Recovering community – Helping complex trauma survivors find their way home

Complex trauma isolates people. The behaviors survivors use to address the immense pain, such as self-harm or substance abuse, can result in selfhatred, stigma, exile from family and community and, for some, incarceration. All these result in more isolation. The ultimate goal of EMDR treatment is to desensitize past traumatic events, build coping skills and help our clients return to their bodies and their communities, healing through connection. How does one accomplish this with clients with extensive trauma histories and who are often the victims of discrimination and oppression? As EMDR Clinicians, we work in collaboration with our clients to address the underlying trauma and neglect that pushes obsessive and compulsive behaviors. Through the use of client video and demonstration, we will explore how to expand our treatment plans to address the negative impact of oppression, discrimination and the stigma related to the trauma symptom of addiction in our treatment planning process.

Conference

English

Hope Payson

Payson, H. (2017, April). Recovering community – Helping complex trauma survivors find their way home. Presentation at the 13th Western Mass EMDRIA Regional Network Spring Conference, Amherst MA