EMDR helping the Military

On Saturday, Nov. 5th I gave a presentation to a small group of Airmen at Stewart Air National Guard base, located in Newburgh, NY.  This occurred  during a Drill weekend. With me was April Hannah,  the Wing Director of Psychological Health on base.   We were able to show “Warrior Camp” and it was very well received.  I talked about EMDR and offered to do a demonstration of Resource Installation.  One of the Airmen was volunteered by his men. It was somewhat awkward for him in that he was unable to report on body sensations, but as often happens, he noticed and verbalized an almost immediate relaxing of tension, with only the first set of bilateral eye movements. That produced some laughter and pretty intense attention from the rest of the men.  Just so you know, I am pretty traditional and used my arm – of all the EMDR paraphernalia, I only own TheraTappers and CDs, (no light table – never worked for me).

The meeting with this group lasted an hour. They had recently redeployed from a rather difficult deployment in Iraq. They were not too forthcoming about what happened to them, which is not uncommon with groups of warriors, especially when they are all men and their CO was in the room with them. There was a mental health rep present, however, and he was immensely impressed. April thinks I will be invited back, hopefully to address a larger group.

What are your experiences presenting on EMDR to members of the Military?

Eva J. Usadi, MA, BCD
New York, NY

This entry was posted in EMDR & the Military, EMDR in Practice, Events by EMDR. Bookmark the permalink.

About EMDR

The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) is a professional association where EMDR practitioners and EMDR researchers seek the highest standards for the clinical use of EMDR. EMDR is an accepted psychotherapy by leading mental health organizations throughout the world for the treatment of a variety of symptoms and conditions. This website provides information to the greater EMDR community including clinicians, researchers, and the public that our members serve.

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