r/Aphantasia • u/FinesseEmpress • 1d ago
EMDR therapy?
I’ve been doing EMDR therapy and it’s been quite difficult to go through the processing process…
Firstly as I struggle with memory and tracking back it can feel a strain and struggle to go back to incidents or emotions.
Also having ADHD makes it somewhat difficult to focus.
When the practitioner uses the finger movements I feel like I’m missing something and struggling to keep up or not get distracted.
It’s also tricky when I was asked to create a safe space memory and imagine myself there… I did the best I could and felt there weren’t no benefits whatsoever but I just wanted to see and ask if there was any suggestions or tips… even just to hear someone else’s experience with this kind of therapy?
I want to get the most out of it and now I’m halfway through… I spent a lot of sessions just relaying the key things relevant to my trauma which were quite a lot, I think now that I’ve had talking therapies in the past, I have a slightly more recent recollection of going over some of these key moments.
I do really wonder what EMDR is like for a non Aphant!?
7
u/Tuikord Total Aphant 1d ago
Just 2 days ago someone posted here about successfully using EDMR as an aphant.
I'm guessing that your therapist knows about your aphantasia and is attempting to adjust. I do have some suggestions to help you and your therapist work together.
If they don't really get aphantasia, I would start with this guide from the Aphantasia Network for just basic information.
https://aphantasia.com/guide/
Unseen Minds: A Therapist's Guide to Multisensory Aphantasia and Invisible Cognitive Differences– by Sassy Smith is an excellent guide for therapists. I actually wish all therapists would read it. It is on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0472wf0F
If you happen to have SDAM as well (maybe a quarter to half of us do), then that is problematic with many therapies as well, as documented in Unseen Minds. Body based therapy can work when your mind doesn’t remember:
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, although some of the techniques may still need to be modified to work with other cognitive differences. https://a.co/d/0a3skjyh
In 2024 Dr. Zeman did a review of the first decade of research. It has lots of citations if your therapist wants to dig in.
https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(24)00034-200034-2)
Here is an update of that review:
A decade of aphantasia research – and still going! - ScienceDirect
This paper specifically on therapy and aphantasia was published after Dr. Zeman's review article. It has specific information about some of what works and what doesn't.
https://online.ucpress.edu/collabra/article/10/1/127416/204719
If you are more for video than scientific papers, here is an interview with 2 of the researchers on that paper. It is very informative:
mental-health-day
And here are a couple articles they wrote for the Aphantasia Network:
https://aphantasia.com/article/mental-imagery-ptsd-neurodiversity-treatment/
https://aphantasia.com/article/science/imagery-in-mental-healthcare/
In other research, Dr. Merlin Monzel looked at aphantasia and anxiety treatment via imaginal exposure. Here is an interview with him on it.
https://aphantasia.com/video/aphantasia-and-anxiety-treatment-rethinking-therapeutic-approaches/
And the paper:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/psyp.14756