Pathways mental health center is teaming up with EMDR Consulting to bring an EMDR training program to Morehead State University. EMDR stands for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing”. Officials said the approach uses eye movements and other forms of stimulation to resolve trauma from adverse life events.
Brittany Johnson, an EMDR certified and licensed mental health counselor said the partnership with Pathways formed out of a desire to spread awareness of this therapy method.
“Part of the goal is to train as much of the state as possible because EMDR has been considered the golden standard for treating trauma and other mental health illnesses, and so it was requested that we come in and do the training,” Johnson said.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs lists EMDR as an effective and widely recommended treatment for PTSD. It describes the therapy as weekly 90-minute sessions over the course of three months in which providers introduce bilateral stimulation like eye movement or tapping to help patients process trauma.
According to Johnson, this is not the first time EMDR training has come to Morehead.
“The last training we did there in early August, I want to say we had about 45 participants.”
Johnson added that the EMDR training is meant to supplement therapy techniques that are already in use.
“The training is for them to learn how to use EMDR and integrate it into their work with their clients.”
Independently licensed mental health professionals, provisionally or pre-licensed mental health professionals, and graduate students in a program within the mental health field can register for the 5-day training program. The deadline to register is November 3, and the program begins on November 13.