Through the Eyes of a Child (Norton Professional Books) [Paperback]

Robert H. Tinker (Author), Sandra A. Wilson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393702871 | ISBN-13: 978-0393702873 | Publication Date: February 17, 1999 | Edition: 1

This is the first book to explore the use of EMDR with children and adolescents.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has helped thousands of adults haunted by traumatic events. But what about children? Millions of children witness violence in the home and in the streets. Many others are traumatized by accidents, natural disasters, abuse, and neglect. This book shows that EMDR can be successfully applied to children, which can ensure their mental health, growth, and development.

Through the Eyes of a Child demystifies the application of EMDR for children, from the first session with the parents to later sessions with children at all developmental stages. The adult protocol is modified so that it can be applied to children as young as two years old (and possibly younger). A system of classification of childhood trauma that allows therapists to predict a child's response to EMDR is presented. Myriad cases illustrate the use of EMDR with various traumas. Many examples of simple traumas are presented, including automobile accidents, lightning strikes, bereavement, and specific phobias such as a fear of animals. In addition, cases illustrate success with complex traumas, where aspects of the trauma are ongoing and EMDR becomes part of several possible therapeutic interventions.

EMDR is also discussed as an intervention for children who have problems that are not caused by trauma. Case illustrations show how EMDR can be used with children with ADHD, anxiety, depressive, or reactive attachment disorders, as well as learning difficulties and somatoform disorders.

With its compelling, frank style, Through the Eyes of a Child will appeal to all who are interested in applying this revolutionary new therapy with children.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

This is the first book to explore the use of EMDR with children and adolescents. Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) has helped thousands of adults haunted by traumatic events. But what about children? Millions of children witness violence in the home and in the streets. Many others are traumatized by accidents, natural disasters, abuse, and neglect. Childhood trauma is an important public health issue in the United States. This book shows that EMDR can be successfully applied to children, which can ensure their mental health, growth, and development. Through the Eyes of a Child demystifies the application of EMDR for children, from the first session with the parents to later sessions with children at all developmental stages. The adult protocol is modified so that it can be applied to children as young as two years old (and possibly younger). A system of classification of childhood trauma that allows therapists to predict a child's response to EMDR is presented. Myriad cases illustrate the use of EMDR with various traumas. Many examples of simple traumas are presented, including automobile accidents, lightning strikes, bereavement, and specific phobias such as a fear of animals. In addition, cases illustrate success with complex traumas, where aspects of the trauma are ongoing and EMDR becomes one of several possible therapeutic interventions. EMDR is also discussed as an intervention for children who have problems that are not caused by trauma. Case illustrations show how EMDR can be used with children with ADHD, anxiety, depressive, or reactive attachment disorders, or learning, eating, or somatoform disorders. With its compelling, frank style, Through the Eyes of a Child will appeal to all who are interested in applying this revolutionary new therapy with children.

About the Author

Robert H. Tinker, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice specializing in using EMDR with children and adults. He has trained therapists around the world on the use of EMDR with children in many different settings.

Sandra A. Wilson, Ph.D., is Executive Director and Founder of the Spencer Curtis Foundation, which conducts research on EMDR with special populations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (February 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393702871
• ISBN-13: 978-0393702873
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enormously important book., August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Through the Eyes of a Child (Norton Professional Books) (Paperback)

Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. Chronic neglect. Domestic violence. Auto accidents. School shootings. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of ways for children to be traumatized. Just as unfortunately, research into children's trauma and the development of treatment methods often lag behaind adult counterparts. Filling a major gap in the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) literature, veteran therapists Robert Tinker and Sandra Wilson are making available, in compellingly readable form, the techniques they have used successfully with children from Oklahoma City to Rwanda. Geared equally to the child clinician interested in adding this powerful modality and to the experienced EMDR practtioner, "Through the Eyes of a Child" cuts through the mystery to illuminate the method. "It's like you took a magic wand, and said 'Bing! You can live now!" --The mother of a six-year-old who had been severely sexually abused when she was 18 months old. Clinical examples and session transcripts demonstrate EMDR at work with children and teenagers who have experienced a range of acute and ongoing traumas, from molestation by a sibling to the suicide of a parent, from near-death in a lightning storm to the emotional upheaval of a bitter custody battle. (Additional cases show its efficacy in dealing with problems that may not necessarily be trauma-related, among them ADHD, simple phobias, attachment disorder, and learning disabilities.) Tinker and Wilson make important comparisons between pediatric and adult applications of the method at the diagnostic and assessment levels, and modify the treatment protocol to fit youngsters at various stages of development. The standard eye movements, for example, are inappropriate for most children under age five, but they respond well to other forms of left-right stimulation. To keep therapeutic goals clearly in sight, direct, concerte language is usually preferable to the metaphoric language commonly accompanying desensitization. The authors are acutely aware of some EMDR therapists' reservations about working with children, and they have included plenty of guidelines so that readers can accuaratly guage young clients' reactions, minimize the possibility of dissociation, and--most importantly--avoid retraumatization. (One rule that can't be overemphasized: establish a "safe place" that can be returned to when necessary.) Clinical and legal caveats, suggestions for combining EMDR with other forms of therapy, and ideas for involving parents are included as well. With clients this young, significant results often come at an accelerated pace. This can be surprising to clinicians used to conducting adult-length sessions, but as one seven-year-old described the effect of EMDR on his nightmares, "[They] just cleared out of my brain."

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I will unreservedly recommend the book to all., March 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Through the Eyes of a Child (Norton Professional Books) (Paperback)

Despite the child focus, I believe this book is essential reading for all who either use or intend to use EMDR, especially with children. Due to the inevitable developmental influence of much of adult trauma it is an important reference text for all to consider. Any criticism is perhaps only because the general standard is so high that one expects this work to be the fountain of all knowledge when in essence it is a brilliant text about EMDR with children containing a wealth of knowledge. The book is blended like a fine, smooth malt whisky. It has a unique combination of evidence based fact, neurobiological overview, exellent clinical case description, instruction and anecdote based on many years of skilled experience with a rare style that makes it extremely palatable, with continued satisfaction when you resample it. The hallmarks of true expertise were met by the authors' conversion of complexity to simplicity with minimal loss of data. Tinker & Wilson are a rare hybrid of 'gifted researcher and compassionate, effective clinician' who have given generously of their time to fellow professionals and patients. I will unreservedly recommend the book to all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Resource for Helping Children, May 17, 2007

By 

Nikolas Adamsson "Lacanian psychoanalyst" (Stockton, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Through the Eyes of a Child (Norton Professional Books) (Paperback)

Children are different and any clinician who works with children in trauma will want to encorporate the tools and techniques in this book, written by giants in EMDR treatment in designing treatment planning. Used in conjunction with the standard protocols, and proper training, the treatment modifications suggested in this work will enhance the competency of clinicians who work with children in distress.