EMDR Treatment for Depression

 I'm fascinated by the idea of EMDR for depression and for many people also trauma. It's considered radical but effective, and exhausting, particularly for the process of working through trauma. 

A recent piece from Amend Treatment  does a nice job of laying out the elements of EMDR. Here is what they've outlined: 

https://amendtreatment.com/emdr-for-depression/

EMDR for Major Depressive Disorder: A Promising Path When Depression Is Rooted in Trauma

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects how you think, feel, and function. It’s persistent, often severe, and, for many, it doesn’t respond fully to talk therapy or medication alone.

That’s especially true when depression is linked to past trauma.

For those individuals, EMDR therapy, originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder—has emerged as a powerful option. At Amend Treatment, we use EMDR as part of a comprehensive residential program that treats both depression and its underlying causes. And we’re seeing the difference it makes when MDD isn’t just managed—but deeply understood.
 

What Is EMDR therapy?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that helps the brain “unstick” from distressing experiences. It uses guided eye movements or bilateral stimulation (like tapping or tones) while the person recalls specific memories, thoughts, or body sensations.

The goal? To help the brain reprocess difficult material so that it no longer overwhelms the nervous system or distorts a person’s core beliefs.

EMDR has long been recognized as a gold-standard treatment for trauma and PTSD. But in recent years, researchers have found it may also be highly effective for people living with Major Depressive Disorder, especially when:

• The depression is treatment-resistant
• The individual has a history of trauma or emotional neglect
• Standard approaches like CBT or medication haven’t been enough

 

Depression and Trauma: Often Intertwined

Depression isn’t always caused by trauma—but the two are often connected in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.
People who grow up in invalidating, neglectful, or abusive environments may not carry specific memories of trauma—but their nervous systems often adapt in ways that fuel depressive symptoms later in life: emotional numbness, low self-worth, chronic fatigue, or a persistent sense of hopelessness.

In fact, studies show that childhood trauma significantly increases the risk of developing MDD—and that individuals with trauma histories tend to have more severe and longer-lasting depression.

For this group, EMDR can offer something other therapies may not: a way to process the emotional residue of the past and move beyond survival mode.
 

What the Research Says About EMDR for Depression

Recent studies have found that:

• EMDR is at least as effective as CBT in reducing depressive symptoms—and often faster in effect.
• In Clients with both trauma and depression, EMDR tends to outperform traditional approaches.
• EMDR has been shown to lower relapse rates in depression, especially when trauma is a known factor.

A 2022 meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology found that EMDR produced significant and lasting reductions in depressive symptoms, even in clients who did not meet PTSD criteria. And in some residential treatment settings, EMDR has been used to unlock stubborn, treatment-resistant depression that hadn’t responded to other modalities.

Sears Running Shoe Video

I don't normally think of Sears for producing much in the way of fitness content.

In fact, not sure that they I've ever seen any from them but I but do like their video on running shoe selection:

With all the ruckus about barefoot running and mid-stride or whatever they call it when you land farther up on the foot more counsel on selecting running shoes is much needed.

Here's the link to the video at their site.

Would like to see more of this type of content from Sears on DIY Stuff now. Particularly about tree forts.

Mini Countryman challenges the Bull

I don't know if the Mini countryman is big enough for me and the kids but dang I like the stuff they do to promote them. I don't know why but this image of mini in front of the bull is perfect. Mini which is kind of anti-corporate in the heart of the greediness kind of winking at it all. nice image.

SPICE STATION Silverlake

I've been there. If you need spices you should go there. If you don't need spices I'd recommend another place.

Christmas wish lists 2009

If we kept a monthly tally of the phrases most often spoken to our kids, "What are your socks doing there?!" would probably win eleven times a year. But not in December, when "Put it on your Christmas list" would easily top the ledger.

The crush of pre-holiday commercials and resulting desire for toys and games (I don't need a Ph.D. in social science to find a causal link) is too much for most kids to bear. The suggestion to "Put it on your list," said with a lilt to underscore its subtext -- that a loving relative or perhaps Santa Claus, the ultimate wish-fulfiller, may deliver the goods at Christmas -- is a parent's best hope for maintaining some level of sanity.

Our boys have been compiling their lists for weeks. They've flipped through the Toys 'R' Us catalog a million times, scoured various websites (especially Lego.com) and narrowed the field of choices down to the most captivating.

In the old days, these lists would have been written in crayon. Well, it's not the old days anymore. We create Word docs to keep things a little tidier and make it simple to email the lists to aunts and uncles and grandmas across the country. Our nine year-old includes the price of each of his items with corresponding links to Amazon.com. (He conscientiously limits the number of big-ticket items on his list to one or two and always includes more books than toys or video games; he gets it.)

This year, we went one step further. We created a master document on Google Docs, enabling Aunt Maria in Brooklyn to make note of any item she has picked up and help Aunt Linda in Phoenix to avoid making a duplicate purchase. It's a gift registry, with Santa authorized to both view and edit.

In theory, it's a convenient and logical system. But after having implemented it, something doesn't feel quite right. It's as if our boys are getting married and are registered at Bed Bath & Beyond. It feels just a little mercenary. We have no expectations that they will get everything or even most things on their lists, and we offer them to our family in the spirit of helping them know what the boys like. It's a step toward efficiency, but perhaps a step away from what Linus would say is "...what Christmas is all about."

So, to help us feel just a bit more comfortable with it, we're going to send Santa a hard copy as well.

The dangers of televised golf

It's tough to watch golf on TV with young kids (in this case, boys) in the vicinity. Why? As Jack Donaghy said last year on 30 Rock, "This is my show, and once a week I rent it out to the good people of the erectile dysfunction companies." Viagra and Cialis are major sponsors of golf, an old guy sport tailor-made for their products. A couple of years ago these commercials were all innuendo. No more. You better have your remote in hand when Johnny Miller throws it to a break or else be prepared to explain what an erection is. Tough also because golf on the couch lends itself beautifully to a slide into a nap on the couch. A drowsy state of consciousness, brought on by beer or by the Greater Hartford Open, affects your awareness of the need to change channels.

And now there's a much bigger landmine. Thanks, Eldrick.

Update on Batter Blaster

So I did a post recommending batter blaster and about 14 minutes later they used some kind of social media magic to find me and offer us some free samples to give away to the Dadspin audience. We've seen giveaways before at blogs and find them tedious affairs but Batter Blaster seems good and goofy enough to qualify as something most of the dads or i guess moms who read us would like.

That means we're throwing a batter blaster party! Hopefully it won't be as sad an affair as Pops last birthday party. that was like a scene out of an early Christopher Walken movie. Sad ugly people sitting around drinking copious amounts of cheap, hard alcohol and the night ends with the inevitable gunplay.

Anyway, back on topic.

We had some batter blaster with the boys last weekend (see post below) and liked it something fierce and want our kind and graceful readers to get all fattened up on the juju of Batter Blaster.

So post into our comments section something you either like about pancakes or dislike about the lameness of Pops' posts and we'll pick five from the batch to get free batter blasters.

Now go and do likewise gents. Go and do likewise.