ROTATE: Resource-oriented trauma therapy with elements of EMDR (Version 1.1), treatment manual for psychotherapists and counselors in the field of psychological trauma

ROTATE is a short-term resource-based trauma therapy approach that is especially suitable for clients with complex trauma conditions, i.e. posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid conditions. It can be used as a tool for psychotraumatologists and counselors in the field of psychological trauma. The name ROTATE means Resource-Oriented Trauma Therapy with Elements of EMDR.

It exhibits three major features:
• First, it aims at strengthening resilience and coping capacities by activating positive personal resources and includes a variety of imaginative resource-activating methods within a framework informed by affective neuroscience and resilience research.
• Second, it largely draws on psychodynamic principles of
therapeutic relationship and attachment theory.
• Third, it includes several elements of EMDR (Eye Movement desensitization and reprocessing, Shapiro 2001). EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy to treat PTSD which uses bilateral stimulation as its central agent. In addition to the EMDR standard protocol, several modifications have been developed, some of which involve resource-activation (e.g. Knipe 2011). Clearly, this approach does not include the full EMDR standard protocol; rather, a small number of EMDR techniques have been selected and adapted in order to reinforce

Journal

English

Wolfgang Wöller
Helga Mattheß

Wöller, W., & Mattheß, H. (2026). ROTATE: Resource-oriented trauma therapy with elements of EMDR (Version 1.1), treatment manual for psychotherapists and counselors in the field of psychological trauma. TraumaAid Germany