EMDR Therapy Quarterly

An unseasonably warm welcome to the Autumn issue of ETQ. There is a tension for me in enjoying the unusually mild weather for this time of year (I still have not needed to turn the heating on) and feeling frightened about the calamities that we face and anger about the seeming lack of action to address the issues. With this in mind, next year, I would like to devote a special issue of ETQ to the climate crisis. It is heartening to hear just today, via Jiscmail, that a SIG focused on the climate crisis has been approved, so we know this issue is uppermost in the minds of many members. Martina Leeven is leading this development. She says that whilst it is tempting to “take refuge in states of denial, we can acknowledge the climate crisis within our personal and professional lives, whilst also building our own resilience to enable us to support others”. If you have relevant client stories or personal stories it would be good to hear from you. Martina has also asked that anyone who is interested in joining the SIG should email her at mleevenpsychologist@gmail.com .

On the subject of writing for ETQ I would encourage you to read about Prof. Kim Etherington’s webinar on Narrative approaches to case studies: Bridging practice and research. In her webinar, Kim challenged the dominant paradigm of writing about a client as if we were doing something to them; and showed how narrative inquiry research can help in presenting the therapy process as it really happened. I hope it encourages more people to consider writing about their therapy experience with their clients. The webinar is still available if you would like to watch it. Narrative Case Study Research, Applications to EMDR Practices – EMDR Events (emdrassociationevents.org.uk).

Many people work tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happen and the C&A committee wanted to recognise the efforts of one such person. You can read about the contribution that Joanne Morris-Smith has made to improving the lives of young people using EMDR. I had the pleasure of spending some time talking to Joanne just recently and she honestly could not see what all the fuss was about, but clearly others can.

I hope that you enjoy this issue of ETQ. If you have any comments or if you would like to write for ETQ but don’t know quite where to start, please do get in touch with me editor@emdrassociation.org.uk .