EMDR storytelling: conceptual considerations, research findings and treatment aspects

EMDR storytelling, originated by Joan Lovett (1999) and elaborated later by several EMDR C&A trainers and specialists, is an adaptation of the standard protocol. It is a procedure, created to make EMDR therapy possible for children and adults with mental retardation who have symptoms related to exposure to traumatic events in the preverbal phase or for those who have no verbal access to relevant memories. They cannot activate these memories directly because they have no narrative. Therefore, their symptom-related unprocessed memories are activated and desensitized via a narrative of the parents/caregivers. The first part of the workshop will cover the meaning and function of the narrative in several therapy-forms and compare these. Some criteria will be proposed which can be helpful to coach parents/caregivers in writing an adequate story for EMDR therapy of their child. In the second part, the focus will be on ‘lessons learned’ from research findings regarding the efficacy of EMDR in young children (aged 0-8 years). Results of a new study will be presented, using EMDR-storytelling in young children with PTSD, aged 1.5-8 years old. In the third part of the workshop specifics of the use of EMDR storytelling in combination with the standard protocol for children aged 4-18 year with symptoms related to preverbal memories, will be discussed and practiced.

Conference

English

Carlijn de Roos
Renée Beer

de Roos, C., & Beer, R. (2023, June). EMDR storytelling: conceptual considerations, research findings and treatment aspects. Presentation at the EMDR Europe Conference, Bologna, Italy