How the EMDR Approach Works

• The neuroscience of exposure therapy and cognitive therapy
• The neuroscience of relaxation exercises
• EMDR and other “transformative therapies”
• Why EMDR works so well from a brain perspective

Trauma Symptoms and Assessment Tools

• Traumatic memories and intrusive thoughts
• Phobias and anxiety: Insula hyperactivation
• Emotional hijackings and implicit memory
• Avoidance cluster of symptoms
• Why treating avoidance in trauma is critical
• DSM-5® symptoms in a nutshell
• Connecting to a diagnosis
• Simple vs. complex trauma
• Intergenerational trauma
• Symptom clusters and physical manifestations
• CAPS-5 and PCL-5
• Primary Care PTSD Screen
• Dual diagnosis

Overcome Avoidance with EMDR

• Dual awareness
• What you are thinking about is the network you're in
• Activate networks for change
• Neurons that fire together, wire together (Hebb's Rule)
• EMDR as neuroentrainment

When to Use EMDR in Treatment

• Demonstrations and experiential exercises
• Single event trauma
• Anxiety disorders involving imaginal exposure

EMDR Trauma Treatment

• The Original 8-Phase Model
• Client history and treatment planning
• How to resource: Create a safe space
• Assessment: Choose a target, SUDS, and connect with the image/emotions/thought
• Desensitization: Tactile vs. auditory vs. eye movement
• How to use touchpoints, Theratapper, CDs
• Positive Cognition Installation: Likert scale 1-7
• Body Scan: Locate tension and distress in the body
• Closure: Close the neural network and the 6-hour window
• Re-evaluation

Demonstration of Original 8-Phase Model

• Presenter demonstration
• Attendee dyad practice of the 8-phase model

EMDR Techniques to Resolve Traumatic Memories

• Modifications for Complex/Developmental Trauma
• Do not use standard protocol - Rationale for modifications
• Resourcing strategies
• Techniques to reinforce and activate positive neural networks
• Relevance of Polyvagal Theory, early trauma, and EMDR
• Sensory motor modifications and somatic approaches
• How to build Dual Awareness
• EMDR techniques to bring traumatic memories from the limbic system into the prefrontal cortex

PTSD Diagnosis and How to Get Started with PE Treatment

• Mastering Accurate Diagnosis Techniques
• Recognizing the Adaptive Nature of Diagnosis (Supplementary Handout)
• Effectively Communicating Diagnosis to Clients
• Ongoing Utilization of Self-Report Measures to Titrate Treatment

In Vivo Exposures: Safely Guiding Clients from Avoidance to Gradual Desensitization

• Exploring the SUDS Hierarchy (Handout Provided)
• Risks and Benefits of In Vivo Exposures
• Guiding Clients to Choose Safe (But Challenging) Exposures
• Assigning In Vivo Exposures
• Recording In Vivo Homework (Handout Provided)
• Processing In Vivo Exposures with Your Clients
• Use of the PE App
• Video of Demonstration

Imaginal Exposure Techniques: Empowering Clients to Confront and Process Distressing Experiences

• The Significance of Imaginal Exposure
• Navigating Imaginal Exposure Sessions
• Coping with Personal Discomfort in Imaginal Exposure
• Supporting the Client Through Imaginal Exposure Challenges
• Facilitating Experience Processing without Over-Direction
• Included: Demonstration Video for Clarity
• Understanding and Addressing “Hot Spots” in Later Sessions (7+ in Therapy)

Other Key Clinical Considerations

• What if my Client isn't Appropriate for PE?
• Addressing Crises of the Week (COWS) Effectively
• Strategies to Reduce Treatment Discontinuation
• Handling Clients with Present Suicidal Ideation
• Managing Clients with Active Substance Use Disorders

Heal Wounded Parts, Transform Protective Parts, and Deepen Connection with Self

• Foundational principles and goals of IFS
• Understand different parts of your client's internal system
• Parts Led Systems vs Self-Led Systems
• IFS, Cultural Identities, and Intersectionality

Steps of IFS Therapy and How to Get Started

• The IFS approach to assessment and treatment planning
• Develop a relationship with clients' core self and develop self-leadership skills
• Facilitating communication and collaboration between parts
• How to integrate IFS therapy experiences into clients' daily lives
• Guided Experiential Exercises to help clients identify and connect with different parts

IFS for Anxiety: Working with Anxious Parts to Reduce Their Intensity

• How IFS shifts a client's relationship with anxiety and reduces symptoms
• Identify "worrier" or "perfectionist" parts that activate in response to anxiety triggers
• Facilitate communication with anxious parts to understand their motivations
• Unburden exiled parts and release blocked or stuck anxiety-related emotions
• Practice self-compassion and self-care to reduce anxiety over time
• Case Examples

An Internal Family Systems Approach to Grief

• The latest grief research and DSM-TR Prolonged Grief Disorder Criteria
• Self-leadership to provide a sense of inner stability through the grieving process
• Exiles in grief and how they can be accessed and worked with in IFS therapy

• Addressing common protectors, such as avoidance, dissociation, and numbing
• Integration of Art, Writing, Ritual & Cultural Practices with IFS
• Using IFS to identify and process secondary losses
• Working with acute loss, ambiguous grief, prolonged grief disorder
• Intergenerational Trauma: Legacy Burdens & Grief
• Case examples

IFS Therapy for Trauma, PTSD, and Complex Trauma

• How IFS differs in emotion regulation strategies from other approaches
• Common therapist missteps in IFS
• Address trauma-related fears and concerns by working with protective parts
• Work with exiles to help clients process and heal from traumatic experiences
• Developing self-leadership in clients to increase their resilience and coping skills
• IFS techniques to help clients release emotional and physical trauma stored in the body
• Navigating polarizations in the client’s system
• How does IFS address Intergenerational, collective, and ancestral trauma
• Case Examples

Additional Considerations in IFS

• Limitations of the Research & Potential Risks
• Using IFS in Groups
• IFS & Therapeutic Relationship
• IFS & Countertransference, Vicarious Trauma, & Burnout
• Therapist Self-Disclosure
• Medications in IFS