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Part 1 EMDR Europe Accredited Child Training

This training is designed for clinicians experienced in working with children and adolescents. This practical 2-day training is designed to ensure that the over-arching developmental stages of children are taken into account when utilising EMDR to ensure the correct developmental protocol is used to maximise therapeutic benefit to the child and their family  During the training, an overview of working systemically with children will be taught alongside the technical modifications of standard EMDR components by age groups (toddler, pre-school aged children, school aged children and teenagers), supported by videos of children with which the different developmental protocols are used.   In addition, practical skills such as the adaptations required in explaining EMDR to children, eliciting a safe place appropriate to the child’s age and developmental stage, stretching the window of tolerance to accommodate improved emotional regulation and examples of how children emotionally regulate differently to adults will be also taught. Finally, a brief introduction to what to do when processing becomes blocked including the use of interweaves with children and the 4-fields group protocol for children will also be shared.

This workshop will include practicums and skills-based learning to help consolidate learning and flexibility in the delivery of EMDR with children.

Children are in a constant state of chance and evolution: both physiologically, neurologically, cognitively, emotionally and socially.  Children and adolescents do not exist alone but in the context of their families, hence it is impossible to work with a child without taking the context of their system into account – whether or not the system is physically present.    The emotional and chronological age of the child needs to be taken into account in the language and the developmental protocol used in both understanding and treating the child’s difficulties from both the systemic stance as well as from the child’s own understanding of their difficulties.  In this way, working with children and their families can be seen as equally flexible and challenging.

Susan Darker-Smith - EMDR Europe Accredited Child & Adolescent Trainer

Susan is an accredited EMDR Consultant and an accredited Europe Child Trainer who works in a CAMHS team within the NHS alongside her private work.  She has been actively involved in the formation of a National Trauma Response Service in the UK offering group and early intervention EMDR for victims of National terrorist attacks and natural disasters (initially in response to children displaying trauma symptoms in the weeks following the Manchester terror attack).
Susan has a wealth of experience in working with complex and dissociative client groups and through this work, she developed an EMDR protocol for working with young people with attachment difficulties and emerging emotional unstable personality disorders.  She has lectured at a national and global level on her research and interventions in both EMDR and CBT.
Susan is currently working alongside clinicians both from a paediatric background who work with EMDR and pain and clinicians working with looked after children, to see if different protocol modifications are more effective in helping these specific client groups to recover.
Susan currently sits on the EMDR UK & Ireland child and adolescent section alongside being a Trustee of the National Trauma Response Service.   In addition to teaching the EMDR Child Trainings, Susan facilitates for the EMDR Academy and additionally teaches advanced-skills EMDR master-classes.

Eligibility to attend EMDR Europe Part 1 Child Training
In order to attend Part 1 of EMDR child training you must have attended a Part 1 and Part 2 of a basic EMDR accredited course, or the old Level 1 Accredited EMDR training. Certificate copies will be asked for as evidence of attendance. You must be working with children in your workplace and have experience of working with children,  you agreeing to this by applying for the course.
If you would like to attend please complete our online booking form
For further information about the use of EMDR with children please read the child & adolescent page from EMDR Europe

Cost £415 Price includes workshop, workshop material refreshments and lunch
13th and 14th June 2018 at Buckfast Abby Conference centre
Closing date for bookings and payments Friday 20th April. 
Places limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Please refer to terms and conditions



Booking form and terms and condtions