Full Course Description

The Power of Attunement: Introduction to Relational EMDR

In this introductory session, gain a foundational understanding of EMDR’s proven ability to heal anxiety, depression, complex trauma, relationship problems, low self-esteem and more.

Expert instructor and Relational EMDR originator Deany Laliotis, LICSW, provides a step-by-step breakdown of the essentials of the model to take trauma treatment to a new, truly transformational level with a focus on addressing developmental deficits and restoring a sense of connection through the therapist’s somatic attunement. In this session, you’ll:

Learn the importance of tracking the client’s emotional state somatically and responding to shifts and unspoken changes in real time.
Discover the role of therapist as shape-shifter who can encourage, regulate, validate—whatever is required to process past experiences and fill in what’s missing so the client can move into full aliveness in the here and now.

Program Information

Outline

The Formulation of EMDR – Initial Focus on Trauma

PTSD diagnosis – 1980, EMD developed – 1989
Changing paradigms of long term treatment
Subsequent generalization beyond specific trauma treatment
Memory networks and early developmental influences

Adaptive Information Processing Model

Maladaptive storing of negative experiences – related areas of confusion
- Misattribution of responsibility
- Absent sense of safety
- Confusion related to power and control

Effect of Triggers Beneath Cognitive Levels of Processing – Limitations of Understanding and Coping

Transformative nature of EMDR on automatic responses
Mapping of emotional landscape – unpredictability of connections

Basic Elements of Developing EMDR Interventions

Review of trauma history, identifying related behaviors, clarifying connections
Identifying images, rating disturbance levels, defining positive outcome
Desensitization of memories and related sensations
Assess outcome, address remaining triggers

Relational EMDR

Integrating current interpersonal experience with effects of prior trauma
Restorative experience of emotions in the therapeutic interaction – corrective reprocessing
Use of therapeutic self beyond technical interventions – engaging client strengths

Overview of Four Upcoming Case Presentations – Process of Attunement, Individualizing Protocols

Objectives

Determine which symptoms are particularly responsive to improvement through EMDR interventions.
Develop and implement basic EMDR interventions for intrusive memories of past experiences.
Articulate methods of integrating Relational EMDR with traditional EMDR approaches to ameliorate the impact of pervasive attachment disruptions.

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers

Copyright : 04/21/2018

Relational EMDR Approach to Working with Shame, Overwhelm and Clinical Impasse

Meet Mary, an accomplished, successful professional who’s been in therapy for three years with a goal of engaging authentically in relationships. But she and her therapist have hit an impasse on dating—something she would like to do for the first time in her life. With Laliotis’ help, Mary moves through the impasse in a powerful single session with unexpected insights and a dramatic resolution. In this session, you’ll:

Learn how to assess a disconnected client’s ability to access inner experiences by way of images, thoughts, feelings, and sensations on demand
Follow subtle client clues to the hidden source of the self-limiting reaction that consistently shuts down Mary’s genuine desire for authenticity and connection in relationship
Experience how attunement allows Deany to track moment-to-moment shifts in the client’s emotional state and serve as “mid-wife” to the emergence of Mary’s authentic self
Take in this brilliant example of Relational EDMR protocol to bring its full healing power to bear on a unique and complex history

Program Information

Outline

Mary Clinical Video Demonstration – Relational EMDR

Client in treatment for three years, has made progress but struggles with full engagement in treatment and reaching personal goals

Identifying and Addressing Treatment Impasse – Aligning with Client Goals

Assessment of client inner experience – true sense of self absent
Approaching relationship with therapist flexibility
Attunement to verbal and nonverbal interaction

The Work Before the Work

Assessing client capacity for work and willingness to change
Bringing therapist experience into shared relationship

Following the Connection and Finding the Memory

The experiential elements of the EMDR approach
Diverging from standard EMDR protocols

Making an Explicit Contract to Target Vulnerable Content

Setting benchmarks and goals
Following spontaneous linkages

Formal Processing – Emotional Shifts and Integration

Resolution from maladaptive to reality based self-perceptions
Combining EMDR, relational and imagery techniques

Objectives

Utilize clinical demonstration to inform relational EMDR case conceptualization for therapeutic impasse
Determine the impact of personal history on barriers to treatment
Implement experiential interventions to improve clinical outcome

