Dr Laurel Parnell provides an insider's view of EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). Drawing on her experiences as both client and therapist, she shares stories of healing, taking readers into her clients' psyches, where past traumas are witnessed and released.

Tools for Transforming Trauma provides clinicians with an integrative framework that covers a wide range of therapeutic modalities and a "black bag" full of therapeutic tools for healing trauma patients.

Heal from trauma and PTSD with the martial art of jiu-jitsu--written for survivors, mental health therapists, and trauma-informed martial arts instructors. This groundbreaking book introduces jiu-jitsu as a powerful embodied modality for trauma survivors in recovery, and includes 10 grounding practices, self-defense techniques, and 30 instructional photos. Unhealed trauma--from “little t” traumas to complex PTSD--leaves a lasting imprint on the bodies and minds of survivors. And in the aftermath of trauma, many people experience shifts in how they feel, connect with others, and interact with the world at large. This embodied, whole-person approach will help you heal the wounds of traumatic stress and how it shows up within yourself and your relationships, from disembodiment and numbness to anger, fear, anxiety, confusion, and dissociation. As part of a martial arts trauma recovery program, you’ll learn about: • Trauma, embodiment, and the transformative power of jiu-jitsu • Self-defense skills that can help survivors of violence define boundaries and feel safe, secure, powerful, and at home in their bodies • Creating a welcoming, responsive practice space as a studio owner • Integrating jiu-jitsu practice into a safe, accessible recovery protocol for survivors--and how therapists can recommend them to clients or build them into a treatment plan Written for trauma survivors, mental health clinicians, and martial arts practitioners and studio owners who want to create a safe, empowering, and trauma-sensitive space, Transforming Trauma with Jiu-Jitsu is a unique and vital guide to healing trauma’s invisible wounds.

Childhood can be an exciting time, full of joyous exploration, new skills, friends, and imaginative play. It can also be very frightening, especially when children have experiences that threaten their feelings of safety and well-being. Even common traumatic childhood events can deeply affect children's normal healthy development, their self-esteem, and their families. Many behavioral problems stemming from common traumatic events could require years of psychotherapy or medication. That is, they did -- until the advent of EMDR. Developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR had already helped thousands of adult clients when Joan Lovett experienced its healing power firsthand. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a comprehensive therapeutic approach that helps patients release disturbing thoughts and emotions that originate in traumatic experiences. Experiences can be traumatic in the commonly accepted sense -- abuse, disasters, violence -- but children may also perceive and respond to more ordinary events as very threatening. A playground accident, the loss of a loved one, school problems, or choking on a piece of popcorn can be a part of growing up. They can also be critical incidents that cause a child to view him- or herself as helpless or powerless, to become fearful, and to develop debilitating behavioral problems. In Small Wonders: Healing Childhood Trauma with EMDR, Joan Lovett, M.D., shares engaging clinical stories -- mysteries involving children who present her with puzzling and disturbing behaviors. She imaginatively focuses her knowledge of pediatrics, play therapy, and EMDR to alleviate the real-life ordeals of real-life children. Featuring a foreword by Francine Shapiro, Small Wonders is the most comprehensive and insightful book to explore the potential of EMDR for child therapy. This enlightening book is intended for parents who are concerned with having their children feel confident, for adults who want insights into the way the events of their childhood shaped their self-image, and for professionals who want to know more about EMDR and how it can be adapted to meet the special needs of traumatized children.

Integrating the latest in attachment theory and research into the use of EMDR. Much has been written about trauma and neglect and the damage they do to the developing brain. But little has been written or researched about the potential to heal these attachment wounds and address the damage sustained from neglect or poor parenting in early childhood. This book presents a therapy that focuses on precisely these areas. Laurel Parnell, leader and innovator in the field of eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), offers us a way to embrace two often separate worlds of knowing: the science of early attachment relationships and the practice of healing within an EMDR framework. This beautifully written and clinically practical book combines attachment theory, one of the most dynamic theoretical areas in psychotherapy today, with EMDR to teach therapists a new way of healing clients with relational trauma and attachment deficits. Readers will find science-based ideas about how our early relationships shape the way the mind and brain develop from our young years into our adult lives. Our connections with caregivers induce neural circuit firings that persist throughout our lives, shaping how we think, feel, remember, and behave. When we are lucky enough to have secure attachment experiences in which we feel seen, safe, soothed, and secure—the “four S’s of attachment” that serve as the foundation for a healthy mind—these relational experiences stimulate the neuronal activation and growth of the integrative fibers of the brain. EMDR is a powerful tool for catalyzing integration in an individual across several domains, including memory, narrative, state, and vertical and bilateral integration. In Laurel Parnell’s attachment-based modifications of the EMDR approach, the structural foundations of this integrative framework are adapted to further catalyze integration for individuals who have experienced non-secure attachment and developmental trauma. The book is divided into four parts. Part I lays the groundwork and outlines the five basic principles that guide and define the work. Part II provides information about attachment-repair resources available to clinicians. This section can be used by therapists who are not trained in EMDR. Part III teaches therapists how to use EMDR specifically with an attachment-repair orientation, including client preparation, target development, modifications of the standard EMDR protocol, desensitization, and using interweaves. Case material is used throughout. Part IV includes the presentation of three cases from different EMDR therapists who used attachment-focused EMDR with their clients. These cases illustrate what was discussed in the previous chapters and allow the reader to observe the theoretical concepts put into clinical practice—giving the history and background of the clients, actual EMDR sessions, attachment-repair interventions within these sessions and the rationale for them, and information about the effects of the interventions and the course of treatment.

