Posted05.12.24
Jecs’ experience of EMDR therapy
In July 2023, Jecs moved into Palmer House, one of our adult services in Croydon. Shortly after, they began EMDR therapy with Neetu from our health and wellbeing team. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a transformative trauma treatment. It uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. This allows individuals to experience them as past events rather than present threats.
“I’d been in talking therapy before, but I didn’t find it helpful. I knew where my issues came from, I just struggled to process them. CBT can sometimes be done in just one session, but EMDR requires multiple sessions to complete the process.
Initially, Neetu worked with me on tracking significant events from my life, which involved writing them down. This really helped clear my mind, although it was difficult to think through everything. I ended up filling five pages, which made me realise how much I still needed to work through. It also helped me recognise things I hadn’t thought about in years.
After that, we moved into grounding techniques to help me feel safe and prepared, as EMDR can be emotionally intense. We spent about four to five sessions on this before actually starting the EMDR process.
Neetu introduced different techniques for EMDR, such as the butterfly technique where you tap your chest, and another one where she moves her fingers left to right, which I had to follow with my eyes. My preferred technique was tapping my knees, as it kept me less distracted, especially with my ADHD.
In our first session, Neetu asked me to choose a situation that was about a five on a scale from one to ten—something impactful but not too overwhelming. Since then, the sessions have been going well, and I’ve been able to process a lot of things.
EMDR isn’t about making the emotions go away, but about not letting those emotions control or dictate me. For instance, when I think about a situation at the start of a session, it might be a five or seven in intensity, but by the end, it’s reduced to a three. It doesn’t mean the memory goes away, but it’s less impactful, which allows me to regain more control over myself. Some things will always have emotional weight, as they’re part of my experiences.
During the sessions, I close my eyes and focus on the memory Neetu asks me to bring up. She asks how it makes me feel, what I see, and how intense it is. She also tracks how deeply I’m engaging with the memory using a scale. I’ve never gotten too deep into it, though—I’ve always been aware of what I’m thinking and saying.
For people with PTSD or complex PTSD, like me, certain triggers can cause physical reactions, such as my seizures. Neetu helped me realise that when you go through a lot, you bury your feelings just to keep going, but through therapy, I’ve been able to safely bring those feelings up in a controlled way.
The goal is to reduce the seizures in the long run, which I hope will happen. My seizures are usually triggered by something specific, though sometimes they happen randomly. It’s usually a build-up of stress, and although I try to use coping skills to prevent the seizure, once I feel it coming on, I know it’s inevitable. I’m hoping that by processing as many memories as possible through therapy, it will reduce the triggers or make them less intense.
After the sessions, I usually feel tired —your brain continues to process things after the session. Often, I’ll realise things later, like when I’m walking home or just sitting at home. But I always feel good after the sessions, never negative or overwhelmed.
Through this process, I’ve come to understand how my brain works better, and Neetu’s approach really helps me navigate through it all. She genuinely cares about helping me in the best way possible, which is why she’s amazing at what she does.
When someone like Neetu comes in, she literally rehabilitates people. She helps them feel human again, addressing issues they may never have realised they needed to face. Neetu’s work is life-changing—1,000%.”
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