Healing Racial Trauma with Somatic EMDR Therapy

The “Healing Race-Based Trauma with Somatic EMDR-Therapy” presentation will explore how to assess and address racialized trauma with EMDR therapy, enhanced by somatic approaches. “Diversity” trainings that do not incorporate the body are insufficient in addressing racialized trauma since so much of the harm occurs on subconscious/autonomic and physiological levels. The Multi-racial facilitators will emphasize the importance of clinicians assessing and unpacking their own implicit bias and privilege and teach how to embody anti-racist work. They will incorporate polyvagal theory and ego state work in addressing race-based trauma. They will explore how to assess for generational trauma within the EMDR protocol. Participants will identify strategies for broaching topics of race (even with white clients) and how to avoid causing racialized harm to BIPOC clients. Participants will be given somatic resources that can help establish client safety across various cross-cultural therapeutic relationships.