By:  Shari Kim, Ph.D

EMDRIA Consultant 

There is no official diagnosis for Complex PTSD, so it is easy for us to become confused about the nature of complex trauma. Social media provides us with conflicting and often erroneous information about diagnoses surrounding trauma, making us even more confused. Hopefully this information will help make things clear.

Complex trauma is defined as a series of traumatic events compiling onto one another.  For example, people who undergo repeated physical abuse or domestic violence over a period of years have experienced complex trauma. We call it complex trauma, because the initial traumatic event (e.g. the first experience of physical abuse) gets complicated by subsequent traumatic events; those events that follow cause additional trauma AND trigger the initial trauma at the same time. If we think of complex trauma in those terms, then, we can also understand that it does not have to be a series of events from the same abuser....

Cheyenne Bowman, LCPC

Everyone experiences dissociation at some point in their life, to varying degrees. Dissociation is a complex and unique response that our brain has to trauma. If a client is coming to you with this as a presenting concern, their dissociative symptoms may be interfering with important areas of functioning. That does not mean, however, that dissociation is not a powerful coping skill that may have served them at some point in life. The more we can understand dissociation and what causes it, the better able we can spot it happening, work to ground ourselves, and even begin to use it as an intentional coping skill that we can control.

If you’re curious about whether dissociation has become a problem for you, ask yourself: Is it interfering with important areas of my life such as relationships, free time, or work? Is it disturbing or upsetting to me? If the answer is yes to any of these, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.

It is important...

Crystal L. Rainey, LCPC

EMDRIA Consultant

Little humans experience trauma too! Children and adolescents are resilient, but this does not mean they are immune to developing PTSD. They process differently than adults which means symptoms may present differently as well. These differences can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis and less effective treatment.

Diagnostic Criteria

The DSM-5-TR requires the presence of the following: Exposure, intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Duration of symptoms is more than one month, beginning or worsening after the onset of trauma, and causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Sometimes diagnosing PTSD in children and adolescents is easy and clear cut. They are referred to therapy after experiencing a big T trauma such as a car accident and symptoms clearly relate to that trauma. They may have...

By:  Amanda Covalt, LCSW

EMDRIA Consultant

Window of Tolerance

Window of Tolerance is the window in which one can tolerate distressing emotions and use coping skills effectively. Distress can be subjective and some people cannot tolerate positive and/or negative emotions so when they experience these emotions, they become outside their window of tolerance. This window is important when performing trauma work because when one is outside their window of tolerance they are unable to process or cope with distressing emotions and memories. It is often necessary to take time for preparation prior to trauma work to increase window of tolerance to prevent dysregulation and retraumatization.

What does it mean to be outside the Window of Tolerance?

So how do we know when one is outside their window of tolerance? This window falls between hyper- and hypoarousal. When someone is in hyperarousal they are in fight or flight. They may be agitated, angry or anxious. They may be reactive,...

Marlee Bardenett

LCPC, EMDR Certified Therapist, Consultant in Training 

I completed my EMDR Basic Training in January/March of 2020. Not only did I learn EMDR, I shifted the way I approach case conceptualization, treatment planning, and sessions with clients. With all of the big learning that happens during EMDR Basic Training, it is helpful to know what to expect so you can focus on soaking up all of the new information. 

Essential Details:

Our training is approved by EMDRIA, which is the Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing International Association. Not every EMDR training is EMDRIA approved, meaning it does not meet EMDRIA’s standards for training. At the end of our training, you are considered EMDR Basic trained by an EMDRIA approved provider and can use the approach with your clients. If you are interested in further learning, you can pursue EMDR certification, which is outlined on EMDRIA’s website.

What You Can Expect:

Our training consists...

Jamie Sedgwick, LCPC, NCC

TSTI Training Director

Trauma Specialists Training Institute consists of trainers, consultants, and many other “behind the scenes” team members who share a passion for training all therapists to treat trauma well. We aim to do so by offering a variety of products for learners at every phase of their trauma training journey. 

One of the most unique products offered by Trauma Specialists Training Institute is our EMDR Circle. It is a product for EMDR trained clinicians who want to continue their learning beyond Basic Training with opportunities to stay connected to fellow trainees, consultants, and trainers.

The EMDR Circle consists of three membership levels (Basic, Consultation Plus, Certification Track) with each membership level offering access to a variety of learning tools including a 24/7 learning library, monthly chats, monthly Q&A sessions, consultation, and advanced learning groups. One of the most frequently asked questions...

By:  Jennifer Youdom, LCSW-C

EMDRIA Consultant in Training

 Anxiety.

Just the word brings a felt sense of this anticipatory emotion. I know for me I can feel the knots in my stomach and the tension throughout my body as I simply think about the concept of anxiety.

While anxiety includes a broad range of topics (including phobias, panic, performance anxiety, OCD, social anxiety, agoraphobia, hoarding, trichotillomania, skin picking, etc.) and can seem like a daunting task to attend to, there are numerous studies showing the effectiveness of EMDR in treating anxiety disorders. Research indicates that participants who engage in EMDR have significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety. Here’s how EMDR therapy can help treat anxiety:

1. Processing Traumatic Memories

Anxiety often stems from unprocessed traumatic memories. EMDR helps individuals process these memories by guiding them through a series of eye movements (or other form of bilateral stimulation) while...

By:  Jamie Sedgwick, LCPC, NCC

EMDRIA Consultant & EMDRIA Basic Trainer

Early on in my career as a mental health therapist, I got training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). As a result, clients were frequently referred to me for meeting criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (commonly referred to as “BPD”). I found these clients to be insightful with high levels of emotional intelligence. However, they commonly experienced difficulty identifying the events that would trigger high levels of emotional distress and render all of their DBT skills inaccessible and unhelpful. As I worked more with these clients to help them understand and manage their symptoms, I recognized a common thread: everyone was reporting experiences of attachment wounding or relational trauma during critical developmental stages in their lives. As I began connecting the dots between these traumatic experiences and Borderline Personality traits in adulthood, I realized I needed to...

By: Katie Honeywell, LPC

EMDRIA Consultant

Emotional neglect often goes unnoticed and can have a significant impact on an individual's mental health. This can be a form of abuse, but can also exist with well-intentioned caregivers who lack necessary skills. It occurs when a person's emotional needs are consistently not met, often leading to feelings of vigilance, loneliness, and inadequacy. Let’s dig a little deeper into the impact of emotional neglect on mental health and the importance of addressing this issue to promote overall well-being. 

Neglect can have long-lasting effects on an individual's health. It can lead to a range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, complex trauma, and difficulties forming healthy relationships. 

Examples of emotional neglect:

• A child who grows up in a household where emotional needs are consistently ignored, dismissed, or gaslighted.
• The absence of feeling, naming, and support in navigating the...

By:  Dr. Shari Kim

EMDRIA Consultant

The human brain is amazing, and we don’t even fully grasp its potential. One of the truly spectacular things it can do is to protect us from things that are too traumatic to hold.  

As we experience traumatic events, we experience a variety of responses. Sometimes, when those events become overwhelming, our brain has the capacity to build compartments within itself to hold those events. The depth of those compartments may vary, meaning we might be able to hold things in them only for short periods of time before they pop back out. At other times, our brains may build them so deeply that we can no longer access them by our own volition. Sometimes our compartments take on lives of their own, developing unique identities.

As we explore how our brain compartmentalizes trauma in this way, it starts to become clear how this process makes us dissociate. The more compartments we build, the easier it is to become lost in them. When...