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  1. #1

    Question Starting therapy soon, got some questions!

    My mom made an appointment for me to see a therapist for the first time about my emetophobia, and I just had a question about what to expect...

    They're not going to make me watch those videos of people vomiting, are they? I've heard about those before...there was an episode of that MTV show "True Life" in which this girl was slightly emetophobic, & her therapist gave her some tapes of real people vomiting! (as a form of desensitization, I guess)

    That's my main concern...I'm worried I'll get a therapist who's into hardcore exposure methods, or someone who will say, "Eventually, you're going to have to watch those vomiting videos as part of your treatment!" Knowing my own mind, I don't think desensitization will work for me....if I were to watch videos of people vomiting, then those images will become ingrained into my mind and I'll be thinking about them the next time I feel anxiety nausea or real nausea, making the whole situation worse. =/

    To those of you who've had therapy for emet....how was it? I'd just like to know what to expect.
    Panic at the thought of doing something is a challenge to do it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    1,051

    Default Re: Starting therapy soon, got some questions!

    You don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. If you were doing desensitization, it wouldn't jump right into things you're scared of. YOU would have to reach a point on your hierarchy of fears that you felt like you could manage your anxiety when facing that fear. A low level desensitization might just be saying the word vomit without feeling anxious... or seeing the word... something like that. That might not be the direction the therapist goes at all, and if they try to force you to do something you aren't comfortable with then just fire them and find a new one. They're working for you! (and with you, hopefully, but not against you!)
    "I'm not supposed to be like this, but it's okay" -- The Wrong Child, R.E.M.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Starting therapy soon, got some questions!

    Well, that's certainly comforting to know! It's always good to have that option of choosing for yourself, especially when it comes to confronting fears...

    I just hope the therapist can handle me, haha I can be very difficult to deal with when it comes to my phobia....but I realize that I must be able to cooperate if I'm ever going to get over emet, because you're right, it's not as much about the therapist working for me as it is about the both of us working together.
    Panic at the thought of doing something is a challenge to do it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts
    4,577

    Default Re: Starting therapy soon, got some questions!

    SweetThinker, I've both gone through therapy and then become a therapist so I'll let you know how I view it and beyond that you can judge for yourself.

    Many CBT therapists believe in and use a technique called "flooding" which sometimes is referred to as "exposure therapy" but also other CBT therapists (like me) use a technique we call "gradual desensitization" which is also referred to as "exposure therapy." Flooding means you get the client to face their worst fears, where their anxiety would rise to 10 out of 10 and stay in the situation until it comes down (which is does, rather quickly). Gradual desensitization involves constructing a hierarchy of fears - a list - that goes from the very easiest thing to the most difficult to face. The easiest thing might be looking at the word on a page. Next might be looking at drawings of people that look unwell, and next at pictures of real people looking unwell. In the middle of the list might be things like not washing hands as much or eating yogurt a day past its expiry date. At the top of the list would be looking at pictures and videos. But each step is only a tiny bit harder than the step before.

    Just remember that you are always in the driver's seat in therapy. It's your hour and your money. Discuss at the initial meeting with your therapist how treatment will be done. If they are not reasonable, find another one! There are lots out there and you need to find one that you "click" with...that's the key.

    Hope this helps!
    For more info about emetophobia and treatment:

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    DISCLAIMER ~ Any advice I give on this forum is well-intentioned and given as to a peer or friend or for educational purposes. It does not in any way constitute psychotherapeutic or medical advice. Please discuss anything you may learn from my posts with your doctor and psychotherapist prior to making any decisions or changes or taking any actions.



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