EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology: Interventions to Enhance Embodiment in Trauma Treatment

by Arielle Schwartz, Barb Maiberger, Robin Shapiro (Foreword by)

Overview

A guide to help EMDR practitioners to integrate somatic therapy into their sessions.

Clients who have experienced traumatic events and seek EMDR therapists rely on them as guides through their most vulnerable moments. Trauma leaves an imprint on the body, and if clinicians don't know how to stay embodied in the midst of these powerful relational moments, they risk shutting down with their clients or becoming overwhelmed by the process. If the body is not integrated into EMDR therapy, full and effective trauma treatment is unlikely.

This book offers an integrative model of treatment that teaches therapists how to increase the client's capacity to sense and feel the body, helps the client work through traumatic memories in a safe and regulated manner, and facilitates lasting integration.

Part I (foundational concepts) offers a broad discussion of theory and science related to trauma treatment. Readers will be introduced to essential components of EMDR therapy and somatic psychology. The discussion then deepens into the science of embodiment through the lens of research on emotion, memory, attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, and the impact of trauma on overall health. This part of the book emphasizes the principles of successful trauma treatment as phase-oriented, mindfulness-based, noninterpretive, experiential, relational, regulation focused, and resilience-informed.

Part II (interventions) presents advanced scripted protocols that can be integrated into the eight phases of EMDR therapy. These interventions provide support for therapists and clients who want to build somatic awareness through experiential explorations that incorporate mindfulness of sensations, movement impulses, breath, and boundaries.

Other topics discussed include a focus on complex PTSD and attachment trauma, which addresses topics such as working with preverbal memories, identifying ego states, and regulating dissociation; chronic pain or illness; and culturally-based traumatic events. Also included is a focused model of embodied self-care to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393713114
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/07/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	430,749
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Arielle Schwartz, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, EMDR Therapy consultant, somatic psychotherapist, and certified yoga instructor with a private practice in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of several books on trauma recovery, including EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology (Norton, 2018).
Barb Maiberger is an author and EMDR trainer specializing in somatic therapies in Boulder, Colorado.
Robin Shapiro, LICSW, is known for her clear, accessible, and practical style in writing, teaching and clinical consultation. She edited and contributed to EMDR Solutions: Pathways to Healing (Norton, 2005) and EMDR Solutions II: Depression, Eating Disorders, Performance & More (2009) and wrote Trauma Treatments Handbook (2010), and Easy Ego State Interventions (2016). She loves her work: writing, presenting about ego states, EMDR topics, and suicide prevention, doing clinical consultation, and thirty-eight years of psychotherapy practice, especially around issues of trauma, anxiety, and attachment.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

Preface xix

List of Interventions xxv

Part 1 Foundational Concepts

Chapter 1 Embodiment in Trauma Treatment 5

EMDR Therapy

Somatic Psychology

Chapter 2 The Science of Embodiment 18

Embodiment and Embodied Awareness

Somatic Intelligence

The Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma

The Neurobiology of Attachment

Embodiment and Interpersonal Neurobiology

The Impact of Trauma on Health

The Neurobiology of Memory and Dissociation

Neural Networks and the Treatment of Trauma

Chapter 3 The Seven Principles of EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology for Trauma Treatment 56

Principle 1 Phase Oriented

Principle 2 Mindfulness Based

Principle 3 Non-Interpretive

Principle 4 Experiential

Principle 5 Relational

Principle 6 Regulation Focused

Principle 7 Resilience Informed

Part 2 The Interventions

Chapter 4 Interventions to Enhance Embodiment in Trauma Treatment 71

Somatic Vocabulary

Therapist Observational Skills

Increase Body Awareness

Proximity Awareness

Containment of Somatic Distress

Grounding

Breath Awareness

Boundaries and the Body

Building Affect and Sensation Tolerance

Pendulation Between Distress and Resource State

Postural Awareness

Sensation-Based Inquiry for Target Development

Body Mapping

Tell a Story Without Words

Habitual Stress Response

Target Development From a Body Sensation

Sequencing and Somatic Repatterning During Desensitization

Somatic Interweaves for Stuck Processing

Pendulation Between Internal and External Awareness

Embodiment and Integration

Chapter 5 Complex PTSD and Attachment Trauma 145

Symptoms of C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma

History Taking for C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma

Working With Shame

Ego States and Parts Work

Core Negative Cognitions and Identity

Target Development for C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma

Psychobiological Regulation During Desensitization

Installation Phase for C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma

Integration and Revaluation for C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma

