Advanced (known locally for expert knowledge, e.g., regularly carrying several of these cases)

Intermediate

In Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) the marker for the task of Focusing is typically used for processing an unclear felt sense. Harte (2012) proposed an expanded version of Focusing to include the reprocessing of painful or traumatic events which was found in clinical practice to successfully process these events. More recently, Harte (2017, 2019) used the discovery phase of task analysis to refine the proposed model and develop a method for bringing previously suppressed or incomplete memories of painful/traumatic events back into awareness so they can be successfully processed and integrated. Once a traumatic memory was accessed within the focusing task via bodily felt-sense in conjunction with emotional arousal and activation of other schematic elements, it was possible to reprocess the event in such a way that the person was no longer plagued by the painful aspects of it and was not retraumatised by the re-remembering that often occurs when asked to retell their story. Once the client was able to express the appropriate primary emotion and articulate their needs within the remembered experience, the associated painful emotional charge was lessened. The event was remembered as having occurred but the emotional intensity was greatly reduced. This reprocessing of the traumatic event is more than desensitising. Working with single event trauma or developmental trauma requires careful consideration around avoiding re-traumatisation and recognising dissociation. Knowing the signs of dissociation and how to deal with it is vital in trauma work. The model presented in this workshop offers a pathway for processing such events systematically and safely. This workshop is experiential and will provide participants with knowledge and theoretical understanding of EFT for trauma and how to use the extended focusing task. Participants will be able to apply knowledge gained from workshop and integrate into their work with their trauma and non-trauma clients immediately.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
• Trauma theory from an emotion focused perspective
• The concept of dissociation and how to manage it
• Emotion regulation through grounding and other strategies
• Developing a safe environment in which to process trauma
• How and when to process the trauma
• Introduction to an extended version of focusing that process painful and/or traumatic events that leads emotional pain