Our history
The formation of the Council
HISTORY
The Future of EMDR Therapy Project was approved by the EMDRIA Board of Directors in their October 2018 meeting. The Journal of EMDR Practice and Research is the organizing entity for the Project, which is chaired by Dr. Louise Maxfield, the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. Michael Bowers, EMDRIA’s Executive Director is a Consultant to the Project.
In the fall of 2018, Louise and Michael identified a core group of Scholars, leaders in the EMDR community, to function as the Steering Committee for the Project’s Council of Scholars. The Steering Committee invited 37 individuals to join the Council, selecting researchers internationally who had conducted and published EMDR randomized controlled trials. A few individuals with recognized clinical expertise were also selected.
The first Symposium meeting was held for 1.5 days after the EMDRIA conference in Anaheim, California, in September 2019. The mission and goals were discussed, and Scholars shared their individual vision for the future of EMDR therapy.
Four work-groups were created: Clinical Practice, Research, Training & Credentialing, and ‘What is EMDR’. Each Scholar chose which group they wanted to join, with initial meetings held during the Symposium. Each work-group had one chair and two vice-chairs. In 2020, the Training & Credentialing, and Clinical Practice work-groups requested the addition of new members, and some Scholars were added to these groups.