Extending EMDR: A casebook of innovative applications

"Extending EMDR" is divided into two parts: those cases in which it was possible to target a relatively small number of distinct traumatic experiences, and those in which the client's symptoms have resulted from ongoing childhood trauma or neglect for which they are initially unable to identify representative discrete traumatic events. The cases in which clear targets were available required the therapists to identify those targets and work with a variety of resistances in order to achieve adaptive resolution. These clients could generally address their maladaptive defenses directly. Typically, their therapists relied on extensive cognitive interweave, structuring, support, and sometimes direct nurturing to make it possible for these clients to tolerate and utilize EMDR to process their targeted traumas.Where there were no distinct memories to target, the therapists needed to create innovative interventions. Their clients tended to be unable to address their maladaptive defenses directly without fragmenting or closing off. These cases required far more treatment time than those for which there were a limited number of discreet traumatic memories to target and process. Each therapist working with these clients needed to find a way to strengthen their ability to maintain internal cohesion and increase their sense of safety so that they could relinquish defenses without the threat of becoming overwhelmed and fragmented. Several of the therapists attempted to address directly the deficits that prevented their clients from recalling their past experiences, organizing them, and gaining access to specific memories and affect.

Book

English

Philip Manfield

Manfield, P. (1998). Extending EMDR: A casebook of innovative applications. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co