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers

Copyright : 05/11/2018

Using Relational EMDR to Address Anger, Trauma, and a Violent History

The client in this session, Carlos, came to therapy with a history of violence, anger, and trauma. He wants to maintain a relationship with his son, keep his job, and stay out of prison, but he’s been feeling increasingly triggered and afraid that he might act out in the same violent ways that he did when he was a member of a Hispanic gang in South Central, LA. Watch as Laliotis establishes a genuine connection with him and then helps him work through the painful memories that have been haunting him. In this session, you’ll:

Find out what it takes to establish trust and a contract to do the work with a client who has no reason to trust anyone
Learn how to ascertain that it’s safe—for both client and therapist—to move forward with work on trauma, rage and violence or when it’s best to walk away
Experience how unprocessed secondary trauma—being powerless in the face of violence to another—can be as intrusive and disruptive as primary trauma
Get a sense of how EMDR processing continues to work beyond the session itself when Carlos returns after 3 months—a changed man

Program Information

Outline

Carlos Clinical Video Demonstration – Creating Connections Client in Treatment for Fears of Losing Control Client with History of Violence as Victim and Perpetrator

Now working to adapt – protect a more stable lifestyle and relationship with son
Facing aggressive triggers at work – seeking more effective coping abilities

Identifying and Addressing Treatment Impasse – Challenges of Rage

Assessment of client inner experience – making a safe connection, frequent checks
Approaching relationship with therapist attunement, normalizing affect
Particular attunement to nonverbal interaction

Threat or Safety Messages Are Often Nonverbally Communicated The Work Before the Work

Assessing client capacity for work and willingness to change
- Identifying regret and remorse as elements of change
- Reframing desire for control from control of others to control of self
- Accurately perceiving client’s current abilities and motivations
Utilizing EMDR technology to improve therapist engagement
Addressing safety while processing powerful emotional content

Following the Connection and Finding the Memory

Identifying nodal memory – rape of cousin
Creating a contract to travel together into difficult content
Asking permission, checking client status, giving control

Formal Processing – Identifying and Clarifying Current Emotional Experience

Modifying standard protocols to enhance cognitive engagement
Attending to and releasing sadness
Following unexpected connections – utility of repeated checking for permission

Assessing Progress and Outcome – Checking the Work

Replacing maladaptive conclusions about self with adaptive conclusions
Replacing childhood perceptions of trauma with adult processing

Objectives

Utilize clinical demonstration to inform case conceptualization for client raised in high threat environment
Determine the impact of vulnerability and rage on barriers to treatment
Modify standard EMDR treatment protocols to improve client engagement

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers

Copyright : 05/12/2018

Relational EMDR for Working with Shock Trauma, Depression, and Suicide Ideation

Imagine losing not one, but two children to suicide. That is Gloria’s reality at the start of this session. She has been hospitalized several times recently for deep depression and suicidal ideation. She has a history of childhood abuse and trauma, and she feels hopeless and without meaning in life. Observe in action the moment-to-moment process Laliotis uses to break through Gloria’s resistance and guide her toward healing and a hopeful future.

Understand the step-by-step process and the clinical thinking behind Laliotis’ masterful reframing of the work at hand that gives Gloria a reason—much bigger than herself—to move forward
Gain actionable insights on the importance of touch, attunement and asking permission for trauma work as the session moves from the freeze-dissociation moment of finding her daughter’s body through processing the pain of that discovery, to gratitude for her daughter’s life and a new sense of purpose for what lies ahead
Experience the exquisite integration of EMDR reprocessing—using touch for bilateral stimulation—and the moment-by-moment co-regulation by the attuned therapist supporting the client through almost unendurable pain
Learn how to balance the injunction of “first do no harm” with the need to support clients thought a full experience of unprocessed events—even one as painful of Gloria’s

Program Information

Outline

Gloria Clinical Video Demonstration – Creating Supportive

Holding Environment

Client in Treatment for Repeated Severe Losses

Client with History of Losing Two Children to Suicide, Depressed and Suicidal Herself

History of childhood trauma and abuse, several hospitalizations for depression

Now Working to Find a Purpose to Live

Concern that image of daughter hanging may be an overwhelming memory/image

Identifying and Addressing Treatment Impasse – Challenges of Containment and Trust

Assessment of client inner experience – making a safe connection, frequent checks
Approaching relationship with decreased verbalizations, increased physical contact

