Lisa Wright, Mark Walton
Using EMDR to reduce sexual interest in children
Workshop Abstract
This workshop will explain how EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy, an intervention that has been used effectively over many years in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, can be used to address sexual interest in children, where this interest has its origins in the client’s own experiences of child sexual abuse.
EMDR has been shown to produce long term adaptive change in problematic cognitions and feelings, including physiological sensations, in a range of client groups. It allows the client to re-visit and re-process memories of traumatic experiences that are associated with the maladaptive cognitions and feelings, resulting in an adaptive perception of those experiences and the elimination of problematic feelings and thoughts.
High rates of CSA have been reported in adults who have sexually offended against children. There are various ways that children can cope with and make sense of their sexual abuse experiences. This can involve the development of maladaptive positive feelings, offence supportive cognitions and sexual arousal to memories of their abuse, which can be related to sexual offending.
EMDR can be applied to this specific population allowing them to alter their perceptions of their abuse and see it in a more adaptive way, which reduces sexual arousal to their memories of abuse. This has been associated with significant reduction in deviant sexual arousal (Ricci, Clayton & Shapiro, 2006 This workshop will describe the development of this work, the therapy procedures, barriers and adaptations, using case studies to illustrate the change process.
About the Speakers
Dr Lisa Wright is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist working for Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. Lisa has worked in secure hospitals, prisons and the community with a range of mental health problems and offending behaviours, using a number of therapeutic approaches, including EMDR, Schema Therapy, CFT and MBT.
She is Service Lead for Mersey Forensic Psychology Service, a community service that provides therapy aimed at reducing risk of sexual and violent offending. This includes intervention with non-offending adults aimed at improving their ability to protect children from sexual harm.
Lisa runs the Trauma Focused Therapy service in North West prisons. She also created a prevention service for adults who have not sexually offended but are at risk of committing sexual harm. Schema Therapy and EMDR are core components of all of these services.
Dr Mark Walton is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and has worked in a range of forensic settings, including prisons, probation services, medium and low secure services, community forensic services, within the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway and currently within the Mental Health Treatment Requirements service.
Mark has an interest in childhood trauma and offending behaviour and using psychological therapy to reduce the risks of offending. He primarily uses schema therapy and EMDR a to conceptualise distress and offending behaviours and to shape the process of deeper psychological change.