Re: emdr:nothing's happening
Well, the stance you describe is not ideal for EMDR for several reasons. 1) there may or may not be a "picture," 2) a stance of curiosity rather than anger at the process is ideal, where possible, 3) I can't comment about you specifically as I obviously know nothing about you, but for many people whose EMDR is blocked it is because a protective function, defensive part of self, is stopping the EMDR for some kind of reason that is understandable. I use ego state therapy to identify if that is true and solve that problem. I'm a bit puzzled as to whether you got proper instructions, because the first two points are part of the instructions, including "there are no supposed to's" and "just let whatever happens happen" or "let whatever comes up come up."
You might ask for a repeat of instructions. The other thing I'd wonder (and I wonder this about EVERYBODY, not just you) is whether there had been an appropriate screening for dissociation. Everybody getting EMDR should be first screened for dissociation, as that will identify whether protective parts are likely to block the EMDR. May or may not apply in your case.
Another and final thought: for those people who had very early attachment injuries or trauma that interferes with relationship functioning, there aren't pictures because the memories are stored in implicit memory. There are special EMDR procedures for that.
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