Published on 12, July, 2020
Is there anyone who could recommend that does EMDR for trauma and is qualified in autism I don't care about the cost I just know I need this therapy to fix my life so I'm not reliving the past everyday zoning out more and more as stress is building up more I'm distracted myself for years it's got to the point is draining me now.
Ellie b said:Is there anyone who could recommend that does EMDR for trauma and is qualified in autism
I would start with looking for your location in this site and looking through the list to find one that feels right before arrangng a trial session
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling
I'm curious why you specifically want EMDR ( Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing ) as I note it is not been reliably adapted to work for autists ( according to https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613221080254 )
In this online survey study, we asked 103 EMDR therapists about barriers they think autistic people face when trying to have EMDR and what adaptations they use in their everyday practice. Four barriers were highlighted: client-related characteristics, therapist-related characteristics, differences in the therapeutic relationship and broader issues. Therapists identified a range of adaptations that can potentially be useful for autistic people, relating to being flexible, communicating clearly and having an awareness of individual differences. Many therapists emphasised the importance of not making assumptions about a person based on their autism diagnosis. Overall, the study findings suggest adaptations to EMDR are likely to be useful, but how relevant they are depends on each person.
Looking through the services the UK therapists offer, EMDR us not even on the list as it is still so experimental.
Would the conventional approach for dealing with PTSD for autists not be more accessible and reliable for you?
EMDR is my last hope that's why and it describes exactly how my brain is with blocked unprocessed memories which cause ptsd in the first place I been suffering with it for years night terrors flash backs reliving like a video rewinded pause rewind I want to get out of this cycle once and for all break the negativity of being afraid of life.
Ellie b said:it describes exactly how my brain is with blocked unprocessed memories which cause ptsd in the first place
Can you tell us what techniques your therapist(s) have tried with you?
Most start with "unpacking" the experiences to understand what happened and the impact it had and then work on ways to accept it (since you cannot change it).
PTSD is a widespread issue for autists and there are many other techniques to deal with it which are established and widely practiced.
Looking more into EMDR gives me significant cause for concern:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing-therapy Despite numerous studies showing that the technique works for some patients, it has been highly controversial ever since it was introduced in 1987. No universally accepted theory has been put forth to explain how lateral eye movements are integral to the treatment. Further, the evidence is not clear that EMDR is superior to classic forms of exposure therapy,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_and_reprocessing The eye movements have been criticized as having no scientific basis. The founder promoted the therapy for the treatment of PTSD, and proponents employed untestable hypotheses to explain negative results in controlled studieshttps://www.psychology.org/resources/emdr-therapy/ Overall, the majority of meta-analytic studies (studies of studies) show inconclusive evidence
There is a lot of arguement over studies showing it is effective being funded by EMDR themselves while other organisations seem to support it.
This lack of clarity and evidence based approach would prevent me from trying this, especially as it needs to be modified to work for autists and of the few practitioners of it there are likely to be even fewer who understand our complex needs.
Good luck if you do choose this route and please let us know how you get on.
I have had CBT hypnosis an Austic counsellor she's who said I need to get treatment for cptsd quick it's already taking over my life I'm on psychologist list but the lady who ring me up says how u feeling no different to years ago when I first had my episode and psychosis episodes to I will never go bk on antipsycotoc tablets they put my health in danger they were wasting my muscle away once I had blood test at hospital medication just mask everything to fix what is going on in my head have to b brave and try EMDR I'm no worse off now and am on Sertaline 150g for GAD and Depression.