EMDR Safety Platform for Early and Transgenerational Trauma: Description and an OCD Application

This article introduces the “EMDR Safety Platform Protocol” (EMDR-SP), which is an extension of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). It is used to treat neuropsychic structuring failures associated with transgenerational and attachment traumas and affective self-regulation failures, seen, for example, in clients with multiple, chronic, or diffuse complaints, ego structure failures, and dissociative tendencies, and which may demonstrate difficulty in reprocessing distressing/traumatic memories. A theoretical basis is presented, and the procedure is explained, with illustrative examples. Psychological conditions and mental health issues are described for which the use of the EMDR-SP may be suitable, and at which stage of the therapeutic process it is most appropriate to use this procedure. The SP procedure is compared with other EMDR applications and with another approach on a clinical case.