
And by the way, I am getting sick and tired of all this talk of repressed emotions in the unconscious being the source of our suffering. It is complete BS and there is absolutely ZERO evidence -- regardless of what Dr Sarno or anyone else says -- to support the whole notion that there is such a thing as an unconscious.
As one resource out of many, readers my wish to consult the book, "Therapy's Delusions: The Myth of the Unconscious and the Exploitation of Today's Walking Worried" by Ethan Watters and Richard Ofshe. |
Edited by - shawnsmith on 02/11/2013 07:16:26 |
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Racer
USA
129 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 07:30:10
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Can we say EMDR is more specific to PTSD? If yes, PTSD is synonymous with TMS?
I have seen EMDR discussed in the Headache in Pelvis, as well as in the TMS wiki. |
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 07:37:20
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Shawn, you don't have to give up your disbelief in the unconscious mind. But you probably do need to give up the idea that all sensations, memories and data that has ever been taken by your brain is immediately available to you in any given moment in order to heal. I am kind of a mystic, so this works well for me, but I am completely aware that belief in the unconscious does not work for everyone.
You probably need a more concrete, logical approach. Why don't you think of your brain as a super smart quantum computer? You can think in terms of data being in various levels of deep storage. You can also envision your brain (computer) containing bad or useless programs that need to be examined and purged. So this will be a reorganizing task for your brain. There are a lot of good books that explain the recent advances in neuroscience and you could update your ideas on how the brain really works. The books may give you a lot of good ideas.
I hope this helps. |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 10:35:49
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Shawn, EFT and EMDR are just tools that you can use. No need to rush to do them. It may or may not resonate with you.
NET was beneficial for me. It helped me jump start the process again. But in general those methods do work on so called toxic repressed memories so if you think they don't exist, it is a no starter.
I got no benefit from EFT (I couldn't pass the goofiness of the repetition sentence) but tremendous use from "programmed dreams" that are explained in Steve-O's and Dr.Alexander's books. |
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 15:10:47
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Racer- yes, EMDR is a therapy developed more specifically for trauma and PTSD. The research evidence makes it abundantly clear that it is efficacious for this. It has branched out in working with other issues, such as depression, anxiety, etc. This is because underlying these experiences is often unresolved trauma- when the trauma is adequately addressed, then the presenting problem usually goes away. The evidence for efficacy in EMDR treating such non-trauma issues is accumulating, but not at the same level as the evidence for trauma at this stage.
Concerning the issue of the 'unconscious' which Shawn has raised on a couple of posts recently. I think everyone on this forum is mature enough to recognise that people see and experience the world in different ways. What makes sense and resonates for one person may not for another. Thats ok, isnt it? Personally, i also gave no credence to the notion of the unconscious until i semi-unwillingly attended a rebirthing workshop many years ago. At that time, i was a fully fledged cognitive-behavioural psychologist with no experience or acceptance of the whole notion of the unconscious. My experience in the workshop compelled me to re-evaluate this stance. To me, it became undeniable, regardless of any sociological/academic critique of the notion (i am familiar with the critiques, and had previously endorsed all of them). A lot of people on this forum appear to have had their own experiences which have led them to an awareness of their unconscious- it is not possible for them (or me) to pretend that this is not the case, regardless of the critiques. However, if your experience is different and has not led you to the same conclusion, fine- we all have different experiences.
It is clear from neuroscience research of the last 20 years that most of what goes on in the mind/brain is operating at a level of which we have no conscious awareness- there is clear research evidence of this. If you want to make sense of this reality with the notion of the 'unconscious', then surely this is just a linguistic convention for convenience and ease of understanding, ie a model. But if the notion does not help you to make sense of unconscious mind/brain processes- not a problem.
Ace1 has demonstrated a different way of making sense which seems to work for him and others. It would seem to me, however, that in order to use the TMS approach to heal from chronic pain, some way of making sense of unconscious phenomenon is needed, rather than just a flat out rejection. This simply because it is a fairly central notion to the whole approach. But, no one has to use this approach- there are many out there to choose from, and i am all for freedom of choice (without sanction)- it is a market place of ideas, and so it should be. The TMS approach has worked really well for an untold number of people on the planet. But there are people for whom another approach is needed, and can work. In my book, i mentioned a chronic pain client of mine who did not respond to my approach at all. He actually recovered with the standard pain management CBT approach- surprised me, but there you go. I'm glad another approach was available for him. I think its a matter of searching until you have found an approach which resonates and works for you.
James |
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/11/2013 : 15:18:20
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sorry Racer- i didnt fully answer your question. No, i wouldnt say that PTSD is synonymous with TMS. I think TMS is one possible manifestation of trauma, amongst several- some people will have primarily psychological symptoms of trauma, whereas for others it will manifest in more physical forms. The difference, i suspect, is on how much space people allow for their emotional upset- if they are very uncomfortable with or frightened of the psychological/emotional aspects of PTSD, they may repress these, and then it is more likely to manifest in physical symptoms. And there are more psychological causes of TMS than just trauma. eg. dilemmas, threats to self concept, unacceptable emotions, etc.
James |
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Racer
USA
129 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2013 : 08:02:16
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Thank you Dr. J.
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2013 : 12:25:56
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Dr. James, I am having more success in my application of EFT. For the past several years, because of my sleeping problems, I had started taking Zolpidem back in 2007. I took 7.5 mg for about 4 years. However, I was never very happy with the results. About 3 years ago, I cut the dose in half and for the past 6 months, I only took the half dose about 5 times per week. Now, for a week and a half, I have been off completely. I often get a headache right before I would normally be taking the med, but have usually been able to reduce the intensity with EFT. Last night, I did not get a headache. I substituted EFT for the med, but need to do several sessions before I go to bed and often do it in the middle of the night when I cannot fall asleep. If I keep it up, it seems to be working. I have also started combining it with some EMDR.
An interesting thing happened when I was doing water aerobics yesterday. Since I recovered from my severe back/leg pain, I occasionally get a bad cramp in my foot/lower leg while swimming. I am quite sure this is the TMS threatening again. Up until yesterday, the cramp would be very painful, especially since I cannot immediately put weight on it in the water. It would be a low level bother for several days. Yesterday, I got a really bad, scary one. I did several EFT sessions on it right in the pool, along with some of the eye rolling motions of EMDR. I noticed the pain subsiding quickly, so I spun around to the right several times and then to the left, until I felt slightly disoriented, but not dizzy. The rest of the pain immediately disappeared before I finished and has not come back. I couldn't believe it. It seems that this momentary "brain scramble" may have prevented my mind from settling into it's familiar TMS neural pathway.
I am really happy about the prospect of getting off of Zolpidem. I am still struggling and not sleeping too well, but I am doing it. I think the Zolpidem was doing me more harm than good.
Thanks again for your book and your kind support.
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Dr James Alexander
Australia
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2013 : 14:11:52
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Chickenbone- yet another interesting experience. Neuroscience suggests that pain is essentially an 'opinion' which the brain settles on, in regards to the range of information it receives. I believe that processes like EMDR, EFT (and other similar approaches), and obviously information, can all change the opinion of the brain, and thereby give us a different experience. Your report here seems to be a good example.
re sleep- my experience is that EFT works particularly well in changing sleep patterns. In 'The Hidden Psychology of Pain' i go into a possible neurological explanation for how EFT might work. If i am in a bad sleep pattern, it generally takes a few nights of doing the procedure, but my experience is always the same- it changes the pattern.
James |
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EMDR explained- 2 free videos
