Mark Nickerson - Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Therapy: Innovative Strategies and Protocols

Advance Praise for Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Therapy

After reading Nickersons compelling and boldly comprehensive text, I have found myself sitting with clients in an entirely new way and so will you. With the multiple lenses offered in this book, you will start to think differently about the ways in which diverse cultural factors - social class, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, immigrant status, gender, discrimination, prejudice, and various disabilities interact to shape beliefs about oneself and ones experiences in the world. This book will heighten your awareness and cultural sensitivity, broaden your knowledge, and increase your repertoire of EMDR interventions. I suspect that you will be deeply moved by the books many case presentations and ultimately left with a profound sense of hope and optimism about our capacity to help our clients heal.

Deborah L. Korn, PsyD,

Senior EMDR Institute Facilitator and Specialty Instructor,

Training Faculty, Trauma Center at JRI

Finally there is a book that is thought provoking, insightful and rich in content, and which takes an in-depth look at the important role culture plays when treating trauma. With the strategies and protocols he provides in his book, Mark Nickerson has built a bridge for EMDR therapists to use our evidence based EMDR therapy to conduct more culturally effective trauma focused interventions. Marks understanding of inclusiveness is reflected in his collaboration with other EMDR therapists. This book is a true guide in cultural humility.

Diane DesPlantes, LCSW,

Certified EMDR Therapist

Master trainer of Cultural Competency; New Jersey Department of Children and Families

Office of Training and Professional Development

EMDR International Association Board Director

This is definitely a book whose time has come. From multiple contributions around the world, each chapter brings significant insights into how EMDR therapy can be culturally attuned and yet efficacious in preserving the individuality of each client. Highly recommended for those therapists who work in multi-cultural settings.

Esly Regina Carvalho, PhD.

Trainer of Trainers, EMDR Institute/EMDR Iberoamrica,

President, Trauma Clinic do Brasil/TraumaClinic Edies, Brasilia, Brazil

This book may be one of the most important contributions to EMDR therapy literature so far in this century. Nickerson has astutely gathered together a collection of compelling articles that highlight the struggles of individuals and groups who have tragically and traumatically been affected by discrimination and discusses how EMDR therapy may be utilized to help them heal. Respectfully presented, this book offers information, strategies, and deviations from the EMDR standard protocol to deal with these diverse populations. Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma should be on the bookshelf of every EMDR therapy clinician.

Barbara J. Hensley, EdD, LPCC,

Author of EMDR Therapy: From Practicum to Practice (2nd Ed.),

EMDR International Association, Past President,

EMDR Research Foundation, Board Member,

Francine Shapiro Library, Creator and Curator

This groundbreaking book edited by Mark Nickerson opens the field of psychotherapy to the importance of cultural competence. It gives the EMDR clinician the means of healing culturally based trauma by addressing a wide-range of important topics including social privilege and stigma, marginalized populations, LGBTQ concerns, and the special sensitivity needed when introducing EMDR Therapy to different cultures.

Marilyn, Luber, PhD,

Author of EMDR SCRIPTED PROTOCOLS series,

EMDR Global Alliance Co-Facilitator

This book is a landmark contribution to EMDR therapy. In an increasingly culturally diverse society, clinicians need to understand the social forces and effects of culture, and how it shapes perceptions and consequently the memories that can become maladaptively stored. This will enable the clinician to develop a culturally informed treatment plan and provide more effective EMDR therapy treatment.

Roger M. Solomon, PhD,

Senior Faculty, EMDR Institute

Having provided EMDR trainings in over a dozen countries and across three continents I have learned that being blind to the culture you are teaching and practicing in can limit the effectiveness of what I believe is the psychotherapy of the 21st century. This volume gives the reader both the opportunity to see EMDR Therapys cross cultural applicability, as well as develop the sensitivity and ability to adjust this great therapy to the specific culture of the client sitting in the room. Since different cultures exist in the present in our offices, not across the ocean, this book is a must read for todays EMDR therapists.

Udi Oren, PhD,

Past president, EMDR Europe Association

This is a book of great scope and lucidity that examines the importance of culture and the impact of societal forces on individual and familial well-being, factors that have been frequently ignored by the field of psychotherapy. This scholarly offering is a clarion call highlighting the importance of cultural competence and will become an important contribution to the literature of our field.

Uri Bergmann, PhD,

Author of Neurobiological Foundations for EMDR Practice,

Past president, EMDR International Association

This book delves deeply into the dimensions of EMDR therapy as it is applied to the hot spots of cultural challenges and cross-cultural differences. The EMDR community has made significant contributions to the latest critical and massive events occurring in Europe by working with victims of terroristic attacks and with the refugees and asylum seekers. Interventions have facilitated integration and adjustment into new cultures. A wide range of chapters in the book highlight innovative ways in which the EMDR approach and protocols can guide us amidst cultural differences, making adaptations when needed without losing efficacy.

Isabel Fernandez,

President EMDR Europe,

Past President EMDR Italy

Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Therapy

Mark Nickerson, LICSW, is a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience. He practices as a trauma treatment specialist in Amherst, MA. Mr. Nickerson is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Michigan School of Social Work. He is on the faculty of the EMDR Institute and the EMDR Trauma Recovery Humanitarian Assistance Program, for whom he provides basic and advanced EMDR training sessions. He is a past president of the EMDR International Association, where he has served on the Board for the past 5 years. Mr. Nickerson conducts EMDR and other training sessions nationally and internationally on topics including treatment for problem behaviors and problematic anger; cultural competence and treating culturally based trauma and prejudice; conflict resolution; serving the needs of veterans and their families, and the effective use of EMDR protocols.

Trained as a social worker, Mr. Nickerson has a long-standing commitment to integrating the psycho and the social in his clinical work and teachings, as well as a passion for breaking down the barriers that divide people. Mr. Nickerson cofounded the Mens Resource Center of Western MA, a unique organization that developed violence intervention services and offered support and educational services for men. He is the Director of Parent Education for the Hampshire County Courts Bar Association, where he has developed two national award winning innovative programs designed to reduce and resolve interpersonal conflict. Mr. Nickerson is author of