Page 46 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 18
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Emo�onal Recovery and Interven�on
in Adversity: Low-intensity bilateral
movement exercises for small groups
in Chris�an se�ngs
This is a report on a pilot project that were
done in the US (English) and in Brazil (Portugue-
se) in Chris�an se�ngs online where three
group exercises were taken and adapted from
tradi�onal EMDR (Eye Movement Desensi�za�-
on and Reprocessing) protocols for use in para-
professional and pastoral se�ngs. Esly Carvalho (Brazil)
Ph.D., T.E.P. TraumaClinic
Background She is an experienced Trainer of Trai-
As a trained group therapist and psychodrama- ners in EMDR therapy, as well as a Psy-
�st/trainer, who eventually went on to become chodrama trainer. An author and inter-
an EMDR therapy trainer, the greatest draw- na�onal speaker, she has spent her life
back of the la�er approach was its limita�ons working in La�n America and Brazil,
for group therapy. Over �me, EMDR groups training in three languages, in both pas-
protocols were finally developed to mul�ply toral as well as clinical se�ngs. She has
the reach of the healing process to a greater wri�en books available on Amazon. Esly
number of people. The first of these was the In- is married to a re�red missionary, has
tegra�ve Group Trauma Protocol (Jarero: 2009) an adult married daughter who is also a
which came about as the result of Hurricane clinical psychologist and trainer in her
Paulina in Mexico, and the large number of own right, and loves those grandchild-
people needed emo�onal interven�ons. An in- ren!!
dividual interven�on format was not feasible esly@eslycarvalho.com
because of the large number of people, the re-
duced number of days in which the EMDR the- www.plazacounselingservices.com
rapists would be present and available, and the www.traumaclinicinterna�onal.com
locale of the disaster.
A form of bilateral s�mula�on was developed
which was named the Bu�erfly Hug (Ar�gas et
al: 2014). It was used in a group se�ng, with
the par�cipants drawing in quadrants on paper by Esly Carvalho as a resource installa�on for
about their experience. Further research and EMDR therapy. More recently, it has been used
studies proved that it was useful and safe in successfully with groups online.
group and has been implemented around the A third exercise that was adapted to online
world in disasters and crisis situa�ons. It was group interven�on is the Flash Technique, de-
also adapted for paraprofessionals (Jarero et veloped by Phil Manfield, Ph.D., (Manfield et al:
al:2015) and likewise was proven safe as well. 2017) as a desensi�za�on tool for memories
Another exercise developed by Dr. Carlos Rai- that might be too overwhelming to work
mundo is called the Pillars of Life. It is a celebra- through with the tradi�onal EMDR protocol.
�on of the posi�ve experiences in our lives, Perhaps its most interes�ng aspect is that peo-
those that have gone well. So o�en counselors ple’s memories lose their high emo�onal char-
and therapists tend to focus on what is dysfunc- ge without having to think about the painful is-
�onal, but Raimundo postulates the importan- sue they are working on. This brought in a grea-
ce of giving importance to those experiences ter safety net when Esly Carvalho developed it
that will bring beauty, love, and encourage- for group se�ngs online (2020) when the CO-
ment into our lives. This exercise was adapted VID-19 pandemic began.
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