The Couples and EMDR Project is a clinical treatment and research project that combines couples therapy with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). The EMDR component is an information processing protocol that targets past traumatic experiences, attachment injuries and unmet interpersonal needs using bilateral sensory stimulation.

The EMDR protocol is particularly helpful in getting couples past "stuck" cycles—impasses in which couples maladaptive patterns of interaction are triggered by past traumatic events and/or attachment injuries. By addressing the emotional antecedents with EMDR, couples are helped to move beyond their "stuck" cycles of interaction by decreasing their emotional reactivity and dysfunctional behaviors while increasing their empathy and capacity for attachment.

Project Members:

• Kathy Berliner, LCSW
• Mimi Meyers, LCSW
• Constance Scharf, LCSW
• Natalie Schwartzberg, LCSW
• Margot Weinshel, LCSW, RN

For more information, contact:
Constance Scharf
212 879-4900, ext 128
cscharf@ackerman.org