The EMDRIA Board of Directors recently issued the following statement to our members regarding racial discrimination and the disproportionate experience of violence by police that minority populations face. EMDRIA is committed to supporting those who are marginalized and who suffer from disparate treatment.
June 2, 2020
As traumatic events continue to unfold, we, the Board of Directors of the EMDR International Association, feel compelled to address our membership. We are acutely aware that our Black colleagues are and have been disproportionately impacted by violence and overly aggressive policing. We see you. We support you. Your lives and work matter.
As members of this association, we know that we are individually and collectively committed to the advancement of efficacious care for all communities impacted by trauma. We also know that our membership has and will continue to be on the front lines of care for impacted individuals during this time.
As elected leaders of EMDRIA, we are committed to the work of being an anti-racist organization; that is, an organization that vows to purposefully identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race and oppression, and how they show up in our leadership and professional work. As a Board, we will continue to challenge our understanding of how inequity impacts the most vulnerable in our population as we continue to learn how to better support our most impacted members. We commit to provide the necessary support and resources to guide clients and communities most affected by institutional racism and state-sanctioned violence.
We salute all our healers in these moments. We stand with you. Thanks for the work you do, despite the personal toll it takes. We will continue to build bridges and create healing, health, and hope.
The EMDRIA Board of Directors
Carol Miles, President
Wendy Byrd, President-Elect
Kriss Jarecki, Secretary
Lori Kucharski, Secretary-Elect
Candida Condor, Director
Marisol Erlacher, Director
Tamra Hughes, Director
Sharon Rollins, Director