The Work Before the Work

Assessing client capacity for work and willingness to change
- Expanding perspective beyond personal for the work – family related goals
  - Taking control of process - breaking the generational cycle
  - Importance of therapist transparency and authenticity
- Establishing a contract for the work

Formal Processing – Desensitization Intervention

Identifying initial reaction to traumatic event – failure to process
Easing client into the unprocessed moment
Engaging body as well as mind into the processing
Ongoing assessment of client tolerance – methods of providing increased support
Facilitating painful processing – utility of reassurance and repeated checking for permission
Managing and processing physical symptoms – making the implicit explicit

Carrying It Forward

Finding Meaning in The Experience – Reframing the Pain

Integrating the Experience – Understanding the Emotions, Finding Identity

Developing A Vision for The Future

Assessing Progress and Outcome – Checking the Work

Replacing childhood perceptions of trauma with adult processing

Objectives

Utilize clinical demonstration to develop intervention strategies for client facing multiple losses and treatment resistant depression
Articulate methods for identifying purpose for client who has lost a sense of meaning
Modify standard EMDR treatment protocols to integrate touch and physical contact into therapy

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers

Copyright : 05/16/2018

Using Relational EMDR to Overcome Traumatic Stress

Meet Amy, an experienced and skilled EMDR therapist who has found herself stuck and triggered during a session with a challenging client. Realizing that the impasse is likely related to herself, not the client, she has come to Laliotis for help. In this evocative session, you’ll observe the effectiveness of Relational EMDR to guide clients through long-term traumatic stress to reach a place of security and confidence.

Learn to sort through the three likely causes of a clinical impasse impartially—considering the technique and the clinician as well as the client

Take in the power of an open-ended question—Is that voice familiar?— and how it leads directly to the target memory early in the exploration process

Notice how and why Deany focuses reprocessing, not on Amy’s sense of responsibility for her parents’ dysfunctional behavior, but on undoing her profound and overwhelming sense of aloneness in that responsibility

Learn how to check for complete restructuring of the past belief as well as the emotional shift that ensures the transformation will hold in the future

Program Information

Outline

Amy Clinical Video Demonstration – Turning Focus from Client to Therapist

Modifying approach to meet each client

Therapist Addressing Triggered Responses from Client in Treatment

Therapist in ongoing supervision – becoming stuck in the process
Triggers disrupting implementation of standard EMDR protocols
Symptoms of hypervigilance, uncertainty, past focus

Now working to identify personal blocks to the process

Concern that focus on client may be overlooking actual impediments to the work
Identifying historical antecedents to present circumstances
Importance of therapist being willing to undergo the same therapeutic experience as that being asked of the client.

Identifying and Addressing Treatment Impasse – Losing Focus and Efficacy

Client an over controlled, over functioning, repetitive individual
Allowing client increased responsibility and direction of the therapeutic process
Skipping steps in establishing collaboration

The Work Before the Work – Therapist Amy, “I Forgot Everything I Know”

Therapist as colleague and client – developing shared understanding for treatment
Assessing her capacity for work and willingness to change
Following the connection – Therapist experiencing past-present collision
Finding the memory – Intrusive influence of personal history
Establishing a contract for the work – alliance and permission
Identifying adaptive conclusion – defining successful outcome

Formal Processing – Clarifying Elements of Personal Trauma History

Identifying initial reaction to traumatic event – “I’m in this alone”
Clarifying encoding at the time of the event
Utility of technological EMDR supports
Managing and processing hopelessness and panic – moving to adult perspective
Employing cognitive interweaving intervention

Assessing Progress and Outcome – Checking the Work

Assessing congruence of belief and physical experience of memory
Addressing remaining cognitive dissonance to solidify therapeutic resolution
Identifying impact of responses on client work
Establishing a plan and goals for successful responses going forward

Second Generation EMDR – Application Beyond Symptom Relief

Review of Case Examples Presented – Trusting the Process

Objectives

Utilize clinical demonstration to develop intervention strategies for therapist triggered and disrupted by client content.
Integrate therapist responses effectively into clinical treatment interventions
Articulate methods to apply EMDR treatment interventions to therapists as well as clients

