“I Tried EMDR Therapy, But It Didn’t Work for Me…”
Sometimes I had clients came to me and told me that they’d tried EMDR therapy with other therapists, and it didn’t work for them. They would share their experiences with me and how they felt about EMDR. I so appreciated the stories I heard and would like to share with you some of my thoughts about this.
Why EMDR Therapy Didn’t Work?
Here are some of the reasons I can think of right now.
1. IT WAS IMPLEMENTED WRONG. Certified EMDR Therapists have to take trainings by EMDR International Association Approved Training. However, there are EMDR trainings out there that are approved by the association; as a result, the therapists’ qualification and how they implement EMDR could vary. I heard some wild stories from clients of how they experienced EMDR Therapy were totally different than how I was trained. As a result, and I can understand, why clients would feel reluctant to try EMDR again, since the previous experience left a bad taste in their mouth. If this is you, I hope you will be able to find a qualified EMDR therapist, and will be able to trust that therapist to give it a try again.
2. IT WENT TOO FAST. There are 8 phases of EMDR Therapy. In other words, there needs to be a preparation stage, before the actual trauma processing stage. Some clients need to have more preparation, increasing skills such as grounding, before moving on to the next phase. What I meant by “it went too fast,” I meant the therapist jumps to the trauma processing phase before the client feels ready. Remember, you can always stop and pace yourself in therapy. Let you therapist know what’s going on, and your therapists will help you feel safe and grounded before moving too fast.
3. We are bypassing the “Protectors.” In Infernal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, our body and brain developed “Protectors” as a way to ensure we would not get flooded with trauma. However, if EMDR therapy’s moving too fast, these internal protectors might felt violated, and we maybe touching something vulnerable too fast. If that’s the case, therapists and clients need to work with these protectors first.
4. Neglecting our nervous systems. In some way, we can’t just focus on the standard EMDR protocol. After all, we are humans, not machines following scripts. We need to study and understand our client’s nervous systems, as well as our own, in order to better determine if EMDR is appropriate. Therapists need to ensure clients have the ability to regulate their nervous systems and they can trust the therapists.
It is important to communicate with your therapists directly to let them know what’s working and what’s not working; what you feel comfortable doing and not comfortable. There are many different treatment modalities that can be beneficial to individuals.
About this Author
”Jane” I-Chen Liu, MA. LMHC is a mental health therapist in Washington state, who specialized in treating women with anxiety, depression, trauma, and CPTSD using EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing. To contact this author, please email: karekounseling@gmail.com
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