Susan’s mother never confronted or contradicted her husband’s priorities. He invested very little in the marriage, leaving her in a very needy place. Mother got her needs met by being emotionally enmeshed and dependent on her children.
Father belittled mother as being weak. Susan took her father’s view and emotions on, combining them with her own frustration with mother needing support from her daughter, rather than taking care of her children.
Susan was always attracted to and dated emotionally aloof, unavailable men, more interested in appearance and success than her. She eventually married one of these men. They both worked a great deal, investing heavily in careers.
What Is Bilateral Stimulation?
Bilateral Stimulation takes the form of eye movements directed by the therapist. The eyes move across the center or dividing line running down the middle of the body.
This movement is done while the patient focuses on the issue in question—dual attention stimulation. The combination assists the brain to begin to effectively process the difficult information.
Does EMDR Involve Hypnosis or Medications?
EMDR is not hypnosis and does not involve the use of medications. It is non-invasive, facilitating a patient-therapist collaboration in which healing can happen effectively.
What Takes Place in Sessions?
The therapist will guide you through a series of steps, to include defining targets for change, verbal processing, bilateral stimulation, and needed assistance with blocks, as they arise.
Patients are fully conscious and in control throughout sessions, able to end them at any point they feel overwhelmed. Patients are not suggestible or able to be influenced as in hypnosis.
At The Relationship Center, we follow the researched and recommended eight treatment steps, as outlined by Dr. Francine Shapiro (the psychologist who developed EMDR). This allows us to offer the maximum benefit to our patients and maintain professional integrity.
How Long Are Sessions?
EMDR session durations are 90 minutes. At The Relationship Center, we schedule two-hour blocks of time with patients to allow for check-in and check-out procedures. An example of an appointment would be to schedule 1 p.m.-3 p.m., while the actual procedure is 90 minutes.
How Many Sessions Are Typical?
EMDR is much briefer than a traditional talk therapy. It is typical that work is accomplished within three to six sessions in many cases. However, there is no guarantee this will be the case for all patients. Those patients with more extensive trauma, especially repeated trauma experienced in childhood should expect their work to go beyond six sessions.
Who Developed EMDR?<
EMDR was discovered by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987. Dr. Shapiro observed the connection between eye movement and difficult emotions.
She found that specific eye movements could aid in lessening these troubling experiences. Since that point, EMDR has been thoroughly researched and developed. She has written books and continues to teach on the subject.
Her text “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, The Second Edition,” is an excellent source of information on the subject.
Shapiro, F. (2001). “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, 2nd edition,” N.Y.
REFERENCES
- Ramisch, J. (2012). Marriage and family therapists working with couples who have children with autism. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(2), 305-316. [1]
- Johnson, S. (1986). Bonds or bargains: Relationship paradigms and their significance for marital therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 12(3), 259-267. [2]
- Collins, N. L., & Feeney, B. C. (2004). An attachment theory perspective on closeness and intimacy. Handbook of closeness and intimacy, 163-187. [3]
- Married to a Man With Asperger’s Syndrome [5]
- Marriage to a Spouse With Aspergers Syndrome [6]
This article originally appeared here.
