EMDR with First Responders: Models, Scripted Protocols, and Summary Sheets for Mental Health Interventions

"In this latest insightful volume gathered and edited by Marilyn Luber, the authors have combined the lessons learned with personal accounts of how they proceeded. There is still much to be done to integrate mental health care effectively into disaster response worldwide, but this volume will help to point the way to best practices."

-Robert Gelbach, PhD
Past Executive Director at EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs

EMDR Therapy is a psychotherapy approach based on standard procedures and protocols. Using these standard procedures and protocols as its template, this book presents step-by-step scripts that enable new practitioners and seasoned EMDR clinicians, trainers, and consultants alike to incorporate EMDR Therapy into their case conceptualizations and treatment plans when working with first responders who have suffered acute stress injuries during man-made and natural disasters. These scripts can be put to use immediately and retain the complete integrity of EMDR Therapy by presenting the three-prong protocol (past memories, present triggers, and future templates) and the 11-step procedure essential to the standard practice of EMDR Therapy. They reinforce the specific parts, sequence, and language used to create an effective outcome, and illustrate how clinicians are using this framework to work with a variety of therapeutic difficulties and modalities while maintaining the integrity of the AIP model.

The mini-book illuminates early intervention procedures for first responders and protective service workers who must assist populations in the aftermaths of catastrophic events. It includes information and summary sheets created specifically for different types of first responders including firefighters and EMS professionals, the police, and the military. It also includes an underground trauma protocol designed for trauma related to mining disasters, and a “Blind to Therapist Protocol.”

Key Features:

• Provides protocols for practicing EMDR with first responders to man-made and natural disasters
• Includes concise summary sheets for quick information retrieval in perilous circumstances
• Presents specific protocols for use with firefighters, EMS responders, the police, the military, and first responders to mining disasters
• Offers step-by-step scripts that enable practitioners to enhance their expertise more quickly
• Highlights international perspectives