EMDR SESSION
This session was not recorded, neither video nor audio. It was transcribed from memory as close to verbatim as possible. It was shared with the patient for review of content and permission to share. Personal and identifying information has been removed. Please note: the actual processing component to our session took LESS THAN 30 MINUTES, and helped alleviate his pain that he endured for 15 years.
History: Fifteen years ago, at approximately age 23, Patient (Pt) was on a police ride along as he was planning on joining the police academy. A call came in for a car accident. He could tell by the sound of the voices over the radio and in the front seat that the accident “was really bad”. Upon arrival, his friend exited the vehicle and evaluated the accident scene. He told pt to stay in the car. Pt feels he was curious and “could handle it”. What he witnessed would stay with him for the next 15 years. A young child and her mother were in a head on collision, with impact so severe it caused both passengers to break through the windshield and become decapitated at the waist. He continued to have nightmares about this scene and the “empty stare” of the child’s eyes.
During this session he reports he has not slept in two weeks and has been having a recurring nightmare that this child is in his daughter’s nursery and sitting at a table with a tea party set, waiting for him.
Patient (Pt), Therapist (Tx)
Tx: Does she say anything to you?
Pt: “She said I shouldn’t be there”. (**I misunderstood this comment as HE should not be there. Only later in the processing do I learn she said SHE herself should not be there**)
Tx: Can you go back into the nightmare?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: What do you see?
Pt: I am in my daughter’s nursery and there is a table with a tea set on it. The little girl from the accident is sitting at the table.
Tx: What does she look like?
Pt: No expression, covered in dry blood, same gaze in her eyes as that night.
Tx: What is she saying to you?
Pt: That she should not be there.
Tx: Where does she want to be?
Pt: I don’t know. She does not want to be there.
Tx: Tell her to go home and leave this room.
Pt: She won’t leave.
Tx: Why?
Pt: She says that I’m not ready for her to leave.
Tx: You need to let her go.
Pt: I can’t.
Tx: Why not? She is not your little girl.
Pt: I can’t let her go.
Tx: You need to.
Pt: I can’t. but she wants me to let her go. (starts to cry)
Tx: Tell her it’s ok to go.
Pt: She wants to go.
Tx: Let her go. She is not your baby girl! Take her by the hand and lead her out of the room.
Pt: She is walking by my daughter’s crib.
Tx: What is she doing?
Pt: She is looking inside. She said “your daughter’s lucky”. (cries more)
Tx: Lead her out of the room. Let me know when you’re out.
Pt: The room is emptying out.
Tx: Her nursery is? All the furniture is gone?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: Ok. It’s okay to leave. Let me know when you are out.
Pt: I’m outside.
Tx: In the hallway? Outside of the room?
Pt: No, outside. I am laying in the grass. I can breathe again! I haven’t breathed in so long. I can feel the sunshine beating on me and I can feel the grass.
Tx: How does the sunshine feel?
Pt: Warm. I hear a voice.
Tx: What is it saying?
Pt: It’s not the little girl. It’s another voice.
Tx: What is it saying?
Pt: “Thank you” over and over.
Tx: It may be her mother.
Pt: I think it is.
Tx: You let her go back to her mother. You have been holding on to this sweet baby for so long. She deserves to be with her mother.
Pt: I know that and I don’t know why I was holding on to her.
Tx: Because you cared about her and felt bad for her, but she is not your baby and deserves to be with her mother.
Pt: I keep hearing that voice saying “Thank you”.
Tx: You did a good thing for that little girl.
Pt: I know.
Tx: I need you to go back into that room. Let me know when you’re there.
Pt: I’m in there.
Tx: Is the furniture back?
Pt: Yes. It looks like it does now.
Tx: Ok. Is the table and the tea set still there?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: Who is sitting-
Pt: (Name removed) –his daughter- is sitting there. She wants me to sit down.
Tx: Ok.
Pt: She is talking to me. Is that weird she is talking since she isn’t old enough to talk yet?
Tx: What is she saying?
Pt: “You’re too big Daddy”.
Tx: She will say that to you someday. Get used to it. How are you feeling being there?
Pt: Happy.
(Turned off vibrating tappers).
Tx: How are you feeling?
Pt: I feel like sandbags have been lifted off my chest. I can finally breathe.
Tx: You look emotionally drained.
FOLLOW UP ONE WEEK LATER:
Tx: So, the session was pretty intense. How did you sleep that night?
Pt: Once I fell asleep I was dead to the world. I had another dream, not a nightmare, twice since the last session. The first was the night after the session and the night before last.
Tx: What was the dream about?
Pt: I was back in the nursery and the tea party set is there, but the table is different. (Daughter-name removed) is sitting there across from me and I keep looking over to my right, where the little girl was. My daughter asks me if I’m ok and why I keep looking over there.
Tx: What do you say?
Pt: I tell her I’m ok.
Tx: Maybe you miss the little girl in some way, since you held on to her for so many years? Maybe you are saddened by her absence.
Pt: I don’t think I’m really sad about her being gone. I think I’ve just always felt guilty about it.
