EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
What is EMDR?
Often when a person has been overwhelmed by a traumatic experience, the experience does not process normally in the brain. Instead, the experience becomes embedded or stuck in the emotional part of the brain and the person is left reliving the event for months and years. Many of the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (nightmares, flashbacks, impaired memory, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, panic attacks, excessive shame, avoidance, irrational fears, phobias, etc) rule the life of the victim.
“Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” (EMDR) is a specialized treatment for both simple and complex traumas. In a professional setting, the client is asked to remember the event along with the negative conditions and physical sensations. The clinician uses a series of eye-movements or bilateral stimulation to target the memory. The process allows for the movement of the memory to the left side of the brain where an adaptive process relieves the symptoms. The emotional memory becomes a cognitive memory and the symptoms disappear.
EMDR is the most researched trauma treatment in the US and has proven its efficacy repeatedly. Tens of thousands of mental health professionals around the world have been trained in this method.
The Workshop
This workshop is for MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ONLY, especially for psychiatrists and psychologists who work with trauma victims.
There are two levels of training. Level 1 Training teaches the fundamentals of EMDR and how to use it with simple traumas. There will be a mix of anecdotal presentation, brain structure review (how trauma impacts the brain), presentation of method, descriptions of how to use it with children and adolescents, group participation and question time. The workshop is two-days in length and will take place in Urubamba on the 19th and 20th of April 2008.
Level 2 Training will take place several months later as it deals with complex trauma which can only be treated using EMDR by practitioners who are well familiarized with the method. This training will only be open to Level 1 Training participants who, during period between the two trainings, has gained some clinical experience in EMDR. Level 2 Training will teach how to use EMDR with complex trauma and will explain what diagnoses are to be avoided. Complex trauma is that which is occurred over a period of time, regardless of how long ago.
Linda Nordquist, LCSW is the designated trainer for this program.