PSME455 Foundational Clinical Practice in EMDR Therapy

Overview

Focuses upon the principles and practice of EMDR Therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand- including bicultural and partnership approaches to EMDR Therapy, introduction to models of information processing, and legal and ethical frameworks for practice.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is one of only two therapeutic interventions recommended by the World Health Organisation for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is increasingly used for the treatment of other trauma related disorders. The PSME455 first year paper is a component of our comprehensive Postgraduate Certificate qualification (2 year) course. While the curriculum covers the Internationally recognised EMDR Basic Training,  it is also designed for Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique culture and provides a great opportunity for mental health professionals to upskill in this important area.

Graduates of this programme will be recognised as having EMDR therapy skills by employers such as Te Whatu Ora and Corrections and contractors such as ACC.

About this paper

Notes

Students applying for this paper will already have a mental health qualification. All students will be required to have (1) full registration with a regulatory authority under the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act (or an acceptable full membership of a Professional Association); (2) Four years of experience in clinical practice in one-to-one therapies, within a mental health field; (3) a university qualification in a relevant mental health field of at least a Post Graduate Diploma level; and (4) a current work role in a therapies setting where they have access to suitable clients

Eligibility

Note: Admission to PSME 455 is subject to approval.

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements noted below:

1. Applicants must have a minimum of 4yrs clinical experience in providing psychological interventions for mental health issues.
2. Must hold current full registration with a regulatory authority under the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act (or an acceptable full membership of a Professional Association)
3. Must work in a clinical role and have access to working with individual clients on an ongoing basis. (to achieve 80hrs min Clinical EMDR Therapy over the course year)
4. Have an Honours Degree/Post Graduate Diploma qualification (NZQA level 8 minimum) or higher in applied mental health.
5. Have completed a Post- Graduate qualification that includes supervised practice in a specific Psychological Intervention.

Applications will be considered from fully registered:

• Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists, Other Registered Psychologists.
• Nurses, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors: Full membership of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors & Current APC. All Counsellors will need to provide written evidence from NZAC of their Full Membership status as this is not currently available on the NZAC website. DPAANZ membership on its own is insufficient.
• Art Therapists: Professional membership of ANZACATA – Association for Creative Arts Therapies in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. (Lower tiers of membership are insufficient). Must have completed a Masters in Art Therapy from an ANZACATA accredited tertiary provider. Training needs to include supervised experience in standardised, structured psychological interventions such as CBT, DBT, IPT.
• Medical Practitioners with substantial mental health experience may be considered but they must demonstrate the relevant training in psychological interventions and work experience in the mental health sector.
• Psychology trainee interns and psychiatric registrars: May be considered, however, the EMDR Basic Training is intensive, and the experience of previous trainees has been that it may compromise preparation for exams and development of clinical experience in other therapeutic modalities. Advice should be taken from your current supervisor and from the EMDR Therapy course trainer.
• International Applicants: Applicants from outside of New Zealand must also meet the eligibility criteria of their own country's EMDR Association.
• Overseas trained clinicians working in NZ must demonstrate (through NZQA if necessary) that their qualifications are equivalent to the pre-requisites.

Training in Hypnosis or Neuro Linguistic Programming is not considered to be adequate.

Contact

emdr.uow@otago.ac.nz

More information link

Our EMDR training course is popular and has limited places. Applications usually open late August each year. Hence we encourage applicants to register by submitting an application for our:

Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences endorsed in EMDR Therapy (Wellington) as soon applications open.

To register your application with the University: https://www.otago.ac.nz/courses/qualifications/pgcerthealsc click apply now and select Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (PGCertHealSc) endorsed in EMDR Therapy (Wellington) qualification.

Part of the registration process will require you to upload copies (into your eVision portal) of your current CV, proof of current Registration (APC) as well as copies of your Official Academic Transcripts relating to any tertiary qualifications you have noted in your application. Along with any other documents admissions request. This process is managed by Admissions in Dunedin.

Once you have completed this step, please email emdr@uow.ac.nz (EMDR Administration in Wellington) to confirm your application has been submitted and also your id number. EMDR Therapy training is run by Otago University Wellington through the our Department of Psychological Medicine in the Wellington campus. The course is Aotearoa/New Zealand centric, catering for our unique culture.

The first year paper is PSME 455-Foundational Clinical Practice in EMDR Therapy.
The second year paper is PSME 456-Advanced Clinical Practice in EMDR Therapy.
Applicants can only register for one paper each year and must complete that paper in the same year.

