Have any of the former teachers here done EMDR therapy before? Was it successful?
Long story short, I’m nearly 2 years out of leaving teaching and I’m in a job that I love now. That being said, when I was a teacher I taught in a lot of averse and underfunded environments. During my three or so years teaching I had to pick up contracts in which the teachers I was covering for had to leave due to having nervous breakdowns and in my last contract was an “emergency sub” covering high needs classrooms (I needed the money at the time). Lots of violence, fights, lockdowns, weapons, cops getting involved a few times, etc. My therapist a few months ago referred me to another psychologist who specializes in occupational trauma and they’ve now floated the idea around that I may have PTSD and it’s been suggested EMDR therapy would be really beneficial for me.
My two main questions are 1. Is PTSD something that can happen to teachers in these scenarios? I feel a little silly saying that and I don’t want to take away from or diminish the struggles of people who are paramedics or first responders that see REALLY intense stuff. And 2. If anyone has done EMDR therapy before, was it something that was beneficial? It’s gotten better in the last while, but I still struggle with rumination over the things that happened and intrusive memories of some of the really bad events I experienced. My next appointment is this week and I’m just looking for some guidance.