Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment

Dr. Laurel Parnell played a massive role in helping me find my voice as an EMDR therapist, and I continue to be inspired by our early conversations on expanding the possibilities of EMDR-related interventions. In her latest offering, Parnell adds her perspective to a growing collection of EMDR-related interventions on a topic that is near and dear to my heart, addiction recovery, Clinicians and human services workers with a passion for healing the suffering caused by and connected to addiction receive plenty of new ideas for working with clients, especially in the area of resourcing. You can never have too many strategies for helping individuals struggling with chemical dependency, process addictions, and co-dependency issues. I am grateful to Parnell for offering her unique perspective on how to resource this work, which I know is near and dear to her heart as well.--Jamie March, Ph.D., Founder, The Institute for Creative Mindfulness, coauthor of EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma-focused Care; author of EMDR Made Simple Dr. Parnell's work is at once brilliant and simple, deep yet accessible, validating of the destructive nature of trauma and hopeful of one's ability to completely heal. With compassion, attunement, and intelligence, Dr. Parnell guides therapists of all levels through reparative techniques that address many layers involved in healing; from core trauma to consequential addictive behaviors to enhancement of self-esteem, resilience, and reduction of shame. As an eating disorder specialist practicing for 26 years, I applaud Dr. Parnell's original and creative use of AF-EMDR, Resource Tapping, and the reparative, healing therapeutic relationship to effectively bring clients into full and joyous recovery!--Julie T. Ann�, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist and Eating Disorder Specialist, A New Beginning / TheHealthyWeighOut Dr. Laurel Parnell has written a landmark book which is a must-read for anyone struggling with substance abuse and/or addictive behaviors and for the people who support and counsel them. Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment provides a nuanced, compassionate and client-centered approach to treatment. Parnell focuses on enhancing resilience, healing attachment wounds, and trauma reprocessing. Her Resource Tapping techniques build new neural circuitry that supports resilience and an integrated shift towards health and wholeness.--Kim Cookson, Psy.D., Director of Trauma and Resiliency Training and Services Southern California Counseling Center Since its introduction in 2013, I have used Parnell's Attachment-Focused EMDR in my work with persons, both inpatient and outpatient, who are stuck in life with destructive behaviors that are driven by addiction. In the complex addiction cases that I work with, Parnell's work has provided a clinical framework that functions to reprocess traumas that drive addictive behavior and help the individual stop their addictive behaviors by building stronger internal resources. These new internal resources allow the addicted individual to have more mature and healthy coping strategies in response to life stress, along with adaptive behavioral responses that help to rewire those dysfunctional neural circuitries that underlie and perpetuate their addictive behavior. In her latest work, Rewiring the Addicted Brain with EMDR-Based Treatment, Parnell shows how to use Resource Tapping, EMDR, and her new 'Connecting the Consequences' protocol to help addicted persons be successful in their efforts to develop a life free of addiction. Parnell's work is an invaluable resource for anyone who works with people who are impacted by addiction. For the professional clinician, this work provides the tool that will help you help your clients develop life changing internal capacities and skills, allowing them to live a life free of addiction. I recommend it highly.--Roy A. Blankenship, M.A., LPC, LMFT, CSAT, CAADC, Chief Executive Officer, HopeQuest Addiction Recovery Center, Woodstock, GA