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Our goal is to break the cycle of suffering that ruins lives and devastates families.
EMDR-Humanitarian Assistance Programs (HAP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, can be described as the mental health equivalent of Doctors Without Borders: a global network of clinicians who travel anywhere there is a need to stop suffering and prevent the after-effects of trauma and violence.
Our primary focus is on training local therapists within crisis or underserved communities to treat trauma using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a therapeutic approach that has been proven effective for post-traumatic stress disorder in numerous controlled studies.
The HAP model emphasizes training and empowering local clinicians to continue the healing process.
EMDR becomes a powerful weapon for battling the after-effects of trauma, whether from natural or man-made disaster. We also help local therapists and organizations set up infrastructures to support ongoing direct service to their communities. In this way, the healing power of EMDR is increased exponentially, continuing long after HAP clinicians leave an area.
For more information on EMDR as a therapy, its applications, and how to access EMDR services, we recommend a visit to the EMDR NETWORK
Our Trauma Recovery Network coordinates clinicians to treat victims and emergency service workers after crises such as Hurricane Katrina, the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Thanks to an energetic response from donors, HAP was able to send two seasoned disaster responders into Haiti in late February, where they treated over 100 children in an orphanage near Port au Prince, using the group process for children. They also assessed the potential for training Haitian therapists and made some promising contacts. At this point, we are working toward a first sequence of Basic EMDR training for Haitian psychologists in the later part of April. We thank all donors whose generosity has made this possible. We also know that more than a single round of training (Parts I and II) will be needed, so our quest for funds earmarked for Haiti continues.
Vivian Lamphear, PhD from California and Roger Ludwig, MA from Cheyenne, were HAP’s first emissaries. Vivian has spent many years in Haiti working as a researcher and EMDR clinician with numerous church communities and church-related social services. Vivian has returned on a second trip to work with additional church communities and to do important groundwork for setting up EMDR training. And Roger has written a moving first-person account that will engage all EMDR clinicians.
To read all of Roger Ludwig’s first-hand account,
View and download this extensive overview by CDR Mark Russell USN, a leading authority, as presented at 2008 EMDRIA Conference.
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