A Proposal for an EMDR Reverse Protocol

Introduction

As a psychologist for the child welfare system working with severely and chronically traumatized children and families, and as a psychologist for law enforcement, I returned to my office following my EMDR Basic Training I struggled to implement the protocol with my clients. In my 25 year career, I cannot recall ever encountering one client with a single incident trauma. So how then could I use EMDR? Because literature has discussed that EMDR trauma reprocessing (Phases 3-7) must be delayed due to the client’s need for extended resource development and skills to manage intense affect, I initially abandoned case conceptualization with EMDR because time and external resources did not afford my clients the opportunity to complete the entire targeting sequence plan. My clients were c