**** Please note, a month after these sessions, patient has not had any thoughts, flashbacks or nightmares about this incident. Remember, he processed this event in one session. ****
This session was not recorded, neither video nor audio. It was transcribed from memory as close to verbatim as possible. It was shared with the patient for review of content and permission to share. Personal and identifying information has been removed. Please note: the actual processing component to our session took LESS THAN 30 MINUTES, and helped alleviate his pain that he endured for 15 years.
History: Fifteen years ago, at approximately age 23, Patient (Pt) was on a police ride along as he was planning on joining the police academy. A call came in for a car accident. He could tell by the sound of the voices over the radio and in the front seat that the accident “was really bad”. Upon arrival, his friend exited the vehicle and evaluated the accident scene. He told pt to stay in the car. Pt feels he was curious and “could handle it”. What he witnessed would stay with him for the next 15 years. A young child and her mother were in a head on collision, with impact so severe it caused both passengers to break through the windshield and become decapitated at the waist. He continued to have nightmares about this scene and the “empty stare” of the child’s eyes.
During this session he reports he has not slept in two weeks and has been having a recurring nightmare that this child is in his daughter’s nursery and sitting at a table with a tea party set, waiting for him.
Patient (Pt), Therapist (Tx)
Tx: Does she say anything to you?
Pt: “She said I shouldn’t be there”. (**I misunderstood this comment as HE should not be there. Only later in the processing do I learn she said SHE herself should not be there**)
Tx: Can you go back into the nightmare?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: What do you see?
Pt: I am in my daughter’s nursery and there is a table with a tea set on it. The little girl from the accident is sitting at the table.
Tx: What does she look like?
Pt: No expression, covered in dry blood, same gaze in her eyes as that night.
Tx: What is she saying to you?
Pt: That she should not be there.
Tx: Where does she want to be?
Pt: I don’t know. She does not want to be there.
Tx: Tell her to go home and leave this room.
Pt: She won’t leave.
Tx: Why?
Pt: She says that I’m not ready for her to leave.
Tx: You need to let her go.
Pt: I can’t.
Tx: Why not? She is not your little girl.
Pt: I can’t let her go.
Tx: You need to.
Pt: I can’t. but she wants me to let her go. (starts to cry)
Tx: Tell her it’s ok to go.
Pt: She wants to go.
Tx: Let her go. She is not your baby girl! Take her by the hand and lead her out of the room.
Pt: She is walking by my daughter’s crib.
Tx: What is she doing?
Pt: She is looking inside. She said “your daughter’s lucky”. (cries more)
Tx: Lead her out of the room. Let me know when you’re out.
Pt: The room is emptying out.
Tx: Her nursery is? All the furniture is gone?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: Ok. It’s okay to leave. Let me know when you are out.
Pt: I’m outside.
Tx: In the hallway? Outside of the room?
Pt: No, outside. I am laying in the grass. I can breathe again! I haven’t breathed in so long. I can feel the sunshine beating on me and I can feel the grass.
Tx: How does the sunshine feel?
Pt: Warm. I hear a voice.
Tx: What is it saying?
Pt: It’s not the little girl. It’s another voice.
Tx: What is it saying?
Pt: “Thank you” over and over.
Tx: It may be her mother.
Pt: I think it is.
Tx: You let her go back to her mother. You have been holding on to this sweet baby for so long. She deserves to be with her mother.
Pt: I know that and I don’t know why I was holding on to her.
Tx: Because you cared about her and felt bad for her, but she is not your baby and deserves to be with her mother.
Pt: I keep hearing that voice saying “Thank you”.
Tx: You did a good thing for that little girl.
Pt: I know.
Tx: I need you to go back into that room. Let me know when you’re there.
Pt: I’m in there.
Tx: Is the furniture back?
Pt: Yes. It looks like it does now.
Tx: Ok. Is the table and the tea set still there?
Pt: Yes.
Tx: Who is sitting-
Pt: (Name removed) –his daughter- is sitting there. She wants me to sit down.
Tx: Ok.
Pt: She is talking to me. Is that weird she is talking since she isn’t old enough to talk yet?
Tx: What is she saying?
Pt: “You’re too big Daddy”.
Tx: She will say that to you someday. Get used to it. How are you feeling being there?
Pt: Happy.
(Turned off vibrating tappers).
Tx: How are you feeling?
Pt: I feel like sandbags have been lifted off my chest. I can finally breathe.
Tx: You look emotionally drained.
FOLLOW UP ONE WEEK LATER:
Tx: So, the session was pretty intense. How did you sleep that night?
Pt: Once I fell asleep I was dead to the world. I had another dream, not a nightmare, twice since the last session. The first was the night after the session and the night before last.
Tx: What was the dream about?
Pt: I was back in the nursery and the tea party set is there, but the table is different. (Daughter-name removed) is sitting there across from me and I keep looking over to my right, where the little girl was. My daughter asks me if I’m ok and why I keep looking over there.
Tx: What do you say?
Pt: I tell her I’m ok.
Tx: Maybe you miss the little girl in some way, since you held on to her for so many years? Maybe you are saddened by her absence.
Pt: I don’t think I’m really sad about her being gone. I think I’ve just always felt guilty about it.
**** Please note, a month after these sessions, patient has not had any thoughts, flashbacks or nightmares about this incident. Remember, he processed this event in one session. ****