Thank you for your great summary of EMDR. We need to publicize successful cases of recovery so we can elevate the trust of the larger population.
Would you happen to know if there are any successful experiences of using EMDR for people suffering from psychosis? I would think it is almost impossible for such individuals to go through a meaningful planning process with the therapist.
Are you familiar with the work of Paul William Miller? He has written a book about using EMDR on people diagnosed with “schizophrenia.” I have not read the book yet, but I would be interested to know your perspective based on your experience.
I am very familiar with Transpersonal psychology, spiritual emergency and the works of Grof & Grof, and I refer to their thesis in my book. However, my daughter’s situation is far more complex than that. My book is a theological book, and looks at the experience of psychosis thru that lens. My daughter’s conversion experience had nothing to do with her illness. The conversion took place two years before her illness began. Of course her conversion was the beginning of her journey with God, and undoubtedly, the way she experienced the illness had a lot to do with her relationship with God.
I hate to sound like I am promoting my book, but there is so little written on theological aspects of “Schizophrenia,” that I think those of us who have dedicated our life research to the topic may have something worth pondering on.
BTW- I put quotation around the word “schizophrenia,” not because the illness is not real, but I disagree with how psychiatry categorizes it and defines it.
Great article! Thank you very much! I wish more people had the courage to talk about this topic. We could save a lot of pain and suffering for a lot of people. As a researcher and a mother of a person diagnosed with “schizophrenia” I am in 100% agreement with you. I have shared my research and personal perspective on the topic in my book, A Theological Interpretation of Mental Illness. We have also started a program in our church to help the families of those suffering from madness. We are in early stages, but we are seeing confirmation of the research that you have noted in almost every case. It is amazing what a difference it makes when the families are enlightened about the root of the problem!
Look forward to reading your follow up segments.
Dear pencilect, I am so sorry for what you’ve been through. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your experience with us. What an ordeal! I am grateful that you are well enough to look back and know that God has been with you all along. May your future days be filled with love, health and grace!
My dear Shereesberries,
I am speechless! I wish I could jump through my laptop and hug you and hold you in my arms. You’ve been through hell. I can’t find the words that would be comforting enough, because your pain is bigger than words can reach. Nevertheless I try! We worship an amazing God. He is awesome, full of grace and lovingkindness. Those who have abused their calling in ministry under God’s banner will be held accountable. But our hope is in God, not in fallen human beings, who themselves are blind beings trying to help other blinds. As Jesus said, “they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matt.15:14). You have endured the greatest pain any parent may endure. I pray that God’s grace, wisdom, presence and light would fill the life of your family. I pray for His healing touch upon your soul, your husband’s and your children’s. Let’s pray for the church to wake up! I have witnessed God’s miracle with my own eyes in Helia’s life. Miracles do happen! Many blessings to you!
Thank you for your kind words. I take no credit for this! If it were not for God’s grace I would’ve given up a long time ago. The true hero in this drama is Helia who blesses me everyday with her faith, endurance, and resilience.
She had a vision of Jesus while she was a sophomore in college. The vision was very overwhelming and led to her conversion and a dramatic change in her life (for the better).
Thank You Sa! Yes, Helia was already at home and under private psychiatric care. At the time she was seen by a psychiatrist who was quite caring and perplexed about Helia’s case. Thus, when we decided to stop her medication, though he advised against it, he let us try it and see if we get better results. She was catatonic for about 2 years after we stopped the medication. It was very tempting to give up in moments of despair, but by God’s grace, we continued hoping and persevering, and one day she rose up.
As far as strategies to avoid future hospitalization, I pray a lot!!!! That is my greatest fear! However, moving to a country setting has been a blessing, because the opportunities for conflict are reduced. We have also worked hard at building relationships with local police and our immediate neighbors.
I am so sorry about what your daughter and your family have been enduring. I know too well what it can do to a family when a loved one gets entangled into the dysfunctional system of care we have here in the US. I admire your patience, endurance, and love to stand up by your daughter and speak out on her behalf. In our case, we finally moved to a country setting to give Helia more space, more freedom, and to let her be in touch with nature. Life has been much easier and more pleasant for her and for the rest of us since we’ve made that move. I send you many blessings.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Wow, how similar of an experience! I blame psychiatry for many of my daughter’s problems, but I also blame the church for having bought into the narrative sold by psychiatry. The church should know better than that! Instead of caring for the spirit of those under their charge, the church sends these troubled souls to receive medical treatment. Unfortunately they just don’t know how to help those who are experiencing extreme states of consciousness. My hope and prayer is that my book would awaken the church to the truth behind the phenomenon of madness and cause some change of behavior.
Thank you for your kind wishes! I am so happy for your son! Yes, I too hope for Open Dialogue to be fully practiced here in the US. I have no doubt that psychiatric treatments (particularly the trauma of forced hospitalization) contributed to worsening my daughter’s condition.
Thank you for your great summary of EMDR. We need to publicize successful cases of recovery so we can elevate the trust of the larger population.
Would you happen to know if there are any successful experiences of using EMDR for people suffering from psychosis? I would think it is almost impossible for such individuals to go through a meaningful planning process with the therapist.
Are you familiar with the work of Paul William Miller? He has written a book about using EMDR on people diagnosed with “schizophrenia.” I have not read the book yet, but I would be interested to know your perspective based on your experience.
