Rediscovery of emdr: integration into an ecopsychological perspective

Анотація

I am a clinical psychologist and professor of psychological counseling from Ukraine. My introduction to EMDR happened in Kiev, in 1995, when Professor A. Bondarenko (initiator and one of the prominent EMDR proponents in Ukraine) invited me to participate in one of the first Ukrainian EMDR workshops (Level І) lead by Dr. Roger Solomon. After that, Francine Shapiro sponsored my Level II training in Los Angeles in 1996. By that time I have had a rather extended EMDR experience with Chernobile clients. I would not say that all has been totally positive. But still, some of my results attracted Dr. Shapiro and she used a few cases from my practice in her second book co-authored with M. Forrest (Shapiro & Forrest, 1997). I had mixed feelings about EMDR. On the one hand, I intuitively sensed that there are many clinical possibilities for its use. On the other, the absence of a «strong» rationale added to my subconscious search for a more grounded EMDR explanation than the metaphors Francine used. My first attempt to create one of my own coincided with some major life change-events, influenced by the breakdown of the USSR and consequently, dramatic social and personal transformations in the fate of the nation. At the same time (1995–2001), I started my post-doctoral project on personality change processes. I nearly stopped practicing EMDR and was totally overwhelmed with personal survival issues facing the challenges of the economic and political situation