scholarly journals EMDR Therapy Treatment of Grief and Mourning in Times of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-174
Author(s):  
Roger M. Solomon ◽  
Barbara J. Hensley
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Unexpected Death ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Adaptive Information Processing ◽  
Emdr Therapy ◽  
Therapy Treatment

Death of a loved one is universally distressing. The stressful conditions of COVID-19 can compound the trauma of a loss. Consequently, the mourner has to deal with: (a) the loss of a loved one; (b) potential complications of grief and mourning caused by COVID-19 (e.g., sudden and unexpected death, a loved one's suffering, inability to be physically present to offer comfort or say good-bye, social distancing interfering with funeral and religious ceremonies); and (c) personal disruption caused by COVID-19 (e.g., disruption of employment and daily living routines, fears related to safety and uncertainty). Further, grief can be complicated by prior unresolved losses and trauma, including attachment-based trauma, which would also need to be identified and treated. This article presents a framework for treatment of grief and mourning with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR treatment, guided by the Adaptive Information Processing model, can be informed by other frameworks, including attachment theory and the Dual Process Model, which are described. A case example is presented to illustrate treatment of a client whose father died due to COVID-19.

Connections Between Counseling Theories and Current Theories of Grief and Mourning

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather L. Servaty-Seib
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Mental Health Counselors ◽  
Dual Process Model ◽  
Meaning Reconstruction ◽  
Counseling Theories

The primary purpose of the present article is to provide an overview of three theories of mourning--The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement, Meaning Reconstruction and Loss, and Attachment Theory and Loss: Revisited. These are linked both by their emphasis on the phenomenological and by ideas such as balance and flexibility. Connections are drawn between the mourning theories and counseling theories that are commonly employed by mental health counselors.

scholarly journals EMDR With Sex Offenders: Using Offense Drivers to Guide Conceptualization and Treatment

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Ricci ◽  
Cheryl A. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Offending Behavior ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Adaptive Information Processing ◽  
Emdr Therapy

Evidence shows that sexual offenders have higher levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) than either the general population or other criminal populations. Historically, it was considered standard practice for sex offender therapists to dissuade their clients from addressing childhood trauma or adversity for fear of excuse making for his offending. The pathways model, which highlights etiology, made room for trauma treatment for offender’s ACE as a legitimate treatment intervention. The adaptive information processing model inherent in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) trauma therapy is theorized to reorganize the maladaptively stored clustering of cognitions and emotions related to overwhelming or traumatic experiences such as childhood sexual abuse. We suggest EMDR therapy as a means of restructuring distorted implicit cognitions and personal vulnerability factors which are theorized to drive offending behavior. Through a comprehensive literature review, the authors considered 5 extant models in the sex offender literature and developed the offense drivers model. This model is designed to guide and inform EMDR therapy with sex offenders. A case example illustrates the implementation of this treatment process. A checklist of offense drivers is provided to assist in case conceptualization and treatment.

Attachment in Coping with Bereavement: A Theoretical Integration

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Stroebe ◽  
Henk Schut ◽  
Wolfgang Stroebe
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Insecure Attachment ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Continuing Bonds ◽  
Dual Process Model ◽  
Cognitive Stress

Researchers have deplored shortcomings in theoretically based models of coping with bereavement. Integration of cognitive stress with attachment theory is proposed to predict adjustment to bereavement, describe different forms of effective coping, and resolve ongoing debates about continuing versus relinquishing bonds. These 2 generic approaches are integrated within a bereavement-specific perspective, the dual-process model of coping ( Stroebe & Schut, 1999 ). Accordingly, (a) different coping styles are adopted by, and are differentially efficacious for, bereaved people according to their style of attachment; (b) bereaved people's ways of continuing bonds differ according to their attachment style; and (c) grief complications are associated with insecure attachment styles. The authors conclude that it is better for some bereaved individuals to work toward retaining ties and for others to work toward loosening ties.

scholarly journals Transference and Countertransference in EMDR Therapy

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Piedfort-Marin
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Mirror Neurons ◽  
Disorganized Attachment ◽  
Unconscious Processes ◽  
Action Systems ◽  
Transference And Countertransference ◽  
Adaptive Information Processing ◽  
Emdr Therapy ◽  
Complex Cases

