TS01: Falling Awake: The FUN Guide to Integrating EMDR, Brainspotting, and Yoga Nidra for Trauma, Addiction, and Self-Regulation

Speaker bio: Kathryn C. Shafer, PhD, LCSW, CAP, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT

The FUN Program, a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program, integrates mind-body exercises and movement therapies into the clinical session. Addressing beliefs and learning self-regulation skills helps clients access and transform lifelong habits of thinking and behavior that manifest in physical and emotional distress. The FUN program utilizes eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting, and yoga nidra to create immediate shifts in thinking and action.

This session will offer participants the opportunity to explore how the integration of these techniques with CBT creates a paradigm shift in the delivery of behavioral health, addiction, and trauma-informed practices. Learn about positive engaging focus, resource exercises for self-regulation, and beginning to adapt and integrate these practices into yoga therapy sessions and personal practice. During psychoeducation and experiential exercises, participants will also explore how intense emotions can create beliefs that hijack personal growth. Learning how befriending “The Committee” and practicing these trauma-informed self-regulation skills can help clients ride the waves of sensation. Specific applications for various populations and settings will be addressed within the scope of yoga therapy practice.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand a framework for stabilizing addiction and trauma responses by integrating basic resources from EMDR, Brainspotting, and yoga nidra.
2. Compare the benefits of EMDR, Brainspotting, and yoga nidra for supporting various presenting problems.
3. Explore supportive self-regulatory resources to assist in personal healing and further yoga therapy training.