Guest Blog by Amelia
[Amelia is the pen name of an EMDR therapy client of Dr. Sandra Paulsen, pioneer of new EMDR protocols for developmental trauma/early trauma (ET). Amelia graciously provided this blog to inspire others to seek healing. Again, please let's carefully research Neurofeedback, EMDR and other treatments before deciding what's best for us –kb]
In 2013 I began working with Sandra Paulsen, PhD. I am very grateful for the early childhood trauma (ET) work we did. It was a stunning process that gave me understanding and resolution of significant traumas. I learned to understand “ego states” and gained a view of the numerous parts of me that acted as protectors throughout my life. The use of “the conference room” was difficult and surprising at first, but with Dr. Paulsen’s encouragement and compassion for “the little one” inside me, it quickly became easier for me to imagine a conference room in which I could see “parts of my self” sitting around a table.
We worked intensively in long sessions often using EMDR therapy. The tappers were scary sometimes, but became easier for me to tolerate; they create a mild, alternating bilateral vibration and can be held. [EMDR therapy for ET may tap on alternate feet or other areas away from the face, rather than moving a finger before the eyes as in Francine Shapiro’s original EMDR therapy. -kb]
Initially, I learned to ground myself in the present where I felt safe. Within a short time, I was able recognize parts of self in the conference room, an imaginal place in my mind’s eye where different aspects, or parts, of myself could come to help us understand and access trauma memories. The process revealed difficult memories that enabled me to understand “the why” of my lifelong struggle with confusing fear, along with the “why” I felt a need to isolate myself from family and friends.
At the end of each session. the content of our work was consciously set aside in an imaginal “vault” in the conference room until next time. I envisioned my memories and feelings floating down a stream into a large container that held them tightly (the vault). After most sessions, despite my recall of terrifying memories, anger, and tears, I felt relief. Thinking of those sessions now, I’m amazed by the sense of safety I felt with Dr. Paulsen.
Read more: http://attachmentdisorderheali...m/emdr-early-trauma/
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