EMDR therapy for bilinguals: Utilizing linguistic diversity for improved therapeutic success

EMDR protocols, theories, and guides tend to presume or prescribe a monolinguistic approach However, there are many bilinguals whose knowledge of a second language (L2) is sufficiently advanced to allow them to interact with EMDR therapists, but who might also possess memories encoded in a first language (L1), which is strategically useful in EMDR. The objectives of this clinical practice study were to (a) describe the real-world use of EMDR therapy in which the L1 of an EMDR recipient is selectively integrated into processing by a therapist who need not know the recipient’s L1 and (b) demonstrate an adaptation of the standard EMDR therapy protocol to support full resolution of memory material among clients with exposure to more than one language.

Journal

English

Alev Ateş-Barlas

Ateş-Barlas, A. (2022). EMDR therapy for bilinguals: Utilizing linguistic diversity for improved therapeutic success. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 16(1), 39-46. doi:10.1891/EMDR-2021-0022