EMDR therapy for victims of abuse: What it is and how it work?

Geaton777 thank you! I'm a bit of a research nut so that's not a problem. That is a great idea. I am actually a part of my communities Nextdoor although I haven't been on or participated with it in quite some time. Thanks again for all the great information!

BartleyLove, so glad you found it useful! I wish you all the best as you pursue it. Make sure you do your research to find a reputable and recommended therapist.

The website just describes what EMDR therapy is. I would search online locally for yourself. You may want to consider posting for recommendations on Nextdoor.com, which an intranet of non-anonymous people who live in your actual neighborhood (and surrounding communities, if you expand the search option).

Thank you for creating this thread Geaton777, this has so much really good information. It was really neat to read how well this therapy has worked for so many people who have suffered from abuse. I've heard of this therapy before but have never tried it but because of this thread I'm going to look into it further. I'll definitely check out the website you listed.
I've been going to regular therapy for years but I'd love to try this as well.

EMDR does work, well, in dealing with past parental abuse. I had buried all memories of childhood abuse (along with most memories about my childhood) until I had a baby of my own. Developed persistent depression with anxiety, medication and talk therapy helped some......but no real change. EMDR reprocessing of memories (to help me see how small I was, to help me express my fear and my anger at how I was treated, etc) helped me to step out of the victim role and entrenched patterns of behavior with my family.
Not sure it would be a good idea to do it while also caring for abusive parent on a daily basis.....or if parent lives with you. Could be overwhelming, then.

My youngest daughter was in an abusive relationship during college. She ended up getting a restraining order against him. She did EMDR therapy afterwards. It definitely helped her.

Geaton, what an interesting project. Right now I’m almost done listening to an audiobook of The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD. He talks about a lot of different therapies he’s tried over the years trying to help traumatized people effectively and speaks very highly of EMDR.

Good for you and your friend for getting the word out about this treatment!

Midkid58, I'm so pleased about your success with EMDR!

EMDR was nothing short of a miracle for me.

Painful, b/c you literally have to live through the initial triggers that gave you PTSD at the start--and I'd have a session and cry through the whole thing...

BUT--after quite a few session, working through past abuse by an OB, I was able to put the 'fear' (for lack of a better word) in it's place and I no longer am a victim of the past.

You need to have a therapist you TRUST implicitly, b/c you will go to places you don't want to go--and you need to have and open mind about it.

My therapist brought up using EMDR for about a year before I was OK to try it.

I'm not perfect, for sure, but so, so, so much better than I was.