The EMDR Early Trauma Protocol (When There Are No Words)

The EMDR Early Trauma Protocol, which was originally developed by Katie O’Shea, is an EMDR Protocol that focuses on early (pre-verbal) trauma and neglect. More recently, Sandra Paulsen, Ph.D. collaborated with Katie O’Shea and began to teach her version of this protocol, called “When There Are No Words: EMDR for Early Trauma and Neglect in Implicit Memory.” The steps in this protocol include:

• Containment
• Resourcing
• Clearing/Resetting Affective (Emotional) Circuits
• Early Trauma Processing

The Early Trauma Protocol has many elements that are similar to the Standard EMDR protocol and the same bilateral stimulation that is used with standard EMDR is used with the Early Trauma Protocol. I find the EMDR Early Trauma Protocol to be very effective for early trauma and neglect.

If you have any questions about EMDR or the Early Trauma Protocol, please feel free to contact me.