EMDR Therapy After a Difficult Call
“I don’t know if I want to do this job anymore.”
We hear this phrase from medics, firefighters, and other first responders who land in our office after the tragic death of a young child or a dreadful run that pushes them to their breaking point. They contemplate the reality and responsibility of serving the community while the repeated trauma exposures echo in one’s soul for days, weeks, and sometimes years to come.
For so long, fire culture accepted what inherently comes with the job. “Some people are cut out for it, and some are not.” This is true, but there is evidence that a career in fire and emergency medical services (EMS) can prosper without relinquishing a responder’s quality of life and wellbeing.
Trauma accumulates
What a first responder sees, touches, smells, hears, and tastes on every shift is stored in the brain and body in some way. Most of the details from a typical tour process naturally and are adaptively logged in one’s memory, meaning those occurrences cause little to no disturbance after a few days.
However, some experiences inevitably become “stuck” in the brain’s memory networks and can negatively impact every aspect of life. That may or may not show up in a way that directly ties to the traumatic event. A firefighter might shut down or have an intense reaction to noisy kids or clutter that is out of proportion to what is currently happening at home. Unknowingly to the responder and his or her family, the past can induce this response.
Early intervention can help prevent the progression of post trauma symptoms for emergency responders and offset the pile up of traumatic exposures
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a specialized, evidence-based form of trauma therapy facilitated by an EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) trained and licensed therapist who is ideally culturally competent in working with fire and emergency service members. For a glimpse of how this treatment is utilized, with his permission and all identifiers removed.
This is John’s story
John has an undisputedly respectable career that spans decades. He grew up in a fire family and knew very well what he was getting into when he began his career. He is a competent, experienced leader. Like most busy paramedics, he has his share of bad calls, gruesome accidents, and utterly evil death scenes. After hearing success stories from others, he started counseling to address a particular call from years prior that continued to intrude into his thoughts at times. Once EMDR was utilized in professional counseling, John noted significant improvement when presently reminded of the call from years ago. He can remember the incident without intense disturbance or discomfort.
In first responder professions, situations involving harm to children are often the most difficult to process. After experiencing such a call from years ago, John now has his own child. He attends therapy monthly to maintain his emotional wellness and process the dynamics of his supervisory roles and responsibilities.
Then the next call happens
Regardless of how much he determines to be okay, a recent incident involving a child who resembles and feels the same in his hands as his own child, wrecks his emotional fortitude. Work and home collide. In his attempts to rest and reset at home, being near to his own, much-loved child triggers raw, vivid, physical reminders of providing lifesaving interventions for the very young patient.
Fortunately for John, he no longer has to suppress or numb. He has access to relief through a healthy, direct approach. He reaches out to his therapist, explains what happened, and is in the counseling office the next day.
In EMDR therapy, change in emotion, cognition, and level of disturbance is self-evaluated by the client on a scale of 0-10 through a measure called Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD). When asked for his current SUD regarding the recent call, he looked as if he could figuratively punch somebody in the face for asking, because for him it is an obvious 10. He is well resourced from recent EMDR therapy and ready to take on this level of disturbance. The desensitization phase involves John recalling in his mind the incident while holding handheld tappers that create alternating bilateral stimulation (BLS) through vibrations from the left to right hand with only periodic, minimal verbal exchange with one’s therapist.
In two sessions, John’s SUD decreased to 3, and at the follow-up session a month later, he described no disturbance when recollecting the incident. Addressing the call soon after it occurs improves John’s quality of life and positively impacts and insulates the experiences of his family members as well. He can thrive in his roles as a father and husband and lead his team well at work.
Not every critical incident is addressed this quickly, but many are. Experiencing a more distant view of the call or memory, decrease in the intensity of reactions when reminders of the incident resurface, and overall improvement in mood, sleep quality, and resiliency are typical responses to EMDR. Pushing through the stigma, fear, and unknown to find a therapist who really “gets it” provides the opportunity to exchange numbness, irritability, and the generational impact of trauma for the ability to be fully present, calm, and have an improved understanding of oneself.
Most first responders who utilize EMDR wish they had sought help sooner and encourage their colleagues to regularly maintenance their mental health throughout their careers
EMDR Early Intervention can rapidly reduce post trauma impacts and symptoms. Standard protocols in EMDR can also address childhood trauma, past career impacts, and retirement transitions. First responders are worthy of protection and deserve access to competent professionals grateful to come to their aid. To know more about EMDR and Begin Counseling, please contact us.
