EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room

Maximizes treatment of childhood trauma by combining two powerful modalities

This pioneering guidebook fully integrates the theoretical foundations and practical applications of play therapy and EMDR in order to maximize healing in in children with trauma. By highlighting the work of innovative EMDR therapists and play and expressive art therapists and their pioneering clinical work, the authors provide a fully integrated approach to using EMDR in a play therapy context while being faithful to both play therapy principles and the 8 phases of the EMDR standard protocol.

This book provides in-depth discussions on how leading innovators integrate their modalities—TraumaPlay, sand tray, art therapy, Synergetic Play therapy, Child-centered and Developmental Play Therapy—with EMDR and includes real life examples of assessment, parent and child preparation, developing emotional resources for reprocessing trauma using EMDR in play or expressive therapy, and a comprehensive look at complications of dissociation in trauma processing and how to manage these. Corresponding to the eight EMDR phases are twelve interventions, comprised of a brief rationale, step-by-step directions, materials needed, case examples, and supporting visual materials.

• Integrates EMDR and play therapy to create a powerful method for treating children suffering from trauma
• Includes contributions from dually credentialled EMDR clinicians and registered play therapists, art therapists, and sand tray practitioners
• Offers a fully integrated approach to EMDR and play therapy faithful to the eight phases of standard EMDR protocol and play therapy principles
• Includes a chapter on culturally sensitive EMDR and play using Latinx culture as the lens Describes how traditional play therapy creates an emotionally safe space for trauma work for children
• Provides hands-on play therapy interventions for each EMDR phase in quick reference format
• Delivers multiple interventions with rationale, step-by-step directions, materials required, case examples, and visual aids
• Foreward by Ana Gomez, leading author on the use of EMDR with children
• Available in print and eBook format

Table of Contents

Section One: Models for Integration

1 Using both EMDR and prescriptive play therapy in Adaptive Information Processing: A rationale and essential considerations for integration

2 TraumaPlay and EMDR: Integration and nuance in holding hard stories

3 Room for everyone: EMDR and family-based play therapy in the sandtray Marshall Lyles

4 Synergetic Play Therapy Combined with EMDR Therapy

5 Treating trauma in young Children: Integrating EMDR, Child-centered Play Therapy, and Developmental Play Therapy

6 EMDR and Expressive Arts Therapy: How expressive arts therapy can extend the reach of EMDR with complex clients

7 Playful and creative approaches for EMDR therapy with Latinx children Viviana Urdaneta

8 Understanding and responding to dissociation in children with play-based approaches

Section Two: Play-based Interventions for EMDR Phases

9 Taking a play-based trauma history Ann Beckley-Forest

10 Building a Calm/Safe Place in the play therapy room with the Fort Tent Alice Stricklin

11 Using trauma-sensitive yoga and embodied play therapy for stabilization and resourcing Jennifer Lefebre

12 The Pocket Smock as a preparation phase resource

13 The “Lemon Squeezies” metaphor for EMDR processing with children

14 EMDR-infused Theraplay

15 Resource Wand for Bilateral Stimulation in EMDR Therapy

16 Using the Superhero Shuffle for bilateral stimulation in EMDR with children

17 “Splatting” out the trauma with movement in EMDR processing

18 Using the Color Hands approach to bilateral stimulation (BLS)

19 Play therapy targets for EMDR processing: How to get a “bulls-eye”

20 Effectively managing closure and reevaluation phase with parents