Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures, 2nd Edition
This volume provides the definitive guide to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the psychotherapeutic approach developed by Francine Shapiro. EMDR is one of the most widely investigated treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder, and many other applications are also being explored. To keep up with this growing body of knowledge, the second edition has been revised to incorporate current neurobiological data, findings from controlled clinical studies, and literature on emerging clinical applications. Chapters provide background on EMDR’s development, theoretical constructs, and possible underlying mechanisms, and present updated protocols and procedures for working with adults and children with a range of presenting problems. Among the many clinical populations for whom the material in this volume has been seen as applicable are survivors of sexual abuse, crime, and combat, as well as sufferers of phobias and other experientially based disorders. Detailed descriptions and transcripts guide the clinician through every stage of therapeutic treatment, from client selection to the administration of EMDR and its integration within a comprehensive treatment plan
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The Standard Still Works
This restatement of Francine Shapiro’s standard overview of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)outlines the standard protocols for this proven treatment method. The methods, theory, and failsafe procedures are carefully explained for clinician practitioners. Careful liability reduction checks are examined and encouraged throughout the manual. This book alone is not a substitute for training in EMDR, yet will assist the new and veteran EMDR practitioner in remaining competernt in the skills and therory. I keep it handy for frequent review.
4 Stars thorough & organized
I found the first 8 chapters to be well organized. The author does an excellent job of giving a description of what she will teach and then more thoroughly teaches the information in the following chapters. It re-enforced what I learned reading the first 2 chapters.
I look forward to reading the rest of the text.
5 Stars EMDR book
This is a very information book. I am in the process of becoming certified in EMDR therapy, and this book has really helped me to understand the origins of EMDR, the reasons why it works, and how to use it in my practice. This book is a very useful tool in addition to an EMDR training program.
5 Stars Indispensible Text for EMDR
This book is a companion to the live course, the foundation for EMDR. A must have text if you are a therapist using this modality.
4 Stars Promising intervention with unpromising reservations
EMDR may be an excellent form of overcoming trauma, and the research tends to suggest it does, although if you read the literature in a disinterested way, you will find there are many mixed reports on study results. Some find EMDR equal to or better than Cog/Beh Therapy intervention; some find it better; some find it not as effective. As someone who has conducted experimental research, I wish to point out several issues that should be addressed, even for true believers. First, EMDR is a perfect intervention for a technological age: after all, don’t all our life’s problems supposedly have a technological solution. Our culture says so, but of course, history tells us otherwise. Spiritual meaning, social integration, a personal credo, culture and religion still appear to be the ingredients that hold us together..or as Paul Tillich says, “Our ground of being.” Technology may be helpful but it is ultimately ancillary. Of course, those who suffer from trauma may require immediate relief, and if EMDR can reduce suffering efficiently and quickly, that’s fine. HOWEVER, that being said, one must look a bit further. First, one must consider the individual client him/herself. EMDR helps us return to a traumatic event, see it more objectively, and hopefully allows us to use our reasoning faculties which may not have been in play during such events owing to stress, shock, immaturity, ignorance, and so forth. However, we all have varied levels of experiencing or “reliving” memory. Some can visualize quite easily and can “see” the experience as vividly, even more vividly than the true life one. In keeping with Gardner’s idea of “multiple intelligences,” we should consider that different individuals have different “intelligences” in reconstructing or reliving events. Furthermore, we should consider that individuals have varying degrees in their ability to make associations. While a trauma may be a single event or several similar events, in all likelihood they have developed as narrative themes that compose the self-concept the client has. The better a client can connect the trauma to such themes, the more holistic the effect. A good EMDR clinician can encourage this reconstruction, but one should be aware that we have different cognitive styles.
Second, some of us have more entry into traumatic events than others. This may be attributable to personality traits such as openness to self-disclosure, and environmental influences of trust, and/or varying levels of general repression of uncomfortable (let alone traumatic) thoughts and events. So, one size may not fit all.
Another important variable that should be examined by practitioners/researchers is the background of the therapist. For example, since much of EMDR is used to uncover traumatic childhood events, I believe it is important that the therapist have a background in treating children–at least to some minimal level. For, as the client recalls events from childhood, he/she is recalling them as a child and may be in a child-like state during the process. Therefore, the therapist must be able to talk to the client as a child (not the inner child because EMDR, if it works for childood trauma, brings the inner child “outward.” Finally, the therapist must sense when the client is “ready” for the treatment. The trauma may be known, but the ability for the client to address the trauma in a safe and secure environment may take time to establish and nurture. I do not see the metaphor of the mind as a computer. If we begin to think that way, our society is in very big trouble. Much of our culture already does. In conclusion, this method should not be viewed as a mere technique, but like any intervention for change, as a technique largely dependent on the individual therapist/client. It helps to have a rich sensory life and a good sense-memory. A therapist might be able to jog some of it, but it still is a trait. And finally, about the eye movement part, there have been few studies comparing EMDR with and without the eye movements. Studies regarding whether they are necessary to the process have not been highly encouraging.
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