Course Description

Children with developmental trauma and dissociation present severe affective, behavioral and relational dysregulation posing a challenge for caregivers. Research suggests adoptive parents might be traumatized by knowing the pre-adoptive history of the child they adopt (Skandrani et al., 2019). Caregivers might also be traumatized by the child’s disruptive behaviors (theft, sexualized behaviors, compulsive lying), causing them a state of constant alert. (Baita, in press). The traumatic impact on parents of either their child’s traumatic past or their current dysregulated behavior, hampers the development of a secure bond between child and caregiver, jeopardizing the relationship. EMDR can help these parents to process the traumatic impact by targeting either the catastrophic scenarios caregivers predict for their child’s future, or the ongoing stress caused by the repetition of the child’s disruptive behaviors, which are linked to their traumatic past. This presentation will show how the Flashforward procedure (Logie & De Jong, 2014) and the PRECI (Jarero, 2014; Jimenez et al., 2020) can be implemented to fulfill this goal.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify sources for trauma affecting parents of children with developmental trauma and dissociation derived from the caretaking relationship.
2. Participants will be able to apply EMDR protocols and procedures to process the traumatic impact suffered by parents.
3. Participants will be able to assess conditions in the relationship for which the use of these protocols and procedures is unsuitable.

Presenter(s)

Sandra Baita, Psy.D.

Sandra Baita, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, EMDR therapist and approved consultant with over 30 years of experience working with severely traumatized and dissociative children and their families. She has trained professionals of different disciplines in Latinamerica, US and Europe. She is the author of 3 books in Spanish on assessment and treatment of trauma and dissociation in children, and of book chapters published in US, Italy and UK. Fellow member of the ISSTD she has been awarded twice by this professional organization for her contribution to increase the knowledge about dissociation in Spanish speaking countries. She is also a Board member of the ESTD, and member of its Education Committee. She lives and has her private practice in Buenos Aires, Argentina.