EMDR Chicago Training & Consultation teaches you the tools necessary to meet your client where they are and ensure they are in their window of tolerance during trauma work. Our current uncertain external environment and recent life stressors require a Crisis/Past-is-Present Trauma Approach that desensitizes today’s perpetual crises, reprocesses yesterday’s PTSD/cPTSD trauma and assists with tomorrow’s game plan, all in one session. Yes, EMDR is a must for our “new normal” trauma tool box which now includes excellent online strategies. Tools include, but are not limited to, EMDR, CONTAINED (EMDr) and RESTRICTED (EMD^) Processing, along with a Core Belief/Schema Target Sequencing Plan Approach. There are a lot of EMDR Basic Trainings out there. Before you sign up, know what you are going to learn and how you will use it.

Why does EMDR Chicago use Roy Kiessling’s model?

EMDR Consulting's Basic Training was developed by Master Trainer, Roy Kiessling. In 1995, Roy originally trained under Francine Shapiro, PHD, who originated and developed EMDR. Roy was one of her senior trainers for her humanitarian program: 2001-2013, and her EMDR Institute:2006-2013. In 2013, using this vast experience as a senior trainer and program developer, he designed his own training model that, while grounded in Francine's original work, is considered next generation, in that it is keeping up with the advances in the neural biological impact of psychological trauma. Thanks to Roy, our training represents is what we consider the next generation in EMDR training and treatment as we continue to strive to help clinicians integrate EMDR intro their clinical practice.

Who is the EMDR Chicago founder?

Paula P. Merucci’s life journey has taken her on a unique path that has ultimately lead her to start EMDR Chicago Training & Consultation. Paula’s first career, as one of the few female Chicago Board of Trade members and risk desk managers, prepared her for her current stance in life. The chaotic markets that encompassed intense and fast paced emotions and Paula’s responsibilities to her traders had her managing the lives of many in their limbic system-fight/flight/freeze-and handling the avoidance of shutdown. Money managers cannot make money if they are immobilized and numb. The “Past is Present,” says Daniel Siegel and, at that time, we were all successfully working with our early memory networks. The coaching of Paula’s employees and the building of her team developed her natural leadership skills and inspired her passion for the work.  

Struggles with Paula’s own maladaptive trauma memories did not surface until after her four children were born. As they ventured out into the world, trauma reenactment was an underlying theme in Paula’s life. After many years of unsuccessful trauma therapy, Paula stumbled upon Francine Shapiro’s “Getting Past Your Past” and EMDR therapy. She was totally amazed by this orientation's ability to be efficient and effective.

Fast forward and now Paula has a full caseload and is doing powerful work by targeting “root cause” memories that will then assist with the symptoms of addiction, OCD, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, to name a few. Like Ad de Jongh points out, if you target the traumatic event with Bilateral Dual Attention Stimuli (BLDAS), the symptoms will dissipate, which gives us the tools to work with anyone and help everyone.