Just like any other psychotherapy method, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) should conceptualize the intersubjective phenomena that are active during EMDR therapy, especially in the treatment of complex cases. This article describes the concepts of transference and countertransference and how to integrate them in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. In this article, research on mirror neurons, the concept of action systems, and recent considerations on attachment theory for patients with disorganized attachment are incorporated into the concepts of transference and countertransference. Input from each of these theories is illustrated with a clinical vignette that depicts how the client’s and the therapist’s conscious and unconscious processes are intertwined and how they may affect the efficacy of EMDR therapy. We propose the countertransference-based interweave to release the AIP when countertransference issues block the process. Integrating knowledge on transference and countertransference in EMDR therapy could increase the efficacy of EMDR, especially in complex cases.

A Dialectical Perspective on the Adaptive Information Processing Model and EMDR Therapy

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brurit Laub ◽  
Nomi Weiner ◽  
Sheila S. Bender
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Vertical Movement ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
Therapeutic Presence ◽  
Dependence Versus ◽  
Dialectical Perspective ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Adaptive Information Processing ◽  
Emdr Therapy

This article proposes a dialectical perspective on the adaptive information processing (AIP) model (F. Shapiro, 1995, 2001) with application to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Dialectical principles may contribute to a more detailed understanding of the way the AIP system works as well as adding new therapeutic guidelines. Our dialectical perspective is based on 2 propositions. The first is that the movement of the AIP system toward integration consists of 2 dialectical movements: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal movement is between various opposites of the individual such as danger versus safety, dependence versus independence, worthlessness versus self-worth. The vertical movement relates to whole/part shifts in which a whole becomes a part of the next higher whole. The synergetic flow of both dialectical movements is depicted as a spiral of the AIP system. The second proposition suggests that the AIP system operates through cycles of differentiation and linking. These cycles separate the condensed and fragmented memory network into parts, enabling new links to occur. Differentiation and linking are also discussed in relation to dialectical attunement and mindful dual awareness. Using clinical vignettes, we illustrate how this perspective can supply the EMDR therapist a map of the client’s associative processing, enhance attuned therapeutic presence, and promote effective dialectical interweaves when processing is stuck.

Exploring the Role of Experiential Avoidance from the Perspective of Attachment Theory and the Dual Process Model

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Katherine Shear
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Experiential Avoidance ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Complicated Grief ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Dual Process Model ◽  
Behavioral Avoidance

Avoidance can be adaptive and facilitate the healing process of acute grief or it can be maladaptive and hinder this same process. Maladaptive cognitive or behavioral avoidance comprises the central feature of the condition of complicated grief. This article explores the concept of experiential avoidance as it applies to bereavement, including when it is adaptive when it is problematic. Adaptive avoidance is framed using an attachment theory perspective and incorporates insights from the dual process model (DPM). An approach to clinical management of experiential avoidance in the syndrome of complicated grief is included.

scholarly journals Recovery, Interrupted: The Zeigarnik Effect in EMDR Therapy and the Adaptive Information Processing Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-185
Author(s):  
Jeremy G. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Brain Network ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Traumatic Memory ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
Traumatic Memories ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Adaptive Information Processing ◽  
Emdr Therapy ◽  
Physiological Substrates

This theoretical article proposes that the Zeigarnik effect (ZE) (i.e., better memory for interrupted rather than completed tasks) explains the formation of traumatic memories as incomplete tasks. These tasks are thought to foster pathological rumination toward their completion while simultaneously stoking avoidance. After looking at the role of the ZE in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the article examines the physiological substrates of the ZE, including brain network imbalance, excessive autonomic nervous system activation, and prospective memory acuity for incomplete events. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is proposed as uniquely capable of providing closure to interrupted facets of traumatic recollection, as this treatment may facilitate greater memory reconsolidation and inhibition of Zeigarnik reminders than extinction-based models. The ZE may be implicated in the overall EMDR treatment effect, as it is activated in several EMDR phases. Specifically, the use of brief interrupted exposures during EMDR reprocessing may benefit from the ZE in resolving traumatic events. Eye movements themselves are also considered interruptions to rumination upon traumatic memory. Recommendations for the further use of the ZE are described, and suggestions are made for future research. Protocol modifications and interweaves which mobilize the preceding insights are also provided.

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