Advanced Training

Reprocessing Early Childhood Trauma and Neglect
with Infants, Children, Adolescents and Adults

Note. All information related to this Advanced Training is located on this page, including the course schedule, fees, and online registration request (see below).

The British Columbia School of Professional Psychology (BCSPP) presents an advanced workshop in EMDR treatment of trauma before the age of 3-years. This workshop addresses two of the most challenging issues in the EMDR treatment of individuals with affect dysregulation from early traumatic experience, which includes emotional neglect and attachment failure. The difficulty is twofold, namely: 1. The standard protocol calls for targeting a memory, but encoding of explicit (conscious) memory of experiences before age three is rare (these are hypothesized to be in implicit memory); and 2. Approaching early material can quickly produce affective overwhelm, which frequently results in a dissociative response.

The protocol taught in this workshop addresses both of these problems through:
1. increasing affect tolerance by resetting the emotions to their innate capability (as would have occurred in a safe and nurturing early environment), and
2. enabling access to subtle and implicit memory networks, systematically (without requiring explicit memories for targets, and while maintaining the client’s felt sense of safety).

Applications:

• attachment, dissociative, personality and conduct disorders
• pervasive emotional distress
• traumatic incidents, environments and relationships
• prenatal trauma, known and unknown

Prerequisites:

Participants must have completed an EMDRIA Approved Basic Training in EMDR (both Part 1 and Part 2).

Learning Objectives:

• to efficiently develop empowering resources, which safely access implicit memory.
• to re-install innate emotional resources without opening-up disturbing material.
• to systematically target early disturbance held in implicit memory.
• to troubleshoot blocked processing with imaginative interweaves.

Course Objectives:

Application with all age levels is demonstrated. The course is taught in two parts so clinicians can develop confidence in using the Preparation Phase Measures before attempting to target early trauma/neglect.

Day 1 focuses on efficient and effective Preparation Phase Methods that lead naturally to EMDR trauma reprocessing and create sufficient safety to make it possible to access traumatic experiences stored in implicit memory. These are empowering methods which are normalized as emotional first aid techniques, including an individualized container and how to access, and return to, an ongoing safe state instead of a safe place image. Clinicians learn a resource development method that re-installs innate emotional resources without opening-up disturbing material. The sequence to follow, how to handle potential difficulties, and how to determine if the emotion is fully reset is covered.

Day 2 focuses on adapting the Standard EMDR Protocol when targeting experiences before age three. Videos and examples illustrate how readily clients (infants, children, teens, and adults) respond. Handouts provide the specific language needed to easily access unresolved issues and describe typical responses. How to use imaginative interweaves to stimulate blocked processing and to ensure that reprocessing has been completed is explained and demonstrated.

EMDRIA Credits: 12
Attendance of the entire program is required for CE credit.

Note: The material presented in this workshop is based on clinical observation. There is no controlled research to substantiate the content at this time.

Instructors:

Katie O’Shea, M.S., L.M.H.C. (website under construction)
EMDRIA Approved Instructor

Marshall Wilensky, Ph.D., R.Psych., B.C.E.T.S.
EMDRIA Approved Instructor

Training Dates:

Both days are scheduled on two separate weekends approximately 2- to 3-months apart:

• March 9, 2007 (9:00am-4:30pm, 6-hours)
  Preparation Phase: Safe State and Re-Setting Emotions
• May 25, 2007 (9:00am-4:30pm, 6-hours)
  Natural Sequence of Learning: Early Trauma

Advanced Training Workshop Registration Request:

Name: Firstname Lastname Street Address: City, Province: Xxxxxxxx, XX Postal/Zip Code: Phone: ### - ### - #### Email: Yes I have taken the EMDR Basic Training Course (both Part 1 and Part 2) Pressing Submit is the first step in notifying us of your intent to take the course. To reserve your place, your payment must be received at the office according to the tuition particulars below.

Tuition (full course, includes both days):

• $295.00 if all fees are paid-in-full by January 31, 2007
  or
• $325.00 if all fees are paid-in-full February 1, 2007 onward and 14-days prior to start of training
• Please make cheques/money orders payable (and send) to:
  BCSPP
  406 -1168 Hamilton
  Vancouver, BC V6B 2S2

Location:

Masonic Centre
1495 West 8th Ave (near Granville)
Vancouver, BC

For more info:

Alivia (Scalzo) Maric, Ph.D., R.Psych. Telephone: 604-251-7275 Email: