Course Description

The workshop will introduce a collection of ego state therapy interventions from the Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS) for stabilizing dysregulated, dissociative, and attachment-wounded clients. This presentation—by Shirley Jean Schmidt, MA, LPC and Lynn James, LCPC, LMHC—will describe ways to talk directly to triggered wounded child parts (1) to welcome them; (2) to, attune, validate, and empathize with them; (3) to get them bonded with loving internal resources; (4) to orient them to present time; and (5) to reassure them that their perception of “reliving” an old trauma is just a harmless recording playing back. When these interventions are provided together, in the right order, they have a profound stabilizing effect.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe how to guide clients to mobilize a team of vetted Resources.
2. Participants will be able to describe how to guide clients to establish a Special Safe Place where their wounded parts can rest and play.
3. Participants will be able to describe how to directly dialogue with a wounded child part, to attune, validate, and empathize.
4. Participants will be able to describe how to orient a wounded child part to present time.
5. Participants will be able to describe how to reassure a wounded child part that her perception of “reliving” an old trauma is just a harmless recording playing back.

Presenter(s)

Shirley Jean Schmidt, MA, LPC

Shirley Jean Schmidt, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor near Portland, Oregon. She was trained in EMDR in 1995. She’s a former EMDRIA-Approved Consultant. She began integrating EMDR with ego state therapy in the late 90s – inspiring her to develop a complementary therapy approach, the Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS). She’s trained hundreds of therapists in the DNMS over the last 20 years. She recently expanded her model to include interventions for preparing dissociative clients for EMDR. She’s published articles and webinars about integrating EMDR with ego state therapy. She holds the patent on the TheraTapper, an EMDR tapping device.

Lynn James, LCPC, LMHC

Lynn James, LCPC, LMHC, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in private practice in Island Lake, Illinois. She specializes in treating complex PTSD and dissociation. She’s an EMDRIA-approved Consultant and an EMDR Basic Training trainer. Her specialty is integrating EMDR with the DNMS. She’s given lots of weekend workshops on how to prepare attachment-wounded clients and dissociative clients for EMDR. For more information go to www.lynnjames.net.