July 30 12:45 p.m. | Updated Dr. Shapiro responds to additional reader questions about E.M.D.R. and fibromyalgia, memories of child abuse, the costs and length of treatment, controversies surrounding the treatment, whether its effective for sexual…
This week, Dr. Shapiro joins the Consults blog to answer readers’ questions about E.M.D.R. She is a senior research fellow at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., director of the EMDR Institute, and founder of the nonprofit EMDR…
Research by doctoral candidate Claire Stramrood and her colleagues of the Netherlands was published in the March, 2012 edition of Birth, The Patient Observer: Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress…
There is a lack of specific empirical research to support the safety or lack of safety about incorporating EMDR into a trauma treatment plan for a pregnant woman. However, there are many experienced trauma clinicians who work weekly in their…
One of the hurdles they face is a lack of belief that PTSD is curable. Many veterans simply don't believe this is possible. Yet there are many studies showing the value of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) approaches such as those used at…
Justification for the DVA/DoD's designation of EMDR as a highly recommended treatment, included a randomized controlled trial of EMDR in 1998 with Vietnam combat veterans demonstrating that 77 percent of veterans no longer had PTSD diagnosis after 12…
A lot of VAs do offer EMDR these days, and it works for many people. Processing the trauma may only be the beginning of recovery, however, if you grew up in a home where there was a war between men and women. EFT offers the chance to make your home a…
A few weeks ago an article in the Scientific American Twitter stream caught my eye. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) once again debuted as a “promising new treatment” for PTSD. EMDR, which has been repeatedly called “promising”…
I wasn't unscathed. My energy was sapped for weeks. I went to a followup medical appointment, then had to rest in my car for an hour, then got some breakfast, then rested again before driving home. A therapist specializing in EMDR for trauma helped…
The need to regulate your own responses cannot be overstated. Your anger, depression or anxiety can cause lifelong problems for your children. Remember, just because negative reactions emerge does not make them true or useful. Self-help techniques…
At the time of this writing in mid-2012, there has been notable progress in terms of increased opportunities for DoD clinicians to obtain EMDR training and ensuring military beneficiary access to EMDR therapy, however the Military Health System has…
Self-help techniques can often do the trick and may make it possible to deal with negative emotions, images and thoughts that arise. For instance, here's one from my book, Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques…
Yes, the mirror does lie! Sometimes we actually are “fat heads.” That’s when being fat is in our brains, not our bodies. No matter how much weight we lose, it doesn’t seem like enough. But, it isn't your fault! It's just how our minds work. [Excerpt]
If the pain does not change over time, it’s important to reach out for professional help to process and resolve the divorce experience, such as seeing an EMDR specialist. Ultimately, the goal is for you to let go of the past and proceed into a life…
When Politics Trumps Science in Military Mental Health Care In January 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the DVA's indefensible decision to limit veterans' access to two of its homegrown PTSD treatments --Prolonged…
Recently, readers of the Consults blog posed questions about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or E.M.D.R., a psychological therapy pioneered by Francine Shapiro that uses eye movements and other procedures to process traumatic memories.…
This week, readers of the Consults blog posed questions about eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or E.M.D.R., a psychological therapy pioneered by Francine Shapiro that uses eye movements and other procedures to process traumatic…
We've all heard the phrase "life is suffering." Unfortunately, some people misinterpret this to mean there is nothing they can do about their unhappiness. Everyday fears can range from minor anxieties to an intense fear of things that can often be…
What are effective treatments for chronic pain? Due to the multi-dimensional aspects of pain, a number of treatment approaches have been used. They take into account the cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, and physical aspects of pain.…
Incorporating an evidence-based model of psychotherapy such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps resolves the reactivity. It assists both parties in reclaiming their lives. Recently, after completing treatment, a veteran said…
So, the bottom line is that whether your personal problem seems big or small, there is a likelihood that unprocessed memories are at work. The unconscious isn't really such a murky place after all. It's simply cause-and-effect reactions that you can…
Many veterans never dreamed of needing help coping with life following combat deployments. While the impact of surviving in a combat zone has left many veterans seeking help in overcoming posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there have been…
Media and official reports on prevalence rates of military war stress injury have focused almost exclusively on escalating rates of well-known war stress injuries such as PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety, substance abuse, and traumatic brain…
When I first began to develop EMDR therapy back in 1987, I experimented with everyone who was willing to volunteer. I'd ask: Do you have anything bothering you? Not surprisingly, everyone had something. Whether it was a problem at work or a fight at…
If we look carefully, we can see that many of these fathers displayed signs of what we know now is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It didn't help that PTSD wasn't even listed as a diagnosis until 1980. But the fact that war experiences were…
It's important to remember that there are different types of treatments being used for veterans. There are three evidence-based models of psychotherapy that have been deemed efficacious as a category "A" (top rating) in the treatment of adult trauma.…
Since 2004, EMDR has been recognized by the DVA and DoD as a top evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders according to their own clinical practice guidelines. With high rates of mental health stigma in the military, EMDR has the…