Chapter 6 Chronic Pain and Illness 207

Trauma

Chronic Pain, and Chronic Illness

History Taking for Chronic Pain and Illness

Preparation Phase and Resource Development for Chronic Pain and Illness

Yoga in EMDR Therapy

Focusing and Listening to Pain

Assessment Phase and Target Development for Chronic Pain and Illness

Negative Cognitions Related to Chronic Pain and Illness

Secondary Gains and Losses

Order of Targets Related to Chronic Pain and Illness

Desensitization Phase for Chronic Pain and Illness

Parts Work for Chronic Pain and Illness

Installation

Integration, and Reevaluation for Chronic Pain and Illness

Chapter 7 A Cultural Context 258

Cultural Competence in Psychotherapy

Embodied Culture

Nonverbal Communications in a Cultural Context

History Taking in an Embodied Cultural Context

Preparation in an Embodied Cultural Context

Target Development in an Embodied Cultural Context

Installation, Integration, and Reevaluation in an Embodied Cultural Context

Chapter 8 Tools for Therapist Self-Care 293

The Burnout Continuum

Risk Factors of the Burnout Continuum

Signs and Symptoms of the Burnout Continuum

Embodied Self-Care Before a Session

Embodied Self-Care During a Session

Embodied Self-Care After a Session

Summary of Resources 319

References 321

Index 341

Editorial Reviews

"Arielle Schwartz and Barb Maiberger have provided a groundbreaking, clear and comprehensive volume that integrates somatic psychology and EMDR therapy. It will enrich the practice of EMDR therapists by grounding them first, in the theory of somatic therapies and the science of embodiment and then introducing creative, somatic interventions. These clearly presented step-by-step exercises offer client and therapist specific paths through each of the eight phases of EMDR, helping clients be fuller, embodied participants in their work. It will be an important addition to your therapy library!"

Carol Forgash

"Rarely have I read such a comprehensive, balanced, thorough, and useful book for therapists of all kinds. Schwartz and Maiberger have struck a profoundly productive balance of theory and research with practice and application. Culturally inclusive and refreshingly cross-disciplinary, this book deftly clarifies the complexities of an embodied approach to healing. Whether you are new to the somatic field or well versed in it, this book will guide you and inspire you in your work."

Christine Caldwell

"[A] wonderful resource for both therapists-in-training and practicing therapists. . . . It is clear that Schwartz and Maiberger collectively carry a vast amount of experience as trainers, authors and therapists. Their combined knowledge carries a dense weight; however, their writing skills create a load that is easily carried regardless of where the reader may be in their training. . . . From training rooms to private practice, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology is recommended text for any therapists or trainees interested in these areas."

Psych Central

"[W]ell written and informative and offers excellent techniques that practitioners can use. I recommend EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology for learning and creatively adapting EMDR."

The Milton H. Erickson Newsletter

"This pioneering book broadens the reach and enhances the efficacy of EMDR by masterfully integrating select body psychology interventions into EMDR protocols for the treatment of trauma. Providing an overview of somatic psychology theory and neuroscience, as well as accessible experiential exercises and techniques, the authors have written a landmark volume that will be of tremendous use to EMDR therapists everywhere who want to include the body in their clinical practice."

Pat Ogden PhD

"For everyone working with traumatized patients with issues ranging from frank PTSD to attachment disorders in personality presentations, anxiety, relational issues, body-related conditions, this is a valuable manual, more than just a book."

Metapsychology Online Review

"This is an in-depth approach to therapies meant to enhance embodied awareness, including EMDR, Somatic Psychology, yoga, movement, mindfulness, and bodywork. There are many wonderfully detailed and somatically grounded clinical protocols and guidelines. I was deeply touched by the authors’ compassion and wisdom about the embodiment of the human condition, including for those suffering from trauma, pain, and illness, and for the therapists/practitioners who are willing to commit themselves to a whole body, whole person engagement with the client."

Alan Fogel