Storytelling as foundational preparation to enhance EMDR therapy with children

The right story can lead to extraordinary healing, beyond creating a narrative and strengthening child-parent/carer attachment. Sarah will present a foundational EMDR storytelling framework for children 4-12 years of age to prepare them for standard EMDER memory reprocessing, including child adaptions to treat complex trauma presentations in the context of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, distrupted attachment, and relational trauma. The aim of EMDR storytelling is to: work collaboratively with parents/carers to conceptualise the child's complex trauma presentation; develop coregulation, safety and trust; strengthen child-parent carer attachment; develop a truama narrative that is developmentally appropriate and tolerable; and integrate adaptive information that the childe needs to effectively engage in EMDR reprocessing to recover and heal. To enhance storytelling development and presence with attunedment, Sarah will integrate knowledge from interpersonal neurobiology, polyvagal and attachment theory, sturctural dissociation theory and a philispophical way of being with parent/carer-child dyad froma synergetic play therapy perspective. Sarah will draw on clinical cases to demonstrate how EMDR storytelling can be used creatively, even online, to enhance EMDR standard therapy for children suffering from complex trauma.

Conference

English

Sarah Schubert
Arianne Struik

Schubert, S., & Struik, A. (2021, October). Storytelling as foundational preparation to enhance EMDR therapy with children. Presentation at the EMDRAA Conference, Virtual