Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and the potential impact of EMDR on the trauma of poverty in the treatment of poor families: How this can contribute to a more peaceful society

The ACE research has proved that adverse experiences, among which poverty, have a long lasting effect on health, behaviors, life potentials. The impact of resource deprivation on adaptation to reality, with abundance of stress and traumatic components, has been the subject of many studies and WHO has stated that poverty is the first risk factor to counteract in order to support physical and mental health. EMDR has proved to be useful to help with ACE ( i.e. Carol Forgash contributions), but poverty is not usually addressed as a “targeted condition” in the EMDR literature. The objective of this presentation is to analyze and report on: - data from literature review on poverty and on mediating variables between poverty and mental distress in order to detect family and individual psychological “ key elements” to be processed with EMDR - case reports on EMDR interventions specifically designed by the author to address the above mentioned key elements (i.e., transgenerational life style that contemplates economic emergency as normal, avoidance of action, shame, hopelessness and reactive anger, learned dependency …), processing traumatic episodes to unblock painful emotional reactions to poverty In the overall, EMDR is shown to be useful in situations stricken by poverty, thus contributing to a more peaceful society, generating valuable premises for a more peaceful world.

Conference

English

Laura Rocchietta

Rocchietta, L. (2017, April). Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and the potential impact of EMDR on the trauma of poverty in the treatment of poor families: How this can contribute to a more peaceful society. In EMDR case studies - EMDR in the treatment of fears and phobias (Evelyn Wright, Chair). Presentation at the 3rd EMDR Asia International Conference, Shanghai, China