Exploring the nature of trauma and how best to deal with it is not only a timely task, it is a necessary one. While COVID, isolation, and social unrest don’t necessarily cause trauma—trauma is about how one reacts to a thing, not the thing in itself—the fact is that these days many of us are dealing with some sort of trauma. How can we heal? Perhaps through a therapy known as EMDR, which stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Cowritten by Michael Baldwin, a patient who experienced transformative relief from trauma through EMDR therapy, and Dr. Deborah Korn, a therapist (though not Baldwin’s therapist) who explains exactly how and why EMDR works, Every Memory Deserves Respect brings the good news of EMDR to countless readers who may not even know of it but would greatly benefit from using it. We learn the origins of EMDR and of its effectiveness in treating those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; how a session works; questions to ask a therapist before beginning. But we also learn a great deal about trauma—how it can refer to any experience, big or little, that is overwhelming, triggers strong negative emotions, and involves a sense of powerlessness or intense vulnerability; how it’s stored in our memories, and our bodies, waiting to be triggered; and how EMDR resolves it. Every Memory Deserves Respect is a warm, accessible, and helpful book, in part because of its innovative use of full-page photographs paired with a statement, definition, or affirmation. And that, combined with its mix of personal story and trusted authority, makes this an unusually effective introduction to a complicated and important subject.

"This read truly does have something for everyone who works with trauma and dissociative processes." --American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis "This volume, which takes a multi-perspective approach to the practice of EMDR and Ego State Therapy, presents a wide variety of ways to integrate these two therapies, both with each other and with other complementary methods in the treatment of trauma and dissociation." --European Association for Body Psychotherapy EMDRIA has approved this book for a Distance Learning Book Course for 8 EMDRIA credits. "This book pioneers the integration of EMDR with ego state techniques. and opens new and exciting vistas for the practitioners of each." --From the foreword by John G. Watkins, PhD, founder of ego state therapy "This read truly does have something for everyone who works with trauma and dissociative processes." --American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis "The editors have gathered many experts in the field who explain in clear informative ways how to expand the clinician's abilities to work with this terribly injured population. This book blends concepts from neurobiology, hypnosis, family systems theory and cognitive therapy to enhance treating this population. It is a well written book that the novice as well as the seasoned clinician can benefit from." --Mark Dworkin, author of EMDR and the Relational Imperative "[This book] conveys complex concepts that will be of interest to seasoned therapists... with a clarity that will appeal to the novice as well. This is really a wonderful text with many excellent ideas and I highly recommend it to anyone who treats trauma." --Sarah Chana Radcliffe, M.Ed.,C.Psych.Assoc. Author, Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice "I believe that this book is a significant contribution to the fields of psychology and EMDR. It is the first of its kind... anyone who reads this will gain greater confidence in using EMDR and ego state therapy witih highly dissociative and complicated clients." --Sara G. Gilman, in Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, Volume 3, 2009 "This is a book about polypsychism and trauma. It offers a number of creative syntheses of EMDR with several models of polypsychism. It also surveys and includes many other models of contemporary trauma theory and treatment techniques. The reader will appreciate its enrichment with case examples and very generous bibliographic material. If you are a therapist who works with patients who have been traumatized, you will want this book in your library." --Claire Frederick, MD, Distinguished Consulting Faculty, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center "Training in EMDR seems to have spread rapidly among therapists in recent years. In the process, awareness is growing that basic EMDR training may not be adequate to prepare clinicians to effectively treat the many cases of complex trauma and dissociation that are likely to be encountered in general practice. By integrating it with ego state therapy, this book may just serve as a crucial turning point in the development of EMDR by providing a model for productively applying it to the treatment of this important and sizeable clinical population." --Steven N. Gold, PhD, President Elect, APA Division of Trauma The powerful benefits of EMDR in treating PTSD have been solidly validated. In this groundbreaking new work nine master clinicians show how complex PTSD involving dissociation and other challenging diagnoses can be treated safely and effectively. They stress the careful preparation of clients for EMDR and the inclusion of ego state therapy to target the dissociated ego states that arise in response to severe and prolonged trauma.