EMDR for Children with Developmental Trauma and Dissociation: Clearing up shame, avoidance and rejection from a relational perspective

During this online course participants will learn to expand their understanding and conceptualization of early interpersonal trauma and dissociation cases, beyond the traumatic memories of specific events experienced by the child. When traumatic events occur repeatedly within the most significant interpersonal relationships, the maladaptive information is not only limited to specific memories about events (like the yelling, the beating or the sexual abuse), but includes also affective states like shame, entangled with the child’s sense of identity, that can be easily triggered even if the child doesn’t acknowledge feeling it. Avoidance as a coping strategy lies at the heart of both trauma and dissociation, often preventing the therapist from accessing traumatic memories, hampering EMDR efficacy.