EMDR therapy: A modification approach for effective treatment of African American children

Therapy has always been associated with the values of Eurocentric or Western perspective. Conversely, African Americans seldom turn to therapy when attempting to deal with racial trauma in this society. Yet, this has been even more reason not to seek out the source of dealing with the racial stigmas imposed on the community. The theoretical framework of critical race theory (CRT) was the basis for studying how the issues of race and racism permeate our society in ways where they must be recognized and processed in the therapy room. This qualitative phenomenological study involved interviewing six African American trained eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)-therapy clinicians to examine the effectiveness and the relevance of the treatment of trauma using this therapy in working with African American children. This study acknowledges the stigmas and offers recommendations to make the trauma-based model of EMDR more relatable to the African American child. Results from the analysis of the interviews with these therapists show how children are impacted by modifying what goes on in the room. This study may also serve to assist therapists across the racial divide to work and connect with African American clients who struggle with racism that is interwoven in the fabric of our society.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Deborah Ann Lowe

Lowe, D. A. (2024). EMDR therapy: A modification approach for effective treatment of African American children. (Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology)