Abstract
This chapter examines the rationale for, and use of, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) with men—both male civilians and male veterans. It is argued that there are good reasons why EMDR may be the psychotherapeutic tool of choice when working with many males at different stages through the lifespan, allowing previously unidentified links to be made between unresolved difficulties at different times of life, defence mechanisms to be circumvented, and associated traumatic memories to be resolved. Case examples are used to show how, via EMDR Therapy, men can often resolve potentially conflicted feelings and the behaviours that go with them, and achieve a deeper, more connected, and authentic sense of self.
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Notes
- 1.
NB All case material presented here is composite and highly anonymised.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the incisive comments of Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, Dr. Jim Knipe, and Dr. Emily Wood during the writing of this chapter.
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Kingerlee, R. (2019). Practising Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Male Civilians and Male Veterans. In: Barry, J.A., Kingerlee, R., Seager, M., Sullivan, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology and Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04384-1_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04384-1_23
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