EMDRIA Members Respond: EMDR for BIPOC
July is BIPOC Mental Health Month.
People who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) deal with various forms of systemic racism on a daily basis, which is one of the oppression dynamics in the US.
EMDRIA asked its members 2 important questions:
“How can EMDR therapists increase the sense of psychological, emotional, and/or physical safety for BIPOC clients?”
and
“What opportunities do you see in the field of EMDR therapy to increase access of care for BIPOC individuals?”
Djuan answered the first question by saying: “EMDR is a specialty that I truly enjoy as a clinician because it allows you to connect with the mind, body, and spirit of a client. For EMDR to be a safe treatment for BIPOC communities, there must be more education around what it is, how it is used, and what to look for in a clinician who is trained (and the difference between the different levels), and what presenting problems it treats. In my practice, I spend a lot of time on history taking and resourcing because I work with clients who have complex traumas. As a result, I do as much as I can to make sure my clients feel safe and ready for the reprocessing phase. I also walk them through each phase as collaboration and continuous rapport-building technique.”
She also recommended two books:
Black Pain. It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting by Terrie M. Williams”