EMDR Flash Technique

[sanmagic7]

as an emdr therapist, i stay connected with the goings on in this field, and have heard about the Flash Technique nearly 2 years ago.  it was designed to help traumatized people in therapy who become overwhelmed by their memories and experiences be able to get to the other side without the pain that often coincides with reliving the past.

this is just a heads up for anyone using emdr as a trauma reprocessing technique. The Flash Technique is rather new, but i've now experienced it and i give it a big thumb's up     any questions, feel free. 

[Armadillo]

Awesome thanks for sharing, I'm so glad you found a way to sort of shortcut around the worst parts and still process stuff.

And I didn't know you were an emdr therapist! Do you mind if I ask you a question about EMDR?

Have you ever worked with someone who can't form mental imagery and has very sparse memories? Did EMDR work for them? My memories are mostly just spatial orientation compared to other objects in a room, I know their location and what they are but not what they look like, and i know generally where the other person is but I have little or no information about them either. No emotions, rarely sound, no image. I should be thankful I think! But I still get physical reactions and physical flashbacks that come out of nowhere.

[Bach]

I'd also be interested in the answer to Armadillo's question.  My experience is similar in terms of sparse memories and an inability to form mental imagery.

Also, if you're open to answering questions about EMDR, I'd love to know whether there are EMDR techniques that I could safely and effectively self-administer.  EMDR is one of the things I've heard about as something that could help me, but I'm having trouble finding trauma-informed therapists that either take Medicare or don't cost a bomb, so working with a practitioner doesn't seem to be an option.

[sanmagic7]

hey armadillo and bach,

first, bach and your question about self-administering emdr.  since i'm not your therapist, i don't believe it would be ethical for me to recommend any sort of treatment to you.  i know there are tutorials and such online, but i think it's extremely risky to take that chance, basically because you don't know what underlying issues might come up and how to protect yourself and manage them if they do. 

i'm sorry you're having trouble finding a t who takes medicare.  my t does take medicare, as does my shrink, so i suggest you not give up hope.  there are emdr therapists who work with clients via zoom, so it's possible you could widen your search range.  i worked with my t in person for a few months before the pandemic hit, so we began doing emdr processing over the phone, and continue to do so because she has recently moved out of town.  i sincerely wish you luck with finding someone. 

second, as far as having difficulty finding memories or images to target, that's ok.  anything can be a target, including fleeting feelings, a sense of something, a bodily sensation or flashback - anything is fair game to target and process.  even from a meager starting point, the brain is a wondrous mechanism.  i'm guessing you don't have a lot of concrete remembrances because your brain has held them in storage for you until you've been ready to unpack them.

i, too, have had difficulty feeling emotions, but as i've worked at processing anything (and i also have a lot of bodily sensations when i'm digging into this stuff), i'm discovering new emotions and feelings will pop up that i had no idea were there.  those, then, become a new target to process.  so, yes to your question about if emdr can work for those of us with little sense of feeling or emotion.  i've made breakthroughs in the past year that i didn't think possible.  for instance, one memory of my ex, while it seemed rather trivial as a target or a source of trauma, when processed with emdr (my only feeling about it was that i was uncomfortable) at the time) i discovered that more than discomfort, i felt humiliated and angry.  it was an eye-opener.  i then felt that humiliation throughout my entire body, and we targeted that, processed it, and i was able to eventually let it go.

may i also add that this is your therapy and if something feels too big/overwhelming to focus on, let your T know so that between the two of you some lesser, smaller, or more easily manageable piece could be targeted instead.  the more you are able to communicate with your t exactly how and what you feel, whether it's mental, emotional, or physical, the more avenues open up for healing those wounds. and even if during processing you begin to feel like it's too much, that's also something you can immediately tell your t and stop the eye movements yourself.  your brain and mind may need to take a little break before continuing with a smaller bit, but your T wouldn't know that unless you are able to speak up about it.  the power is yours - your T is a guide, helper, and protector.  that's the therapist's job.  your job is to be as open and honest as possible about what's going on with you.  you are your focus.

Best of luck with this, and any more questions are always welcome.   

[Armadillo]

Thank you! This is super helpful and comforting to me!

[sanmagic7]

i'm glad you found this comforting, armadillo.  it's nice to have hope.