Target Audience

Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers

Copyright : 05/25/2018

BONUS: The Many Faces of EMDR: Harnessing a Broad-Based Approach to Change

While EMDR is best known for its treatment of trauma, it has developed into a comprehensive psychotherapy approach that treats a broad spectrum of presenting issues across various clinical populations. This workshop is for practitioners who are interested in learning more about this highly effective, evidence-based approach that can treat a wide range of problems from single traumatic events to relationship problems, self-esteem issues, and complex trauma. You’ll explore how to:

Identify nodal experiences shaping not only clients’ current symptoms, but their lives and identity
Focus on the predominant themes in clients’ lives that underlie their current difficulties
Integrate the adaptive information-processing model of EMDR with whatever model of therapy you’re currently using

Program Information

Objectives

Determine the implications of nodal experiences as they relate to shaping clients’ current symptoms.
Analyze clinical strategies to identify predominant themes in clients’ lives that underlie their current symptomology.
Integrate the adaptive information-processing model of EMDR with other therapeutic interventions used within a clinical setting.

Outline

Trauma Often Occurs in Childhood

Personal Experiences

Developmental Trauma

Capacities to Resolve Trauma are Overwhelmed

Dissociative Processes

Complex trauma

Affect Dysregulation

Self Esteem

Difficulty in Relationships

Conclusions about the Self

Shifting the Way a Memory is Stored

Images of A Parent’s Denial of Trauma Stored in Brain

Inadequately Processed

Easily Triggered

Lack of Connection Between Information and Feelings

Emotional Hijack

EMDR As Integrative Therapy

Clinical Research

Present is Informed by the Past

State Specific Emotions

Adaptive Information Processing System in Brain

Orienting Response

REM Activity

Brain Processes in Present Time while Reflecting on Negative Experience

Use of Dual Awareness Increases Capacity to Feel More Stable

Creating Appropriate Responses and Exploring Personal Capacities

Focus of Present Experiences and Changing These

Target Audience

Psychologists, Physicians, Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and other Behavioral Health Professionals

BONUS: Mastering the Craft of Treating Trauma: Four Core Skills

Underlying all the techniques and methodologies for treating trauma today is a core set of fundamental skills that determine a clinician’s effectiveness in this challenging arena of practice.

Watch Deany Laliotis identify and explore in -depth the clinical skills that transcend theoretical paradigms, bringing together all that we know about trauma treatment. Help your clients understand their traumatic experiences and create a safe environment for them to heal.

Program Information

Target Audience

Psychologists, Addiction Counselors, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses, and other Behavioral Health Professionals

Objectives

Manage the clinical demands of working with developmental trauma using the core clinical skills.
Develop the clinical implications of trauma as they manifest in the consulting room and in the client’s life.
Analyze the history of client’s significant attachments as it relates to case conceptualization.
Analyze the efficacy of the four core clinician skills in relation to assessment and treatment planning.

Outline

Working Definition of Trauma
- Trauma Memory
- Triggers
Identifying and working with the by-products of trauma as they manifest in the consulting room and the client’s life.
Evaluate client readiness and motivation for desired change
Evaluate client skills necessary for effective trauma treatment
Explore history of significant attachments
Navigate the unique clinical demands of working with developmental trauma
- Core Clinical Skills

BONUS: Advances in Trauma Treatment Today Expert Panel

This Forum will offer fresh perspectives on how our basic understanding of trauma has developed since PTSD first became accepted as official diagnosis 30 years ago. Each presenter offers a 20-minute presentation in the compelling TED Talk style followed by the opportunity for further exchange and exploration with the audience.

What Really Works in Trauma Therapy: Searching for Commonalities among the Acronym Therapies:Donald Meichenbaum, PhD
Whatever Happened to Family Therapy?: Recovering Our Systemic View of Trauma: Mary Jo Barrett, MSW
Treating Multiply Traumatized Youth: An Evidence-Based Approach to an Overlooked Treatment Population:John Briere, PhD
Addictions and Trauma:Addictions as both the Problem . . . and the Solution:Janina Fisher, PhD

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the clinical implications of complex trauma in youth.
Articulate strategies for clients struggling with addictions to improve treatment outcomes.

Outline

Introduction to trauma panel and "flash forum" structure
Expert 20-minute panelist presentations
Audience pairing up and discussing of panel topics
Panelist answering of audience questions

Target Audience

Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Addiction Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Nurses and other Mental Health Professionals