This round table will address an important point in line with the theme of the conference “Pathways to Peace with EMDR”. This title was suggested by EMDR All-Ireland’s President Gus Murray in relation to the history of the Irish island. It was only in 1998 that a peace agreement was reached in the more recent acute phase of conflict in Northern Ireland. Inspiringly the EMDR community in Ireland came together in 2020 to form a single EMDR All-Ireland Association, bringing together therapists on both sides of the Irish border. We see the same development happening on the Island of Cyprus where a new EMDR Association was formed that reunites EMDR therapists from both sides of the border on Cyprus. Francine Shapiro has regularly been addressing the effect of war: “what can we do for those individuals who are in pain whether due to natural disasters or man-made disasters such as war to alleviate the suffering so that instead of the continual reaction of anger/depression … people can process their memories and began to see the common denominators between them.” It is essential to address this: what can EMDR therapists do to heal the consequences of political trauma? This round table wishes to address this at the structural level as well as at the level of clinical work with patients who suffer from political trauma.
The round table will include the following presentation, followed by a discussion.
Ziliha Uluboy and Anthia Christodoulou Theofilou (Co-chairs of EMDR CYPRUS) : “A bicommunal EMDR Association, a step towards peace in a divided Cyprus”
Adam Guetty (EMDR All-Ireland, Ulster Committee Chair): "Embracing Resilience: Nurturing Healing for Trauma Survivors and first responders in Northern Ireland"
Joan Camilleri (Malta): “Supporting minors through war and displacement – the role of EMDR”