In our office, (today virtually) we schedule a one-hour intake appointment where you (the client or caregiver) can provide information about the reasons for seeking therapy. In addition, you can provide pertinent background histories, such as developmental, trauma, work and social histories as needed.

We provide information about EMDR in that session, so that you can be fully informed about EMDR or other forms of treatment. Following that first appointment, we schedule three EMDR sessions (90-minute sessions for adults, or 60-minute sessions for children or adolescents). In those three sessions, we can determine whether EMDR is going be effective. EMDR is not a form of therapy where you have to attend for months and wonder if it is going to work.

If EMDR is effective, but therapy is not complete at the end of the three sessions, it continues until the desired results are achieved. If a person has been multiply traumatized, EMDR can still be effective, but it is likely to take a longer treatment plan than for a single trauma (just as going to the dentist with ten cavities would take longer than treating only one).

ASSESSMENT

Therapy begins with some kind of assessment process. The therapist gathers most of the information from interviews with you and your child. These may be done together or separately, but you always should be included in some way. A therapist occasionally may use a formal psychological test, but this does not mean you should expect one. Interviews, observations, and sometimes questionnaires usually provide enough information. Although the questions a therapist chooses to ask vary depending on his or her theoretical orientation, some are standard. You should expect to discuss your child's developmental history, specific descriptions of the problem you came to solve and its influential factors, and what you've tried before and what has or hasn't worked.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Some practitioners involve parents more than others, and styles of therapy change depending on the therapist's theoretical orientation. Whatever the orientation, however, the therapist should tell you something specific about your child's problem and what caused it, what concerns will be addressed and how, what channels of communication exist between the therapist and you, what your involvement will be, and if your involvement is minimal, why you won't be included in the therapy. You should expect your child to improve over time. If he or she doesn't, talk to the therapist to make sure you understand what the problems are and why therapy does not seem to be helping. Remember, you and the therapist are in a partnership for your children's best interests.

CONFIDENTIALITY LAWS

Confidentiality laws protect children as well as adults. For adults, your confidentiality is complete, except for three areas: homicide, suicide and/or child abuse. Your written permission is required for anything to be released to anyone else about you or your therapy (except in those three areas mentioned above). For children, if homicide, suicide and/or child abuse is suspected, the psychologist is mandated to report to authorities. Professionals involved in the child’s care, such as teachers or pediatricians must have permission from the parent(s) to obtain psychotherapy information about the child (even including whether the child is in therapy or not). Between your child and you, however, confidentiality about therapy is more of a judgment call.

Before you begin therapy, you should make sure that both you and your child understand how confidentiality applies in your child's therapy. If you and your child's other parent are both custodial parents but divorced or never married, you have equal rights to speak to the therapist about your child. In the case of single custody, however, the noncustodial parent must receive permission from the custodial parent to be involved in the therapeutic process in any way.

The effects of 3 90-min eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment sessions on traumatic memories of 80 participants were studied. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment or delayed-treatment conditions and to 1 of 5 licensed therapists trained in EMDR. Participants receiving EMDR showed decreases in presenting complaints and in anxiety and increases in positive cognition. Participants in the delayed-treatment condition showed no improvement on any of these measures across the 30 days before treatment, but after treatment participants in the delayed-treatment condition showed similar effects on all measures. The effects were maintained at 90-day follow-up.

The present study is a 15-month follow-up of the effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy on the functioning of 66 participants, 32 of whom were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prior to treatment. PTSD participants improved as much as those without the diagnosis, with both groups maintaining their gains at 15 months. At 15-month follow-up, the three 90-min sessions of EMDR previously administered (S. A. Wilson, L. A. Becker, & R. H. Tinker, 1995) produced an 84% reduction in PTSD diagnosis and a 68% reduction in PTSD symptoms. The average treatment effect size was 1.59; the average reliable change index was 3.37. Implications of the maintenance of EMDR treatment effects are discussed.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be effective for treating posttraumatic stress disorder, but its efficacy as a stress management tool for normal individuals in highly stressful occupations has not been demonstrated. Sixty-two police officers were randomly assigned to either EMDR or a standard stress management program (SMP), each consisting of 6 hours of individualized contact. At completion, officers in the EMDR condition provided lower ratings on measures of PTSD symptoms, subjective distress, job stress, and anger; and higher marital satisfaction ratings than those in SMP. The effects of EMDR were maintained at the 6-month follow-up, indicating enduring gains from a relatively brief treatment regimen for this subclinical sample of officers who were experiencing some level of stress from their Job.

Tinker, R., Wilson, S., & Becker, L. (1997, July). Treatment of phantom limb pain with EMDR: two videotaped case studies with pre and post measures. Presentation at the 2nd EMDR International Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Tinker, R. H., Wilson, S. A. (1999). Through the Eyes of a Child: EMDR with Children. New York: W. W. Norton & Company

Wilson, S. A., Tinker, R. H., Becker, L. A., Hofmann, A., & Cole, J. W. (2000, September). EMDR treatment of phantom limb pain with brain imaging (MEG). Paper presented at the annual meeting of the EMDR International Association, Toronto.

Tinker, R.H. (2008). The Use of EMDR with Motor Vehicle Accident Victims. Conference Report regarding EMDR treatment of 108 consecutive MVA injured victims. EMDR International Conference, 2008, Phoenix, USA.

EMDR Therapist in Colorado Springs, CO

Specializing in EMDR

Your Child's Therapy

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