Location: Wellington campus.
Teaching Method:  The course includes a series of weekly online lectures, two X 2.5 day in person block workshops, a series of online supervision sessions, four assignment assessments and a short online viva voce (oral exam). Attendance is compulsory for all sessions.

Both papers are clinical based courses and require students to be working in clinical roles. Over the course of the academic year students are required to submit two 40hr clinical logs forms, completing a total of 80 hours of EMDR therapy with clients.

The PSME 455 paper syllabus covers the internationally recognised EMDR Basic Training curriculum, with some expansion of the topics.

Note: The PSME 455 paper is a pre-requisite paper to the second year PSME 456 30-point Advanced Training paper covering advanced EMDR training. We anticipate the PSME 456 paper will be offered every two years. Applications may be considered for the PSME 456 paper, from prospective students with prior EMDR basic training equivalent to PSME 455 paper. Conditions apply.

PSME 455 paper is a full year, part-time course that runs from late February to mid-November each year.

Teaching staff

MaryAnn Stevens Clinical Psychologist
Department of Psychological Medicine
University of Otago Wellington

This training is taught by MaryAnn Stevens who is one of Aotearoa New Zealand's leading EMDR educators.

In her practice, MaryAnn Stevens uses EMDR therapy widely, with clients presenting with a variety of mental health conditions in which trauma is a component. MaryAnn's knowledge of EMDR as a powerful therapy, with applications in so many different areas, is a gift she is keen to share with as many clinicians as possible.

The teaching team also includes:

Anna Clarkson Clinical Psychologist and Erica Chadwick Clinical Psychologist, who both have considerable experience with EMDR.

Paper Structure

The PSME 455 training course is a full year-part time 30pt paper that requires students to complete the paper in one academic year. The course consists of:

• Two sets of 5wk online lectures. The first set starts prior to Block One. Weekly on Fridays.
• Two 2½ day in person teaching blocks - held in March and July at Wellington Campus.
• Supervision (10hrs) will consist of Two X 5hr group sessions. Run after each block course.
• Final viva online exam

Contact: emdr@uow.ac.nz for details on dates.

Teaching Arrangements

This Distance Learning paper is a combination of online and in-person teaching. Attendance is compulsory for all online lectures, supervision sessions, both in person block courses and the final online viva voce for all students .

The PSME 455 course is taught by staff from the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington campus. Teaching is delivered via online lectures and two 2½ day in person blocks in March and July.

Block course teaching includes lectures, demonstrations and practica in which students will practice EMDR therapy in pairs working on personal experiences.

The Block courses commence: 12.30pm to 5pm on the first day and then 8.30am to 5pm the following two days.

Students are expected to make travel arrangements to ensure that they arrive in time to be ready for the block course to commence at 12.30pm on the first day and leave after 5pm on the last day.

Outside of the block courses, the online lectures will run every Friday morning 9am to 12noon. Supervision sessions dates and times to be advised.

Textbooks

Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (latest ed.). NewYork, NY: Guilford.

Hensley, B.J. An EMDR Therapy Primer 2nd Ed. From Practicum to Practice. Springer publishing company, New York. 2016

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Environmental literacy, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation, Teamwork.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing PSME 455 will be able to:

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the key principles of the Adaptive Information Processing Model and the elements of Shapiro’s (2018) model of maladaptive memory networks.
2. Analyse and interpret findings from history to apply the Adaptive Information Processing Model to develop a shared, written case conceptualisation with their clients.
3. Incorporate a critical understanding of how cultural influences relevant to New Zealand/Aotearoa inform the case conceptualisation.
4. Demonstrate advanced skills in the application of structured clinical interviews and standardized assessment tools to assess clients to determine whether they meet criteria for readiness for EMDR reprocessing or need further preparation.
5. Communicate to clients the model of EMDR therapy in a meaningful way that indicates that the therapist has considerable knowledge of the technique; obtain consent and collaboratively organize a sequence of target memories for EMDR reprocessing.
6. Independently and with adequate fidelity apply each of the steps in the Target Assessment Phase (Three) and the Reprocessing Phases (Four, Five and Six) of the standard EMDR procedural steps.
7. Recognize and analyse the aetiology of blocked processing.  Demonstrate flexible skills, including mechanical and TICES strategies and the use of interweaves to initiate processing again.
8. Critically evaluate current research in application of EMDR therapy.

Assessment details

Assessments consist of 4 X Assignments (Written & Video)  and two Supervision assesments over the course year.

The final Viva examination is usually run end of October with dates to confirmed.

Timetable