Integrating EMDR With Other Types of Therapies GWT Magazine™️ Issue

Integrating EMDR With Other Types of Therapies Go With That Magazine™️ Issue

We invited several authors to write about “Integrating EMDR With Other Types of Therapies” in the Spring 2024 Go With That Magazine™️ issue. We are sharing Dr. Sarah Dominguez’ article here, and EMDRIA members can access all other articles and issues in the Go With That Magazine™️. United We Stand: EMDR as an Integrative Psychotherapy By Dr. Sarah Dominguez Excerpt: “Experts have suggested that there is a paradigm crisis in mental health (Sarris et al., 2014; Schenberg, 2018). If you were asking a group of mental health therapists what the most effective intervention model for psychopathology is, you would likely get several opposing, firmly held views. The opposing nature of these debates results in silos of knowledge, which can be stifling for the progression of the mental health field (Wu et al., 2022). Tensions between different psychological orientations is not new. … While healthy debate is critical for growth and change, the tension between psychological models sometimes can be likened more to a divisive and polarising ethical orientation rather than a scientific or theoretic perspective (Wachtel, 2018). In addition to possible silos of knowledge, this polarizing nature can confuse therapists and the public, decreasing confidence in the therapeutic process and perhaps even reducing the chance that clients will seek the support they need. As all shadows require light, the polarising views some hold are countered by others. As such, many within the mental health field are curiously exploring the similarities and difference between orientations. The outcome of these explorations is a field of integrative psychotherapy where elements of differing therapeutic modalities are integrated based on client needs and an understanding of differing theoretical orientations (Wachtel, 2018). EMDR therapy is one such integrative approach (Shapiro, 2018). Of course EMDR therapists are not immune to criticism regarding a passionate support from therapists and clients. However, while some psychological models aim to be purist, EMDR therapy, from its start, strongly focuses on integration, embodying the idiom concerning psychological therapeutic models that together, we are more than a sum of our parts. In some of her early work, Dr. Francine Shaprio, the developer of EMDR, said that “each school of thought in the field of psychology has an important contribution to make” (2002, p. 4). As such, integration is at the core of EMDR therapy. This integrative tendency is evident when reflecting on the development of the therapy. While many models of psychological interventions began from a theoretical standpoint, Shapiro (2002) was clear that EMDR evolved from a clinical perspective based on her clinical experiences. Although acknowledging behavioral roots, rather than initially being fully embedded in a novel theory, EMDR was developed, in part, as an incorporation of aspects of a range of therapeutic modalities (Shapiro, 2002). However, while honoring the origins of the varied theoretical influences, this amalgamation appears to be providing results building on the efficiency and efficacy of current intervention options (Stanbury et al., 2020. …”

Click Here to Access Dominguez’ Full Article

This issue also includes the following articles:

Integrating Internal Family Systems into EMDR Therapy’s 8 Phases by Daphne Fatter, Ph.D.
Arts-Informed EMDR: A Continuum of Resourcing Practices from Bilateral Artmaking to Visual Journaling by Elizabeth Warson, Ph.D., Sophia Cowx, Johanna Curelo, LPC, Erin Spier, LPC, and Andrea Sutrick, LMHC
EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Somatic Experiencing: The Therapy Team You Didn’t Know You Needed by Amber McKinney-Morgan, LCSW
Integrating STAIR with EMDR for AANHPI Veterans with Complex Trauma by Sherry Yam, LCSW, with contribution from Tamara Clemmons, LCSW