Deany Laliotis, LICSW
General Session 101: Changing Lives With EMDR Therapy: Past, Present and Future Directions
EMDR has evolved from a simple desensitization technique to a broad-based psychotherapy approach that has revolutionized how we understand change as well as our approach to treatment. From early intervention protocols that address recent traumatic events for individuals and groups to ongoing psychotherapy, EMDR is by no means a cookie cutter. It is a robust methodology that has stood the test of time and research in the last three decades. While we apply core concepts and standardized procedures, we also offer healing and transformation as we address the cumulative impact of trauma on the human spirit. The presenter will discuss the art of striking that balance between protocol and person, so we don’t have to make a choice. Instead, it’s about bringing to life the trifecta of EMDR as an evidence-based approach by incorporating the research, understanding who our clients are as people, and who we are as their therapists in order to truly change lives.
Deany Laliotis, LCSW, is an internationally recognized trainer, consultant, and psychotherapist who teaches EMDR therapy using a relational approach to treating complex trauma. As the Founder and Director of The Center for Excellence in EMDR Therapy, Deany offers a continuum of training from the basic through master courses in Relational EMDR Therapy℠. Deany was awarded the Francine Shapiro Award for Outstanding Service and Clinical Excellence by the EMDR International Association in 2015. She has authored and co-authored several book chapters and articles on EMDR and is currently writing a book on Relational EMDR.℠ She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and fellow EMDR trainer, Daniel Merlis.
Ruth Lanius, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPC
General Session 102: Transforming Traumatic Memory with EMDR: Insights into How and Why EMDR May Work
Traumatic memories are frequently relived, not remembered. Indeed, emerging neuroscientific evidence demonstrates that traumatic memories are relived in the form of sensations and motoric actions. How can EMDR aid in transforming traumatic memories from being relived to being remembered as a coherent narrative that is anchored in the present? This lecture will describe how traumatic memory can be transformed with EMDR. In addition, how and why EMDR may work will be discussed. Case examples will be given throughout the lecture.
Dr. Ruth Lanius, Psychiatry Professor and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University of Canada where she is the director of the Clinical Research Program for PTSD. Ruth has over 25 years of clinical and research experience. She established the Traumatic Stress Service at London Health Sciences Center. Ruth has received numerous research and teaching awards. She has published over 150 research articles and book chapters. She regularly lectures both nationally and internationally. Ruth has co-authored two books: The Effects of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic and Healing the Traumatized Self: Consciousness, Neuroscience, Treatment.
Stephen Porges, Ph.D.
General Session 301: Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety
Humans, as social mammals, are on a quest for safety. The need to feel safe is the prepotent survival related motivator impacting on all aspects of human experience by biasing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Threat reactions not only disrupt cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions but also compromise the basic homeostatic physiological functions supporting health, growth, and restoration. Without feeling safe, the nervous system is unable to optimize the regulation of visceral organs with the consequential damage to organs leading to observable and diagnosable organ disease and failure. A profound need to survive triggers a complex genetically programmed portfolio of physiological reactions and behaviors to cues of threat and safety. The talk will illustrate that feeling safe has a physiological signature, which is a product of our evolutionary history in which the autonomic nervous system was repurposed to support sociality.
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He was president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences. He was a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, which emphasizes the importance of the physiological state in expressing behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol,™ which currently is used by approximately 3,000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, reduce hearing sensitivities, and improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement. Dr. Porges is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute.