Working with Neuro-Diverse, Autistic and ADHD Presentations with Children & Adults
Date: Saturday 11 November 2023
Cost: €125
Presenters: Susan Darker Smith & Johnny Moran
6 CPD Credits awarded by EMDR All-Ireland Association
About this Workshop:
Consistent with the developmental protocol when working with your children, treatment is informed by the AIP Model, 8 Phases of EMDR, 3 Prong Past – Present – Future, the Application of ABLS there are very distinct critical differences as to how we apply and engage through 8 phases.
The presenters will primarily focus on working with younger presentations, however they will also highlight how the treatment principles apply to learning disabilities and various Neuro Diverse Adult Presentations.
Children have many strengths which can often benefit society despite the equal challenges that may be experienced by neuro-diverse children trying to navigate a neuro-typical social world.
Where neuro-diverse children experience trauma, therapists need to be neuro-diverse aware and affirming in order to create a positive, emotional connection with their client, in which the client feels seen, heard and valued.
In EMDR processing, the neuro-diverse child may need additional modifications to the standard EMDR protocol to help make EMDR more accessible, to help them self-regulate in ways which are sensitive to their neuro-diversity and to help the experience of unpredictable emotions become tolerable.
The child’s neuro-diversity can be utilised (with our without the storytelling method) as a unique opportunity for resourcing, the use of an extended preparation phase may help the child manage trait anxiety and the modification of EMDR to take into account the child’s strengths as well as their challenges (e.g. Making EMDR more novel and breaking sessions into shorter sections for the child with ADHD; utilising the storytelling method for children with Autism to help create momentum in the processing) is a necessary adaptation for engaging neuro-divergent children in therapy.
Presenters:
Susan Darker-Smith is the clinical director of the Child Trauma Therapy Centre and a Senior Europe Accredited EMDR Child & Adolescent Trainer. She is a founding Trustee of the Trauma Response Network UK, a charity set up to deliver pro bono emergency EMDR therapy to those affected by mass trauma in the UK as well as being a founding member of the Global Child-EMDR Alliance, a non-profit set up during the Covid pandemic to provide support and free resources to EMDR therapists working with children and families. She has presented both nationally and internationally in the field of EMDR and Children and has co-written a chapter on Neurodiversity-Affirming EMDR Therapy for children with Autism and ADHD in the Oxford Press EMDR Handbook. She is a passionate advocate for modifying EMDR to fit the needs of the child whilst remaining true to the standard protocol (the heart of EMDR).
Johnny Moran, Clinical Director Open Minds Centre www.openmindscentre.ie , clinic specializing in treatment of Trauma. Johnny is an accredited EMDR Europe Consultant, an Accredited EMDR Europe Child & Adolescents Consultant, EMDR Institute Training facilitator. Johnny has completed the EMDR Europe Standard Trainer in Training programme and is currently completing the EMDR Europe Child Trainer in Training Programme.
Johnny is accredited Psychotherapist and accredited Supervisor with IAHIP (Irish Association Humanistic Integrative Therapy). He is National Coordinator for Trauma Response Network Ireland www.trnireland.ie and is actively involved in Trauma Research Projects, serving on the Boards of Trauma Aid Europe and EMDR All Ireland National Association.
To Book: https://buy.stripe.com/6oE14RdM9erh5qg6oo
Cancellation Policy: https://openmindscentre.ie/cancellation-policy/
