EMDR and the challenge of treating childhood trauma: A theoretical and clinical discussion with case examples

Treating childhood trauma with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) requires the practitioner to be aware of the challenge inherent in adapting a focused therapeutic model created for adults to young developing clients. Problems involved in exposing young children to disturbing, often terrifying memories loom large. How do we cope with parents' fear of damaging their son or daughter? How do we answer our own internal resistance to leading a young client into a difficult session and the dangers of retraumatizing a child? These are problems which demand solutions. Recent neurological research has defined the necessity of including the processing of traumatic material into the treatment plan as directly as possible. No part of the brain can change if it is not activated. The chapter aims to detail how EMDR meets this challenge.

Book Section

English

Wizansky, B. (2011). EMDR and the challenge of treating childhood trauma: A theoretical and clinical discussion with case examples. In V. Ardino (Ed.), Post-traumatic syndromes in childhood and adolescence: A handbook of research and practice (pp. 297-321). Wiley-Blackwell