EMDR Therapy Quarterly

I am always grateful when members contact me to share their ideas, views and challenges. Olatunde Spence did just this following the EDI survey in the spring. Olatunde, is an art and EMDR psychotherapist and has been an anti-racist campaigner for most of her life. She has also been very active within the neurodiversity field. There are individuals and groups who are sharing experiences and knowledge through various media so thank you to Olatunde for bravely sharing. I am sure that she represents many other voices in the EMDR and wider therapeutic community. I look forward to hearing from others in future issues of ETQ. Perhaps we need to see sharing our narratives as an ethical responsibility that allows us to  reflect and learn from the spectrum of members views and experiences as we work with our diverse client groups. It is not necessary that we all agree with a perspective shared but the freedom to share, embrace, learn from it and engage in growth and development is the choice we now have.  I would encourage members to share their experience within the EMDR community and the wider therapeutic space.

Support for charities

Thank you for all who have volunteered to support and be part of the short life working group to explore how the Association might be able to support low-income registered charities to access standard training. We now seem to have enough people and hope to be able to set up our first meeting soon.

EDI survey

There as been a lot of feedback from members who completed the EDI survey. Thank you all for taking the time to do this. Whilst I was hoping to share some of this feedback, this has not been possible and will take longer than I anticipated. I will of course continue to update and share the outcome of the survey when I am able to.

Webinars and CPD

We are searching for national EMDR therapists (practitioners, consultants, and trainers) who can deliver a webinar or collaborate with a non EMDR member to deliver a webinar related to EDI. Please get in contact via email if you are interested. If you are a member of the Association, you are also able to deliver a webinar/event in conjunction with your consultant supervisor. This is a great opportunity for consultant supervisors to support their supervisees growth and assist in sharing knowledge in our community.   

Regional groups and special interest groups

Since the last ETQ edition Oenone Dudley, the RG and SIG coordinator has supported the formation of the official Neurodiversity SIG, which is a great achievement. It also gives me great pleasure to share that Kamla Dadral, has taken the lead to coordinate the initial reflective space for ethnically minoritised EMDR UK members to share their stories but also think about next steps as a group. Please email Kamla to find out. more or to join the reflective group.

It was my pleasure to attend the steering group meeting for Beds, Buck & Herts regional groupto talk a little about EDI and how it could be integrated into the great work and support they are providing in their region, to their members. What I shared was from my experience, research, and conversations I have engaged in with members. Of course, it was merely a drop in the ocean. If you have any further thoughts about starting a RG or SIG please do get in contact with Oenone.

If you are not already part of a regional group or would like further information regarding special interest groups, you can find the information here. 

Committees

I was kindly invited to the Scientific and Research Committee meeting to explore integrating EDI into the work they do, including research they commission and support. I discussed ways of implementing EDI into the system of research and enquiry as well as the importance of promoting and delivering EDI centred objectives and opening a voice to minoritised researchers and practitioners as well as those minoritised groups we serve. It was a pleasure to attend and there was a lot of food for thought for the committee.

Sadly, Ben Wright will be stepping down as the chair for the Scientific and Research Committee to engage in some continual professional development. He assures us that he plans to return with some new skills. Whilst this marks a pause for Ben in his work with the Association, it also marks the beginning for a new chair of the Scientific and Research Committee. If you would consider becoming a member of the science and research committee, or standing as its chair; and are able to bring an EDI intention to the work of the committee, I would encourage you to contact Ben to express an interest.

Joining the Board of Trustees

I would also encourage those with an interest to apply to join the Association’s Board of Trustees. I urge those from minoritised communities and those with experience and a passion for equality, working with difference and diverse populations, and inclusive and equitable practice to consider this. Nomination forms will be sent out via email shortly.

Accessible answerphone

We have attempted to increase accessibility to the Association and an answerphone has been live since May 2023.

Accessible answerphone number 0151 372 6802

This is an accessible answerphone line for those who cannot email the Association. The answer phone will be monitored Monday to Friday, not weekends and holiday periods. Please be mindful that queries will be responded to as soon as possible but may take a few days.

Please be aware there is a process of reasonable adjustments and mitigating circumstances that members can access regarding members’ circumstances.

The email address for questions related to joining the Board of Trustees or reasonable adjustments is here. If you have any questions about this please email the Association and your query will be directed accordingly.

Heena Chudasama, Chairperson of the EDI Committee HChudasama@emdrassociation.org.uk