EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma-Focused Care

Based on the belief that mindfulness is a critical component in the delivery of EMDR, this innovative text integrates mindfulness-informed practice with EMDR therapy to create an effective new approach for healing trauma. Based on current evidence-based research, the book demonstrates—with clear, step-by-step guidelines—how clinicians can conceptualize and deliver trauma-focused care in both mental health and addiction treatment. Infused with practical applications, the book offers clearly articulated and effective approaches that provide a concrete beginning, middle, and end of treatment planning.

Following a description of the long history of mindfulness practices, the book offers guidelines for developing one’s own mindfulness practice—emphasizing the use of trauma-focused language—and suggestions for teaching specific techniques to clients. The book describes both classic and creative mindfulness practices, including breath awareness/sensory grounding, breath meditation, body scanning, feeling tone meditation, labeling, standing meditation, walking meditation, and loving-kindness meditation, along with using day-to-day objects as a meditative focus, movement practices, the expressive arts, and other forms of creativity.

Key Features:

• Offers a complete framework for healing trauma by integrating mindfulness-informed practice with EMDR therapy
• Provides clearly articulated, step-by-step approaches that are evidence-based
• Authored by noted experts in EMDR and mindfulness-based therapies
• Includes guidelines for developing one’s own mindfulness practice and tools for teaching specific practices to clients
• Describes both classic and creative mindfulness practices

List of Meditation Practices and Experiential Exercises

Foreword by Noah Levine, MA

Preface

Jamie’s Journey: EMDR Therapy Offers a New Solution

Stephen’s Journey: A Mindful Revelation

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

Shifting From Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Focused

What to Expect From the Book

References

2. Redefining the Paradigm for Trauma-Focused Care

A New Hope

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy

Mindfulness

The Fusion of Mindfulness and EMDR Therapy

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

References

3. Developing Buddhist Mindfulness Practice for Trauma-Focused Care

No Correct Path to Mindfulness Practice

Starting a Mindfulness Practice

Mindfulness of Breath/Sensory Grounding

Mindfulness of Feeling Tone

Mindfulness of Mind

Mindfulness of Dharmas/Loving Kindness Meditation

Walking Meditation

Beginner’s Mind Practice

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

Resources for Further Exploration

References

4. An Introduction to the Creative Mindfulness Practices

Choice and Possibility in Mindfulness Practice

Yogic Breathing Practices

Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)

Complete Breathing (Three-Part or Dirgha Breathing)

Ujjayi Breathing (Ocean-Sounding Victory Breath)

Lion Breathing

Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadhi Shodnan Pranayama)

Clench and Release: A Modified Progressive Muscle Relaxation Experience

Transforming Day-to-Day Activities Into Meditation

Energetic Massage

Noodling: The Art of “Going With” Organic, Expressive Movement

The Expressive Arts as Meditation

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

Resources for Further Exploration

5. EMDR Phase 1, Client History—Setting the Tone for Trauma-Focused Services

A Mindful Approach to History

The Purpose of Phase 1: Definitions From Shapiro and the EMDR International Association

Honor Possibilities in Phase 1: Gathering Client History in a Mindful Way

Best Practices for Clinical Interaction

Specific Strategies for Phase 1, Client History

How to Avoid Badgering a Client With Narrative

Sample Case Using Worksheets for History Taking

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

References

6. EMDR Phase 2, Preparation in Trauma-Focused Care

Mindfully Navigating the Preparation Phase

A Trauma-Focused Approach to Preparation

The Broader Context for Healing Trauma

Filling Out the Missing Pieces

Resource Development and Installation

The Relational Imperative in EMDR Therapy

Necessary Skills for Preparation and the Art of Modifying Them

No Such Thing as “One Size Fits All”

