How do we help children and teens make sense of the internal fragmentation of dissociation? This session will focus on using playful, creative, and somatic strategies to support a titrated approach to EMDR preparation and processing phases for these young people. Interventions that borrow play therapy modalities such as fantasy, puppets, sand tray, and expressive materials, can help us work with the “parts of self” and defensive adaptations within dissociation to move from the preparation to processing phases of EMDR in a developmental sensitive way, even applicable with some adult clients. An active and flexible approach to EMDR makes us…
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Children affected by developmental trauma experienced acts of commission and especially acts of omission during critical periods of development. To coexist with overwhelming affect, these children had to develop rigid forms of self-protection that can make the therapeutic process stagnant. Defensive and protective strategies are complex as multiple systems, such as the attachment system, the defense cascade of the Autonomic Nervous System, and biological motivational systems interact in the trauma-forming defensive strategies. Without adequate experiences of dyadic regulation and safety, children learn that their emotions, body sensations, and, ultimately, their inner world are dangerous, leading to trauma-related phobias and rigid…
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November 6 - November 14