A comprehensive, step-by-step guide for effectively integrating EMDR and ACT to treat trauma.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are proven-effective modalities for treating trauma-related symptoms--but when implemented on their own, each has its limitations. EMDR helps clients successfully process the painful memories keeping them trapped in the past, while ACT more directly targets present day struggles in order to live a more meaningful and expansive life. Can mindfully combining these two powerful treatment methods create a more holistic approach?
In Integrating EMDR and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a trauma expert provides step-by-step guidance for combining EMDR and ACT when treating clients with symptoms related to trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With this comprehensive professional guide, you will learn skills to help clients resolve unprocessed traumatic memories, build a stronger sense of self, and navigate life with greater resilience, meaning, and purpose. You'll also find in-depth and individualized treatment planning strategies, as well as scripts, exercises, worksheets, and case examples to ensure you have everything you need to improve trauma treatment outcomes.
With this professional manual, EMDR-trained clinicians can help clients more effectively:
- Process traumatic and painful memories
- Allow for intense emotions and difficult thoughts
- Identify their values and cultivate a stronger sense of self
- Increase resilience in the face of life's challenges
If you're looking for a more well-rounded approach to trauma treatment, the evidence-based skills and strategies in this book can help clients heal from the past, be more present in the moment, and make meaningful, values-driven changes in their lives.
About the Author :
Tara L. Travia, PhD, has been working with clients who have experienced complex trauma for more than fifteen years using acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in a variety of settings. She spent six years treating active-duty combat veterans in a military partial hospital setting, eventually leading the combat trauma track using both EMDR and graphic narrative protocols. While there, Travia maintained a private practice focused on trauma before transitioning to full-time private work.
Travia has been trained in prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy (CPT), graphic narrative, accelerated resolution therapy (ART), and EMDR. Travia is a licensed psychologist in Virginia and Florida. She is an EMDR-certified clinician and consultant, authorized by APIT (Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology) granted by the PSYPACT Commission. She is an active member of the Florida Psychological Association. She provides CEU courses on a number of topics. Visit her website at www.taratraviaphd.com.
Review :
"Tara Travia makes a compelling argument for the integration of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in trauma treatment. With absorbing clinical content, she demonstrates how the combination of ACT skill sets leads to a more stable and regulated system from which to approach difficult past material. She provides a practical path toward the integration of ACT into all eight phases of EMDR therapy by including worksheets and other tools."
--Mary L. Froning, PsyD, EMDRIA-approved consultant with over thirty years of experience with EMDR, and over forty years as a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma treatment
--Mary L. Froning, PsyD
"Tara Travia's Integrating EMDR and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a comprehensive and user-friendly guide that masterfully blends two complex therapies into a cohesive, accessible framework. Through richly detailed metaphors, clear examples, and practical tools, Travia simplifies implementation while deepening understanding. Clinicians will value her wisdom, relational focus, and problem-solving clarity. This book is an invaluable template for deepening trauma-focused work and enhancing client healing through the combined power of EMDR and ACT."
--Melanie Paci, PsyD, clinical psychologist
--Melanie Paci, PsyD
"This book offers a pioneering integration of two process-based, inherently integrative therapies--ACT and EMDR. Travia translates complex theory into clear decision points, scripts, and case examples. Clinicians will gain flexible tools to target stuck processing, strengthen values-based action, and enhance outcomes by increasing psychological flexibility--without sacrificing fidelity to either model."
--Ramūnas Janavičius, MD, PhD, medical doctor; licensed psychotherapist bridging ACT, EMDR, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP); and founder of NOOS Clinic
--Ramunas Janavicius, MD, PhD