Mindfulness and Grounding Strategies

Breathing Strategies

Demonstrating Hyperarousal and Release

Multisensory Soothing

Guided Visualizations

Light Stream Multisensory Visualization Exercise

Tree Grounding Visualization Exercise

Modifications for Creativity

Simple Container Visualization Exercise

Movement, Expressive Arts, and Identification of Other Recovery Capital

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

Resources for Further Exploration

References

7. EMDR Phases 3 to 6: Principles of Mindful Decision Making

Moving on to Phases 3 to 6

Clinical Decision-Making Points

Access of Preparation Skills

Positive Material in the Client’s Life

Nature of the Living Situation

Drug/Alcohol Use and Psychotropic Medication

Secondary Gains and Related Issues

Number of Sessions Available

Willingness to Examine Past Issues and Potential Target Adjustments

Facilitating a Client’s Journey Through Phases 3 to 6

Mindfulness in Phases 3 to 6

Phase 3: Assessment

Phase 4: Desensitization

Phase 5: Installation

Phase 6: Body Scan

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

References

8. Special Situations in Phases 3 to 6: Mindful Facilitation Through Abreaction, Dissociation, and Resistance

Potential Frustrations in EMDR Therapy Phases 3 to 6

Maintaining the Calming Presence

Qualities of a Good EMDR Therapist

Mindful Skills for the Journey Through Phases 3 to 6

Handling Abreaction and Dissociation

Interweaves

“I Don’t Want to Do EMDR Anymore”

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

References

9. EMDR Phases 7 and 8: Mindfully Approaching What We Often Overlook

The Mindful Practice of Transition

Transitions in EMDR Therapy

Transition as Mindfulness Practice: An Exploratory Exercise

Phase 7: Closure

Learning From Mistakes

Ritual Release Breathing: A Simple Breath Practice for EMDR Closure

Flicking: A Simple Energy Practice for EMDR Closure

Best Practices for Mindful Closure

Closing and Debriefing a Session

Implementing a Safety Plan for In Between Sessions

Extraordinary Circumstances in Closure

Phase 8: Reevaluation

Reevaluation and the Art of Transition

Tracking Targets

The Importance of Future Templates

EMDR Therapy Case Conceptualization and Treatment-Plan Review

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

References

10. Enhancing Your Efficacy as a Therapist: Developing Your Own Mindfulness Practice and Doing Your Own Trauma Work

Interesting Times

Mindfulness and EMDR Therapy: Intimately Connected

Mindfulness: A Way of Life

Finding Your Teachers and Your Community

A Call to Revolutionary Action

Tying It All Together

Questions for Reflection and Personal Practice

Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, REAT, RMT travels internationally teaching on EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts therapy and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in Warren, OH. Jamie is the author of EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012), Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors (2014), and Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015). She is the founder of the Dancing Mindfulness practice and expressive arts community and actively offers EMDR therapy training through her company, Mindful Ohio & The Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Marich began her career in human services as a civilian humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Hercegovina (2000-2003) and her award-winning dissertation research on the use of EMDR therapy in the treatment of addiction was published in two different APA journals (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors and Journal of Humanistic Psychology). Marich received the NALGAP President’s Award in 2015 for her work as an LGBT advocate.

Stephen Dansiger, PsyD, MFT is Clinical Director of Refuge Recovery Centers in Los Angeles, a cutting edge addictions treatment center, where he developed and implemented the MET(T)A Method (Mindfulness and EMDR Treatment Template for Addictions). The treatment utilizes Buddhist psychology and EMDR therapy as the theoretical orientation and primary clinical practice. He is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Certified Therapist, and provides EMDR Basic Training and workshops through Mindful Ohio & The Institute for Creative Mindfulness. He is the author of Clinical Dharma: A Path for Healers and Helpers (2016) and avidly blogs and podcasts on topics related to mental health, recovery, and mindfulness. Besides also maintaining a private practice in Los Angeles, he travels nationally and internationally speaking and teaching on Buddhist mindfulness, EMDR therapy, the MET(T)A Method, trauma, the Refuge Recovery treatment model, and clinician self-care. He has been practicing Buddhist mindfulness for almost 30 years, and teaches dharma classes regularly at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society in Los Angeles, and at other centers nationally and internationally.