Attachment matters! EMDR therapy with a high traumatised 4 yr old – A case study

EMDR Therapy with children is highly effective and can be very quick. But with our highly traumatised kids, trauma reprocessing can throw up as many challenges as working with adults with complex trauma. In this case study, Naomi will present the work she has done over 4 years, with this young boy and his mother, who she first met when he was 4 years old. The main focuses of this case study presentation will look at the mistakes made, and hence lessons learnt, when working with highly traumatised children and their attachment system, who may also be highly traumatised. It will share the importance of children needing a secure attachment figure before they can reprocess their trauma, and the practical ways in which Naomi worked to help develop this. The case study will also explore the developmental and creative changes to the Standard Protocol we can make for children, when undertaking Phases 4-8. It will explore the use Joan Lovett’s Storytelling Protocol in a titrated way for very traumatised kids. But mostly this case study presentation will explore how much this mother and child taught Naomi about being an EMDR Therapist with children, and who have now consented to sharing these learnings so others might benefit.

Conference

English

Naomi Iliffe

Iliffe, N. (2023, May). Attachment matters! EMDR therapy with a high traumatised 4 yr old – A case study. Virtual presentation at the EMDRAA Conference, Melbourne Victoria, Australia