Letter from the Editor:
Summer, 2007
- Personal, and then Global Healing -
Dr. Scott E. Borrelli Malaga SPAIN
Chief Editor, The EMDR Practitioner
In these times of ongoing and widespread international, family and personal trauma,
we can expect direct and vicarious stress reactions to be rampant. I commented
on this dire situation in last year’s “letter from the editor”, and (unfortunately)
here we are again. We can gain much comfort in knowing that the many individuals
benefiting from our work as EMDR therapists across Europe are then better able
to contribute to a healthier and more peaceful world.
Sadly, large sections of our beautiful planet remain in deep chaos, and persistent
varieties of trauma remain the primary inducers of emotional and physical “illness”.
Certainly the wars, but also our troubled youth and worries about climate change
remind us of the magnitude of the problem and propel many of us to answer the
call for constructive action.
We share a great deal of wisdom. We know that chaos is worsened by a number of
factors that seem to be “loading up” these days, including the lack of inspiring
leadership at all levels of society, miscommunication and prejudice among people
and cultures, intolerance, dishonesty, fear and confusion about human diversity
and human rights, and the crumbling of previously stabilizing but outdated social
structures provoking fraudulent and unreliable replacements.
Although peace in a global sense may seem far away, the achievement of personal
strengths are first and powerful steps toward this ultimate goal. Reason, compassion
and positive action inspire our work as change agents. We are ever more tasked
to promote contentment within the self and to create stability where possible,
first in the immediate and often more manageable intimate settings of family,
friendship, and work. These areas are our workshops for eventual peace in the
world.
Perhaps because the need is so great, we professionals are ever more propelled
to create, learn, teach, research, and apply psychological treatments that work.
As a result, the literature is now rich with compelling accounts of therapeutic
successes and empirically based conclusions, with EMDR ranking on or near the
top as a treatment of choice for stress induced and other disorders. Indeed, the
future looks brighter.
In a review of the literature over the past nearly two decades since the inception
of EMDR in 1989, the amount and quality of research and clinical evidence is stunning.
The efficacy and efficiency of EMDR treatment in cases of post trauma stress and
related disorders are highlighted in these studies – a cause for celebration!
Consequently, EMDR is recognized by an influential number of practice and governmental
organizations in Europe and America as a successful treatment
for stress reactions, often alongside CBT, exposure and stress inoculation therapies.
Additionally, EMDR is now included in many prominent national practice guidelines,
including in America (American Psychological Association; American Psychological
Association; US Department of Defense; US Department
of Veteran’s Affairs), the United Kingdom (Department of Health/NICE), France
(National Institute of Health and Medical Research), the Netherlands, Sweden,
Northern Ireland (Department of Health, Social Service and Public Safety), and
Israel (National Council for Mental Health)
In comparison to other psychotherapies, EMDR is distinguished for client tolerability
(including fewer side effects), brevity (months rather than years duration of
treatment), and endurance (outlasting many other treatments). When compared to
the popular psychopharmacological solutions often applied, such as the antidepressant
fluoxetine and other SSRI’s, EMDR has demonstrated longer-lasting and safer therapeutic
results. All this means enhanced treatment for a wider range of clients suffering
from the countless ways in which stress and trauma manifests in the body-mind,
including for symptoms of anxiety, depression, fear and worry, addiction, obesity,
family conflict, violence and abuse.
More progressive stages of development in the theory and practice of EMDR are
evidenced by the surge of special applications, modifications and additions to
the original protocol. In early EMDR history, the application of the original
protocol was instructed to be “pure”, for how else could we conduct empirical
studies and compare and contrast early results? EMDR generates creative thinking,
and variations on the theme were inevitable from the start. This is, in part,
because EMDR is itself an eclectic approach, borrowing and combining elements
from an intelligent selection of established therapies, including cognitive-behavioral,
exposure and reframing models.
EMDR offers much more than most current therapies, increasingly inviting creative
interpreters and novel applications as the practice matures and the practice community
becomes more confident in this remarkable psychotherapy skills journey. The strengths
of EMDR also rest on:
- the comprehensiveness and unique sequence of the protocol,
- the uses of bilateral stimulation (although one of the more controversial
aspects of the protocol and hotly debated),
- the importance of carefully following the client’s progression in therapy
and assessing client readiness for further steps in the treatment,
- the prevention of re-traumatising stimuli,
- an emphasis on the establishment of a supportive therapeutic alliance,
highlighting therapist-patient collaboration.
- promoting the concepts of the right to health and the natural ability of
each client to heal when provided appropriate therapeutic conditions.
As a more rapid treatment for PTSD, EMDR contrasts with exposure and other cathartic
type processes by deemphasizing the age-old idea that in order to be released
from the grip of past trauma events, they must somehow be re-experienced. In fact,
EMDR can claim credit for removing this pressure from the client, thereby lessening
the risk of retraumatisation during therapy. However, the whole is truly greater
than the sum of its parts, and there is much more to discover in how and why the
EMDR protocol works as it does, and which parts work best. The eclectic nature
of EMDR inches ever closer to a truly comprehensive and integrative theory and
practice. Even more so now that brain imaging techniques offer objective data
and validation of the EMDR healing process
Other well known and increasingly measurable elements to treatment apply, of course.
When we practice conscientiously, we are generating hope and trust,
powerfully significant components of our total therapeutic regimen. We are learning
to value and openly discuss the mysteries of the placebo effect, increasing
its potency for our patients. We promote holistic healing experiences, allowing
individuals to rediscover and strengthen personal authority and safety, thereby
speeding the process toward recovery on all levels of being.
It is only a question of time when the voices of reason, often constrained by
fear and pain, will predominate in the body-mind, and when personal peace will
generate world peace. How fortunate we are to be a part of the solution, and to
have patients willing to participate in this journey.
We are pleased to be offering a collection of new articles this summer on various
and ground-breaking topics. Publishing your ideas and experiences as an EMDR practitioner
with us is a unique opportunity to propel your voice into the European community
and contribute further to one of the most inspiring experiments in the history
of psychotherapy. Please send me your ideas for publication, and we will work
with you to publish your material, including case studies and clinical contributions,
research studies, theoretical reviews, resources and review articles. I, along
with the editorial board, will be honoured to work with you to publish your material.
Please email me if you have any questions about the articles submission process.
I hope that our clients and patients will contribute their experiences, as well
I look forward to hearing from you and to celebrating with you at the European
conference in Paris on June 15-17, 2007, and other activities during the year.
Peace & Health,
Scott E. Borrelli, EdD CPsychol
scott.borrelli@gmail.com