Course Description

Often our clients’ protectors become blended in therapy and subsequently block or interfere with EMDR processing, leaving EMDR therapists and their clients confused, frustrated, or both. Join us as we look through an IFS lens to understand these parts more deeply, uncover our own internal reactions to the parts of our clients, and apply IFS-informed EMDR interweaves to support more effective processing. This presentation will introduce participants to the Discovery Process, an IFS-Informed EMDR process developed by Bruce Hersey. This process combines strategies and perspectives from both EMDR, IFS, and Coherence Therapy. An intermediate form of EMDR processing, Discovery Process proactively identifies blended protector parts and combines resourcing and indirect processing within the preparation phase as a bridge to the assessment phase. IFS-Informed EMDR techniques will be further illustrated through recorded video demonstration to augment comprehension and application. A general knowledge of IFS therapy is suggested.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify the key differences between the conventional EMDR assessment phase target elements and the modified target elements in Discovery.
2. Participants will be able to describer ways to include IFS strategies in the preparation phase to identify protectors and assess readiness for assessment phase.
3. Participants will be able to describe two primary tasks of the therapist during Discovery Process.

Presenter(s)

Michelle Richardson, LCSW

Michelle Richardson, LCSW, is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, IFS Certified Therapist and IFS-Informed EMDR Trainer. In 2022, she co-founded the Syzygy Institute along with Bruce Hersey, a continuing education company that provides experiential training in Hersey’s systematic interweave of IFS-Informed EMDR Therapy. Through her work at Syzygy Institute, Michelle helps advanced EMDR therapists integrate IFS into their work so that they can help ease their clients out of stuck patterns in therapy with clarity, confidence, and calm. Additionally, she is the owner of Mindful Soul Center for Wellbeing, an EMDR-focused group practice located in southern New Jersey.

Elizabeth Venart, LPC

Elizabeth Venart, LPC, is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, IFS Certified Therapist, and IFS-Informed EMDR Trainer. She is a lead trainer with the Syzygy Institute, teaching Hersey’s IFS-Informed EMDR Integration. Elizabeth served as the Montgomery-Bucks EMDRIA Regional Network Coordinator in the Greater Philadelphia region from 2011-2020. She offers consultation groups for IFS-Informed EMDR and Consultants-in-Training. She specializes in working with developmental trauma and highly sensitive persons (HSPs). In 2008, she founded The Resiliency Center of Greater Philadelphia as a supportive community for trauma-informed practitioners.