Outline

Trauma and Neuroscience

• Key brain areas involved in trauma
• Polyvagal Theory, and types of freeze responses
• Trauma and insecure attachment
• The neuroscience of developmental trauma
• Clinical implications of the freeze response

How the EMDR Approach Works

• The neuroscience of exposure therapy and cognitive therapy
• The neuroscience of relaxation exercises
• EMDR and other “transformative therapies”
• Why EMDR works so well from a brain perspective

Trauma Symptoms and Assessment Tools

• Traumatic memories and intrusive thoughts
• Phobias and anxiety: Insula hyperactivation
• Emotional hijackings and implicit memory
• Avoidance cluster of symptoms
• Why treating avoidance in trauma is critical
• DSM-5® symptoms in a nutshell
• Connecting to a diagnosis
  • Simple vs. complex trauma
  • Intergenerational trauma
  • Symptom clusters and physical manifestations
  • CAPS-5 and PCL-5
  • Primary Care PTSD Screen
  • Dual diagnosis

Overcome Avoidance with EMDR

• Dual awareness
• What you are thinking about is the network you’re in
• Activate networks for change
• Neurons that fire together, wire together (Hebb’s Rule)
• EMDR as neuroentrainment

When to Use EMDR in Treatment

• Demonstrations and experiential exercises
• Single event trauma
• Anxiety disorders involving imaginal exposure

EMDR Trauma Treatment: The Original 8-Phase Model

• Client history and treatment planning
• How to resource: Create a safe space
• Assessment: Choose a target, SUDS, connect with the image/emotions/thought
• Desensitization: Tactile vs. auditory vs. eye movement
• How to use touchpoints, Theratapper, CDs
• Positive Cognition Installation: Likert scale 1-7
• Body Scan: Locate tension and distress in the body
• Closure: Close the neural network and the 6-hour window
• Re-evaluation

Demonstration of Original 8-Phase Model

• Presenter demonstration
• Attendee dyad practice of the 8-phase model

EMDR Techniques to Resolve Traumatic Memories

• Modifications for Complex/Developmental Trauma
• Do not use standard protocol – Rationale for modifications
• Resourcing strategies
• Techniques to reinforce and activate positive neural networks
• Relevance of Polyvagal Theory, early trauma, and EMDR
• Sensory motor modifications and somatic approaches
• How to build Dual Awareness
• EMDR techniques to bring traumatic memories from the limbic system into the prefrontal cortex

Attachment-Based EMDR: Strategies to Treat Relational Trauma

• Strategies to foster the critical connection between client and therapist
• Mirror neuron activation
• How to emphasize safety during sessions
• Guidance on order of operations

Research Limitations and Potential Risks