Ecotherapy-informed Emdr: A Holistic and Creative Approach to Providing Culturally Responsive Trauma Treatment

Shift trauma recovery from a Eurocentric lens to an ecocentric perspective to foster more profound healing for all clients.

In Ecotherapy-Informed EMDR, both new and seasoned clinicians will find a fresh reconceptualization of EMDR that uses nature-based metaphors to organize the eight phases of the protocol. By connecting the core concepts of EMDR to the natural world, this book provides a universally understood reference point for the protocol that clients across all cultures and settings can understand.

Inside, you’ll find illustrations, scripts, and step-by-step guidance that explain how to:

• Use nature-based metaphors to describe the AIP model, memory reconsolidation theory, reprocessing, and the three-pronged protocol
• Integrate the creative arts and storytelling into the preparation phase
• Offer bilateral stimulation using movement, sound, resonance, rhythm, and nature-based materials
• Break down the assessment, desensitization, and reprocessing phases using a mountain metaphor
• Work with clusters, including implicit prenatal and preverbal memories
• And more!

As we’ve seen a dramatic increase in conflict, disaster, and forced displacement across the world, it has become more vital than ever to expand the reach of EMDR to help those affected by the world’s current crises, as well as to treat survivors of complex, collective, and historical trauma.

Let this book be your guide to integrating the natural world into EMDR as a powerful way to provide strength, hope, and comfort to clients—no matter their background, identity, or circumstances.

Jennifer Marchand, MA, CCC, CCTP-II, RCAT, is a certified trauma specialist and EMDRIA-approved consultant with over 10 years of clinical experience. She specializes in working with sexual violence, complex and conflict-related trauma, and vicarious traumatization. Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, since 2021, she is dedicated to the field of global mental health and working in underserved settings. She is also an editor and coauthor of EMDR and Creative Arts Therapies (2022).