Course Description

Human beings are social animals with a fundamental need for social connectedness and inclusion. Yet many people feel they don’t fit, experience social anxiety, face threatening societal dynamics, or otherwise struggle in groups. Socially adverse experiences including developmental social trauma, stigmatization, discrimination, exclusion, being “canceled” and marginalization can lead to isolation, invisibility, addiction, and alienation. This true “workshop” led by Mark Nickerson, LICSW will include clinical tools and experiential exercises designed to convey key concepts including the nature of social information processing, ingroup/outgroup effects, a new category of resonating NC/PCs (connectedness/belonging), social identity formation, internalized social messages, the impact of “isms” and multiple cultural considerations.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe examples of socially based adversity/trauma, its impact and reasons to attend to it in EMDR therapy.
2. Participants will be able to describe AIP relevant social information processing tendencies for ingroup/outgroup perceptions and the importance of understanding this.
3. Participants will be able to describe the concept of social identity as a state-based part of the self and its relevance to overall client wellbeing.
4. Participants will be able to identify personal and client experiences related to social/cultural experiences and social identity.
5. Participants will be able to describe EMDR treatment strategies throughout the 8-Phase model to reduce or eliminate the internalized impact of social adversity/ trauma and societal messages.

Presenter(s)

Mark Nickerson, LICSW

Mark Nickerson, LICSW, a psychotherapist, clinical consultant, EMDR Institute trainer, and member of the Council of Scholars. He conducts advanced EMDR trainings nationally and internationally on topics including integrating culture and healing culturally based trauma and adversity, treatment for problem behaviors, and the effective use of EMDR protocols. He is editor/author of Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Therapy: Insights, Strategies and Protocols (Springer, 2016- 2nd edition, 2022 in press) and The Wounds Within (Skyhorse, 2015), an expose on the challenges for war veterans and their families. More information at culturalcompetenceEMDR.com and markinickerson.com.