i give my just-finished CBT an F.

i listened to a tape of myself reciting events from 9/11 for a half hour each day.

The result? Two weeks of nearly catatonic reaction.

Now my doc wants to try EMDR.

I\'m not so sure. Any advice would be appreciated.

I did EMDR. It is very intense. I had to be very kind to myself while I was with an
EMDR practitioner. But I found some relief with it. The important thing is to find a trained practitioner. There are some people who offer EMDR as a treatment, but they are not certified to use it. Find a competent EMDR practitioner. The only reason I stopped EMDR was that my practitioner moved out of the area and I live in the middle of nowhere so there are no others.

Hang in there.

Meow

well havent tryed it but it was recommendated to me. i live in county neighboring cleveland and there is not a whole lot of help out here even though im like oh 15 min from the city

I wasted years in CBT counseling. It's too lightweight for the problem of trauma, I think. I had a counselor make me read this 'Learn to be Happy' workbook. Like, as though it was something I could just change my mind about and then see that result in my life. So Ive been doing EMDR for maybe 6 months, with a really good specialist, and it's helped a lot. It can be very intense, and so for sure you have to be really kind to yourself and expect to be a little raw sometimes. Because the brain continues reprocessing those memories after each session. It does seem to accelerate the healing process, though. In my experience anyway.

CBT is not very helpful for me...I need to process my trauma...not get behavioral techniques to deal with all of this. Though, some techniques are good, and can be incorporated, but I want to talk and process it...

From a former therapist that did CBT...his daily motto he said in therapy a zillion times...
'Think to Feel'

That seems to be the basis of CBT...Think to Feel. If you can change the way you think, it will impact how you feel about it.

First, I can't 'FEEL' a darn thing...I am so emotionally numbed.

He made it sound like it was something to forget about, the trauma, and get on with life.

Sad thing, is my Aunt is seeing this same therapist...and he is leading her the WRONG WAY...she was abused physically/emotionally/verbally by her current hubby, and he even threatened to kill her...ALL When he was DRINKING.
NOW, he is telling her since he is sober, she cannot blame him anymore...and she is having PTSD symptoms. WTF is HE doing?? I am trying to clue her into the reality and get a new therapist, but he hones how he is the greatest thing on earth...WELL, I left his therapy, b/c he was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG about trauma/PTSD treatment.

Recommend Processing Therapy.

I have been in Cognitive Process Therapy. It has worked wonders for me. I have PTSD from an abusive marraige, and have completely shut down emotionally - unable to feel or express any feelings. I have been in pretty intense CPT for the last year, and in the past month had some significant breakthroughs. The most helpful is that my therapist gives me homeowrk - like writing a letter - to someone (most times that I don't mail) and then we process what was said in the letter. She is gifted in being able to pick out emotions that I can express but not feel. I have discovered that I have buried over 10 years of anger, and realizing and understanding that has allowed me to now be able to feel and express feelings that I forgot existed. It has been a very freeing experience.

is CBT similar to DBT? ...

I find it helpful for me becuase i have been abused and brainwashed for so long i do not know what is the 'right' way to live or think, i do and live as i have for all my abusive life.
So i am learning how to live day to day.

I can't explain it.

I am not sure about DBT?? I'd have to look that one up.

I know there are some members here that have done it...can ya'll chime in??

I had CBT therapy some 20years ago, with my ED..(but PTSD wasnt recognised or probably even understood) anyhow, It appeared to work on the surface, all my life moving forward always cancelling out the negative feelings/thoughts and replacing them with positives...I had to or I would have been frozen. Now 20 years later, I see that it only address the thoughts as you have them, it does not/nor cannot address or unlock the subconscious thoughts that are buried. So you are telling yourself all the positives but your physiology it totally working against you. So Im over the CBT stuff, and am now working with some EFT, gotta keep striving to unlock the traumas that have been locked into consciousness.

I think Jacinta articulated it very well.

I already have all the skills of positive thinking. I like 'em and they're great. Like Jacinta said, it doesn't stop the reaction.

People need to realize, reactions are instantaneous. The control we have is in regards to how we proceed once we react. With PTSD, those catecholamines (there's a post with that subject - for new people, if you do a search you can read about them) - anyway those catecholamines are in control and, whatever we choose, it's not enough to control them completely. I mean, seriously, if it was, we would ALL be well and not here.

I find that the people I have met with PTSD have excellent skills and use them well. Every day I see more and more differences between depression/anxiety and PTSD. I am surprised because I thought PTSD was a form of anxiety. But the more I learn, the less I see that. There may be symptoms of it, but they are not working the same. Certainly, the research on it shows the process in the brain is a WHOLE different ballgame.

Anyway, I want to learn more about EFT, simply because there do seem to be a lot of people claiming EMDR skills that do not actually have them.

Dais - DBT is used for borderline personality disorder a lot. It is about life skills, more or less. You probably have most of them. I found it useless because I knew all of it and TONS more that wasn't even addressed. Of course, the therapist was not very good (again) so who knows... :)

I'm on a waiting list (maybe three more months to go) for a DBT group that lasts over a year. My therapist who is helping in the ways of being very respectful and having lots of empathy, but not with the hair-trigger startle response, etc. recommended DBT. All the reviews from this group had five stars, I think. So although I was skeptical I put myself on the waiting list even though I have seen the book they use and already know all the methods they teach. Right now I am getting desperate for some effective help.

In about a month I have an appointment with a supposed super-specialist for medication and I'm feeling scared about that.

I tried CBT years ago. It does help to some extent. I have to watch my negative thoughts as they are deeply ingrained. I know the importance of turning negatives into positives.

But that's also the problem with CBT where PTSD is concerned. The thoughts are so deeply ingrained that replacing them with positives is like putting a band aid on a gushing wound.

I prefer processing my issues and working on finding better coping skills.

PTSD is much more complex than most mental health workers realize. We're still in the dark ages of understanding this disorder.

I've mostly helped myself with different things like meditation, counselling, self help books, and whatever came my way. One thing I return to over and over is the power of staying in the present in order to prevent slipping into negativity. I feel i have good communication skills and empathy for others and am still learning about my symptoms and realizing I am so different from non truamatized people that I need a ptsd community to live in.