EMDRIA Office Closed for Thanksgiving

The EMDRIA office will be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday November 27th to allow EMDRIA employees to enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday with their families.

If you need to contact any member of the EMDRIA staff during this time, the quickest way to contact them will be to call that staff member on Monday, November 30th when the office re-opens.

If you leave a voicemail or send an email while we are out of the office, please allow us a few days to get back to you as we typically have as many as 100 emails and voicemails to return.

Please also allow additional time in processing your membership renewals, membership applications, applications or renewals for Certification or Approved Consultants, as well as product orders.

Seeking New Chair for EMDR & Medical Illness SIG

EMDRIA is looking for a new Chair for the EMDR & Medical Illness Special Interest Group.  In order to be the chair, you must:

1. Be a Member of EMDRIA
2. Be the leader of the SIG, including ensuring that the SIG meets EMDRIA’s SIG Guidelines
3. Must serve as the point of contact for people interested in joining the SIG, or assign someone else as the contact
4. Complete additional leadership tasks as needed

If you are interested in becoming the new Chair for hte EMDR & Medical Illness SIG, please contact Whitney Hanson.

SAMHSA Reviewing EMDR…

EMDR has been accepted for review by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), a  service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). EMDRIA had submitted an application in February 2008 to be reviewed.  Dr. Christopher Lee of the EMDRIA Research Committee, who submitted the application, has agreed to be the Principal for this review.

We will provide updates as more information because available!

Fort Hood Tragedy

By Scott Blech, Executive Director, EMDRIA

EMDRIA and the EMDR community extend their heartfelt sympathies to the military and families affected by last week’s tragedy at Fort Hood. There is an EMDR network in place in Texas ready to assist those in need.  Fort Hood has a staff of approximately 10-12 Army Family Life Chaplains who are EMDR-trained. Also, several of the Case Managers/staff at Moore Clinic, Fort Hood, attended a recent workshop (EMDR and the Treatment of War Survivors: Working with the Latest Generation) conducted by Dr. Steve Silver last month in Atlanta.

The VA’s Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)   teams have been notified to be on alert (and, some of them are EMDR trained).  And, there is a network of civilian clinicians under the direction of EMDRIA Member Maxine Trent that has been serving Fort Hood soldiers and families through a grant funded (TRIAD) project called “Homefront” under Scott & White Memorial Hospital.  In addition to EMDR clinicians near the base, clinicians in the Waco, Austin and Dallas areas have offered assistance. We appreciate the great outpouring of concern and offers for help and that all is being done that can be done at this time. The military may be calling on civilian resources later as needed.

Spread the Word About EMDR In Your Community

At EMDRIA we strive to spread the word that EMDR is an effective, evidence-based therapy, but one of the most effective means of accomplishing this goal is for our members to speak out on a local level.

Many of our members have taken the initiative to reach out to local reporters and news outlets to explain EMDR, discuss relevant local EMDR news and explain how national EMDR news relates to their community. By doing so, they not only spread knowledge of EMDR, but they also promote their practice and offer an effective methodology to local citizens that suffer from trauma.

A great example of this is a recent article in The Advocate which serves Berkshire and Bennington Counties, MA in which Valerie Sheehan, LICSW was interviewed. Read the article here.

Please consider contacting news outlets in your area to explain EMDR, announce the opening of a new clinic, or discuss EMDR as it relates to a local event.