Her memories had chained her. EMDR gave her the key to freedom

The Problem: Trauma causing anxiety and panic
Tool Used: EMDR

Previously in Therapy Toolbox: Rikki came for treatment for a single-incident trauma. She’d had a kitchen fire and became crippled by panic and anxiety since. In the first installment (issue 696), Rikki learned about trauma and the brain, developed mindfulness practice, and learned panic-reducing strategies such as developing an imaginary safe space and other resourcing techniques. In the second installment (issue 713), Rikki learned about memory making, the basis of EMDR therapy, and practiced visualization and the EMDR eye movements.

The next week, Rikki came in determined.

“Abby, I’m ready. I practiced mindfulness, safe space, and deep breathing. I spoke to my husband about what I’ll need after this session for space and time to process if necessary, and I practiced my visualization. Let’s do this!”

I laughed. “You got it, Rikki. We can start today for sure. It’s great you’ve been so diligent in practicing all those strategies. First, though, how was your week in terms of your fire anxiety?”

“It was okay. When I cooked, I tried to visualize a successful outcome beforehand. And I think it helped. But I still have a knot in my stomach when I get near the stove. I just want to get back to normal.”

“Got it. It’s wonderful you’re back to cooking on the stove, even if it feels uncomfortable. Okay, let’s start the EMDR. Just remember: With EMDR, it’s the same rules as always. If there’s something you don’t want to talk about, or if you just want to take a break, it’s up to you.

“I’m going to move my hand back and forth, and I want you to stop me when you want. You can do it like this.” I put my hand out like a traffic cop to show her how to signal to me to stop. Rikki and I practiced EMDR on a smaller, less intense memory. For the first EMDR practice, it’s important to try something with a low level of distress. That way, you can get used to the EMDR process without becoming too flooded. Typically, I go chronologically with my clients, starting at their earliest memories and building up to the ones that cause the most distress.

Because Rikki came for a single incident, and she wanted the focus to only be healing this one, it was important that we at least try one “test run.” After we processed a low level, almost neutral memory (when she was cut off on line in the grocery store the other day), Rikki felt ready to go ahead with her target memory.

“Okay, Rikki, you want to target the memory of your kitchen fire. I’m going to ask you to do something a little different now. Just for a minute, imagine this whole event was a dream. If you had to go back into this dream, what would you need to feel safe?”

“A fire extinguisher… and my husband. My husband holding a fire extinguisher. Why are we doing this?”