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Dear Karen,
I am very familiar with Transpersonal psychology, spiritual emergency and the works of Grof & Grof, and I refer to their thesis in my book. However, my daughter’s situation is far more complex than that. My book is a theological book, and looks at the experience of psychosis thru that lens. My daughter’s conversion experience had nothing to do with her illness. The conversion took place two years before her illness began. Of course her conversion was the beginning of her journey with God, and undoubtedly, the way she experienced the illness had a lot to do with her relationship with God.
Report comment
Eric,
If you are interested in theological aspects of “schizophrenia”, you may find my book, “In The Fellowship of His Suffering” helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Suffering-Interpretation-Illness-Schizophrenia-ebook/dp/B00O5ARJLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504631873&sr=8-1&keywords=Elahe+Hessamfar
I hate to sound like I am promoting my book, but there is so little written on theological aspects of “Schizophrenia,” that I think those of us who have dedicated our life research to the topic may have something worth pondering on.
BTW- I put quotation around the word “schizophrenia,” not because the illness is not real, but I disagree with how psychiatry categorizes it and defines it.
Report comment
Thank you very much for an excellent article. This is the kind of argumentation we need in our cause for change: throwing their own arguments at them!
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Great article! Thank you very much! I wish more people had the courage to talk about this topic. We could save a lot of pain and suffering for a lot of people. As a researcher and a mother of a person diagnosed with “schizophrenia” I am in 100% agreement with you. I have shared my research and personal perspective on the topic in my book, A Theological Interpretation of Mental Illness. We have also started a program in our church to help the families of those suffering from madness. We are in early stages, but we are seeing confirmation of the research that you have noted in almost every case. It is amazing what a difference it makes when the families are enlightened about the root of the problem!
Look forward to reading your follow up segments.
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Great article! Thank you for explaining “heritability” in such a clear way. It finally makes sense!
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Dear pencilect, I am so sorry for what you’ve been through. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your experience with us. What an ordeal! I am grateful that you are well enough to look back and know that God has been with you all along. May your future days be filled with love, health and grace!
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Thank you Farinaz! I am glad that you are finding the book hopeful and helpful. Let’s pray for that revolution!
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My dear Shereesberries,
I am speechless! I wish I could jump through my laptop and hug you and hold you in my arms. You’ve been through hell. I can’t find the words that would be comforting enough, because your pain is bigger than words can reach. Nevertheless I try! We worship an amazing God. He is awesome, full of grace and lovingkindness. Those who have abused their calling in ministry under God’s banner will be held accountable. But our hope is in God, not in fallen human beings, who themselves are blind beings trying to help other blinds. As Jesus said, “they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matt.15:14). You have endured the greatest pain any parent may endure. I pray that God’s grace, wisdom, presence and light would fill the life of your family. I pray for His healing touch upon your soul, your husband’s and your children’s. Let’s pray for the church to wake up! I have witnessed God’s miracle with my own eyes in Helia’s life. Miracles do happen! Many blessings to you!
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Thank you for your kind words. I take no credit for this! If it were not for God’s grace I would’ve given up a long time ago. The true hero in this drama is Helia who blesses me everyday with her faith, endurance, and resilience.
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Alex, thank you for your kind words.
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She used to do a lot of painting. If she has done one of her vision of Jesus, she has never shared it with me.
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My hope and prayer is that one day she would do that. She is not ready for that yet!
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She had a vision of Jesus while she was a sophomore in college. The vision was very overwhelming and led to her conversion and a dramatic change in her life (for the better).
Report comment
Thank You Sa! Yes, Helia was already at home and under private psychiatric care. At the time she was seen by a psychiatrist who was quite caring and perplexed about Helia’s case. Thus, when we decided to stop her medication, though he advised against it, he let us try it and see if we get better results. She was catatonic for about 2 years after we stopped the medication. It was very tempting to give up in moments of despair, but by God’s grace, we continued hoping and persevering, and one day she rose up.
As far as strategies to avoid future hospitalization, I pray a lot!!!! That is my greatest fear! However, moving to a country setting has been a blessing, because the opportunities for conflict are reduced. We have also worked hard at building relationships with local police and our immediate neighbors.
Report comment
I am so sorry about what your daughter and your family have been enduring. I know too well what it can do to a family when a loved one gets entangled into the dysfunctional system of care we have here in the US. I admire your patience, endurance, and love to stand up by your daughter and speak out on her behalf. In our case, we finally moved to a country setting to give Helia more space, more freedom, and to let her be in touch with nature. Life has been much easier and more pleasant for her and for the rest of us since we’ve made that move. I send you many blessings.
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Thank you Jeremy for the tip. I will check into On Being.
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Thank you Rossa! I am hoping to get the book before as many pastors as I can.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Wow, how similar of an experience! I blame psychiatry for many of my daughter’s problems, but I also blame the church for having bought into the narrative sold by psychiatry. The church should know better than that! Instead of caring for the spirit of those under their charge, the church sends these troubled souls to receive medical treatment. Unfortunately they just don’t know how to help those who are experiencing extreme states of consciousness. My hope and prayer is that my book would awaken the church to the truth behind the phenomenon of madness and cause some change of behavior.
Report comment
Thank you for your kind wishes! I am so happy for your son! Yes, I too hope for Open Dialogue to be fully practiced here in the US. I have no doubt that psychiatric treatments (particularly the trauma of forced hospitalization) contributed to worsening my daughter’s condition.
Report comment