Customer Reviews

EMDR and the Relational Imperative: The Therapeutic Relationship in EMDR Treatment

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This is a fascinating book, describing the interface between EMDR, an evidence based psychotherapy, and its practice from a relational/humanistic viewpoint.

This book reflects the deep understanding of a master EMDR clinician, Mark Dworkin, who has been schooled in a variety of physiotherapeutic models which he has successfully integrated into his way of thinking about and working with his clients. Dworkin goes well beyond the boundaries of any one specific type of psychotherapy filling his book with frankly presented clinical cases and vignettes showing both his successes and failures. Indeed his honesty is remarkable. Dworkin has developed many strategies of self care that the general psychotherapist can adapt to help within the parameters of the system of therapy practiced. He beautifully describes what a great system of thought EMDR is and deftly illustrates how he has learned from counter transferential mistakes. Woven within the fabric of an EMDR session, this book provides an extremely helpful clinical framework for practicing a highly effective psychotherapy. I found reading it extremely useful and believe that this gem of a book should be on every practicing clinician's bookshelf.

Dworkin does an excellent job of presenting EMDR as a comprehensive method of doing therapy and not a simple technique. He clearly shows how, as in all approaches to psychotherapy, the quality of the relationship between client and therapist is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, when EMDR is viewed as a mechanical technique, this essential component of therapy may be forgotton.

The book will be useful to therapists who have just taken the training, but also to practitioners who have used EMDR for awhile. For the novice it can help him or her integrate EMDR into whatever methods were used prior to taking the training. And, for the experienced EMDR clincian, a lot of useful ideas are given for mastering the advanced and subtle aspects of treatment.

Overall, a well written, engaging book with numerous case examples that hold the reader's attention.

Mark Dworkin has written what for me, as a relatively new EMDR therapist, is the most helpful book on EMDR I have read. He writes that the client-therapist relationship is so important you can't really do effective EMDR work without it. In the process of making his argument for the importance of relationship, he ends up very effectively explaining how to integrate EMDR into an existing practice and how to both stay out of the way and stay attuned to the client. He describes the process of tending to the working alliance with a client through the eight phases of EMDR treatment. Finally, Dworkin describes how when EMDR seems not to work, it's possible to use a relationship focus to identify and overcome the obstacles. By describing his own work with clients, the author does a great job of describing how varied and creative EMDR work can be, despite its formal, structured protocols.

An important subject, covered in depth. Mark Dworkin presents his material in a readily accessable manner for the professional.

The book is brilliantly edited by Margot Silk Forrest whose work will be remembered from "EMDR-The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Trauma".

"EMDR and the Relational Imperative" is a long awaited volume and belongs on every therapist's shelf.

This is a must have book for those using EMDR, particularly if you are new at the process. This would be the second book to buy after the basic text. It helps the new therapist see and appreciate how the therapeutic relationship is central to the use of eyemovement. It is well written and makes much clear.