Support Services for
Allison Park Church

Adina Caskey, Trauma Expert trained in Group EMDR Protocol, answers some frequently asked questions:

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Why do you offer group EMDR?

First, because it is has been proven in research studies to be highly effective for helping groups and communities with a common difficult experience process their experiences and reduce their risk of long-term symptoms or effects of their experience.  Secondly, because it is an effective way to provide therapeutic support to a larger number of people who might otherwise not have access to such support.  

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I know you have confidentiality to uphold, but have you used this with other churches, and what was the result? 

Yes, I have, and they have reported results of sleep improvements, anxiety reduction, an increased ability to speak of the event with hope and see God using the event for their good and His glory. 

 

Would you say that this is Christian treatment?

 Yes.  I believe that the Holy Spirit is THE COUNSELOR.  Any and all healing comes ULTIMATELY from the Holy Spirit.  I also believe that God uses tools like physical therapy, medicine, casts for broken legs, or in this case, EMDR. All who will be providing the protocol are Believers who rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us and use us to help others heal.  During certain parts of the protocol as people work, we are fervently praying for participants, especially for ones we see working very hard. . .as the Lord leads us we ask God for things we sense that they might need. When we do a group protocol, we also ask others not participating to be praying for the Holy Spirit to work and heal. 

 

What is the difference between group EMDR and grief counseling?

This is not a simple question to answer, because both are rich and complex resources, and EMDR and grief counseling do not necessarily exclude each other.  

 

EMDR is a brain and body treatment tool that utilizes physical movement or touch to support the brain's natural ability to adaptively process difficult emotions or thoughts.  Talking or expression (through drawing) while engaging our physical bodies helps the thinking parts of our brain connect with our feelings in a way that allows us to process very difficult experiences effectively and more quickly. 

 

Grief counseling traditionally utilizes talking (heavily relying on the thinking parts of our brain) and can be very effective, but often difficult when an experience is very fresh and emotions feel overwhelming.)  I always recommend that group participants utilize counseling resources beyond the group as needed.  Grief is a complicated process that is unique to each person, it does not have a timeline, so it is healthy to acknowledge that other resources along the road can be gifts and grace from God.

 

This particular group EMDR resource helps reduce symptoms people are experiencing close to recent event.  The hope is that each person's memory of the event can be processed and stored adaptively in a way that allows grief to progress in the most healthy way possible in the days and years ahead.  

 

What if I don't want to share all my feelings with a whole group?

You are not alone, most people feel this way!  One of the best things about these protocols is the personally independent nature of the intervention.  Even if everyone in a group has experienced the same event, each unique individual has a brain and body that has stored that experience in a way only THEIR body and brain can.  Because of this, the group is set up so that each person is NEAR or next to others, but each works on their own to process the event utilizing art and bilateral stimulation (tapping to allow the brain to make connections and stay calm even while thinking about something that is very hard.)  This balance of individual processing in physical proximity to others allows for a level of support as well as freedom for each person to process their own experience of the difficult event independently.

 

Where have you seen this helpful?

These protocols have been effective in my counseling offices, sitting in circles on the floor of group homes in Southeast Asia with missionaries on the field, in Christian and secular organizations' support staff who work with victims of sex trafficking, as well as with youth and adult victims themselves as they process their very personal losses and traumas.  I have also seen these protocols effectively reduce symptoms in groups and families who have experienced and witnessed accidents and other traumatic events together here in the Pittsburgh area.

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