Personal Impresssions and Self Experience during EMDR Training and Group Supervision.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. As EMDR is a mental health intervention, it should only be offered by properly trained and licensed mental health clinicians (Anonymous 2018). An EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) approved EMDR Training provides trained clinicians with the knowledge and skills to utilize EMDR therapy, a comprehensive understanding of case conceptualization and treatment planning, and the ability to integrate EMDR therapy into their clinical practice. Also, an EMDRIA approved EMDR Training provides, at a minimum, instruction in the current explanatory model, methodology, and underlying mechanisms of EMDR through lecture, practice, and integrated consultation. While the EMDRIA Approved EMDR Training Curriculum outlines the minimum requirements which need to be met, the developer of a specific curriculum can enhance or expand any portion as they see fit. This minimum training requirements include: 20 hours instruction material, 20 hours supervised practicum, and 10 hours consultation. Supervised Practicum which needs to be realized in 20 hours has the goal to facilitate the demonstration and practice of the EMDR therapy methodology by trainees (Ališahovi -Gelo 2017, 2018). One cohort consisted of three parts of EMDR training. The first level was realized through three days where trainees were introduced to basic principles of EMDR therapy in interactive lectures about the history of EMDR, eight phases of EMDR protocol, practicing in a small group, in couples and triads under the supervision of trainer and facilitators. The second part of training is intermediate level, and it consisted of practicing of eight phases of EMDR protocol, practicing in small groups, in couples and triads under the supervision of trainer and facilitators, additional theoretical learning, with supervision of case reports that trainees brought from their practice after the first level. Finally, the third part of EMDR training needs three days for realization where trainees were introduced to advanced principles of EMDR therapy and work with the complex medical conditions in interactive lectures following the eight phases of EMDR protocol, practicing in small groups, in couples and triads under supervision of trainer and facilitators, with group supervision of case reports that trainees brought from their practice after the intermediate level. For those who completed all three theoretical parts of EMDR training, they accomplished the condition for the process of supervision, whether in person or by Skype, for acquiring accreditations for European accredited EMDR practitioners, which lasts a minimum of two years under the supervision of accredited EMDR consultants, accredited from EMDR Europe (Hasanovi et al. 2017, 2018). The aim is to describe some personal impressions and self-experience gained during EMDR training and 18 implemented group supervision.