While talk therapy can be an incredible resource for working through and healing traumas – sometimes it is not enough. The theory around trauma is that when it occurs it “gets locked in the nervous system” in the form of fragmented thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. This makes true healing difficult.  Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, also known as EMDR, is an evolving science that utilizes bilateral stimulation to help connect the left side of the brain to the right in order to form more cohesive, healing thoughts to better support the healing process.

Dr. Laurel Parnell is a leading expert in EMDR, and uses her vast knowledge to help train thousands of clinicians worldwide to spread the safe science. Using the “lighting it up and linking it up” methodology combined with the Four Foundational Resources, Parnell helps individuals suffering from PTSD and other obstacles better navigate their world and release some of the tension stored within the body and mind. Tune in for this episode as co-host Dr. Ann Kelley and Dr. Parnell take a deep dive into the evolution and successes of EMDR.

“…people can spend years in talk therapy working through some horrible accident, and they’re not getting better because the therapy isn’t reaching where the trauma’s stored and it’s not helping with that integration of the nonverbal experience…”

Clinical psychologist and director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR, Dr. Laurel Parnell is a leading expert on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She has served on the faculty of the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco, as well as at John F. Kennedy University. Parnell is also the co-director of the non-profit Trauma Assistance Program-International, “TAP-IN”. She has dedicated her life to training thousands of clinicians both nationally and internationally and is the author of six books on EMDR.

1:11 – What we do with EMDR

5:44 – Introducing the Four Foundational Resources

12:30 – Explanation of what Standard EMDR looks like

16:05 – Breaking Down Bilateral Stimulation

21:12 – The Connection between REM Sleep & EMDR

27:49 – “Little T” Traumas and “Big T” Traumas

29:57 – “Creating Ideal Communities” for Healing

35:22 – Integrating Attachment-Focused EMDR

46:53 – How to Integrate EMDR Virtually

53:04 – Making Modifications to the Practice

1:06:55 – Understanding EMDR Timelines

Dr. Laurel Parnell’s Website

Parnell Institute EMDR Website

EMDR Training Workshops

Parnell Institute Facebook Group 

Find an EMDR Trained Therapist 

Christie Sprowl’s Website – EMDR Expert

Dr. Francine Shapiro’s Website

“Inside the Mind of Dr. Dan Siegel” – Therapist Uncensored Podcast

Laurel Parnell’s Books (Click the Image to Purchase)

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