18th Annual Conference State of the Art EMDR 2025
State of the Art EMDR 2025
Saturday, March 29th, 2025

Purchase your tickets before February 28th to get an early bird discount! Prices include CEUs
Our Keynote Address: "How Flash Approaches Can Make You a More Effective EMDR Therapist with Clients with Complex Trauma"
Flash approaches provide an opportunity to start trauma processing much earlier in treatment for clients with complex trauma in ways that can make preparation for EMDR therapy easier and faster. Flash approaches can assist clients in building and supporting the adaptive information needed in EMDR therapy.
Thomas Zimmerman (he/him), Ms.Ed., LPCC
Morning Workshops 90 minutes (choose one)
1. “The "Bookends" of EMDR Therapy: Resourcing and Future Templates Refresher” - Desi Lowit (she/her) LICSW and Stephanie Baird (she/they) LMHC
This workshop will cover the bookends of EMDR therapy: resourcing and future templates. Participants will refresh and/or expand their knowledge of the many resources available (calm place, container, RDI, bubble/shield boundary, spiral, attachment script, "tip of the finger," "Healing Circle," etc.), plus learn basic sensorimotor techniques for stabilization. Participants will also refresh and practice Future Templates.
2. “Adapting EMDR for Kids and Teens: Playful, Practical, and Powerful Techniques” - Lisa Ibekwe (she/her), LCSW
Learn how to adapt EMDR for kids and teens with playful, practical techniques that foster healing and resilience. This interactive workshop provides tools and strategies to engage younger clients while also addressing inner child work in adults, offering creative approaches to trauma-informed care for all ages.
3. "Recovering From Behavioral and Substance Addiction with EMDR Therapy" - Sarah Osborne (she/her), LPC, LADC, NCC
This workshop focuses on how to use EMDR therapy to aid in recovery from behavioral and substance addictions. Participants will learn to identify when clients are “stable enough” to proceed with EMDR therapy. Concerns related to proceeding with clients who are not abstinent or in early recovery will be addressed.
Afternoon Workshops 180 minutes (select one)
4. “The Marriage of EMDR Therapy and Couples Therapy Through the Lens of Polyvagal Theory” - Grace Chen (she/her), PhD, LMFT
This presentation examines how EMDR can be integrated with couple therapy through the lens of Polyvagal Theory. It emphasizes the impact of relationship ruptures on partners' autonomic responses and highlights the importance of self-regulation and co-regulation between clients and the EMDR clinician throughout the eight phases of EMDR.
5. “Thinking Differently; Using a modified Feeling State Addiction Protocol (FSAP) with resistant developmental Patterns of dysfunctional Behavior: a Focus on Attachment, Interpersonal Dependency and Pathological Bonding Patterns” - Ross Hackerson (he/him), MA
An experiential presentation identifying Trauma Protocol processing vs. Feeling State Protocol processing in case conceptualization and treatment; then, learning/using a short form of the modified FSAP experientially in the workshop. Learning to apply it to treatment resistant behaviors as Co-Dependency, Attachment Dysfunction and Oppositionality in your regular practice.
Purchase your tickets before February 28th to get an early bird discount! Prices include CEUs
Students and non-profit therapists - $150 (for early bird), $160 (after Feb. 28th)
Private practice therapists: $175 (for early bird), $185 (after Feb. 28th)
If you identify as a BIPOC therapist, please select that option on the registration form below to attend the conference free of charge.
To make an additional donation to Western Mass EMDR (not Meeting registration)
18th Annual Conference Registration
To register, you also must make the registration payment via the buttons shown above this form, or via check to The Western Mass EMDR Network, Inc and send to Carol Ostiguy-Finneran 116 Pleasant St. Suite 333 Easthampton, MA 01027
18th Annual Conference
Once you have submitted the form, you must submit payment via the links above to finish your registration.
116 Pleasant St. Suite 333
Easthampton, MA 01027
To make an additional donation to Western Mass EMDR (not Meeting registration)
Biographies
Thomas Zimmerman (he/him), Ms.Ed., LPCC, is a mental health therapist who practices in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. He is an EMDR therapist, consultant, and trainer who helps other therapists work more effectively with complex trauma. He writes, podcasts, trains, and provides consultation to other therapists globally on how to use the approaches described in this book with clients with severe trauma. His book, EMDR With Complex Trauma, helps new EMDR clinicians work more effectively with clients with severe trauma. He has trained thousands of therapists globally in trauma-focused interventions.
Desi Lowit (she/her) LICSW graduated from Smith College School for Social Work in 2011 and has run her private practice since 2014. An EMDRIA-approved consultant, she specializes in complex PTSD and structural dissociation, with a focus on neuro-diverse populations. Trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Desiree supports individuals and families caring for neuro-divergent members of all ages, emphasizing empowerment and personalized interventions. Her experience in community mental health and pediatric settings enhances her practice, which is dedicated to improving individual and family well-being.
Stephanie Baird (she/they) LMHC has provided therapy, assessment, consultation, and educational talks and programming on EMDR Therapy, trauma, vicarious traumatization, sexual health, self-care, burnout, and stress reduction in various mental health settings such as prisons, hospitals, clinics, and private practice, since 1999. Ms. Baird, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant since 2016, has presented and published regionally (local newspaper column), nationally (EMDRIA conferences), and internationally on integrating EMDR Therapy and Sexual Health. Her first professional book, EMDR Therapy & Sexual Health: A Clinician’s Guide (2023), originated from these presentations. Additionally, she coaches at EMDR Basic Trainings.
Lisa Ibekwe (she/her), LCSW, is passionate about helping children, teens, and young adults navigate trauma and rediscover resilience. Inspired by her Nigerian heritage and personal experiences with grief and dual cultural identity, Lisa approaches therapy with empathy and authenticity. She integrates advanced techniques like EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Brainspotting, and Play Therapy to create a supportive and personalized path to healing. Beyond therapy, Lisa advocates for mental health equity in organizations, families and communities, aiming to break down barriers and reduce stigma. Her mission is rooted in fostering connection, understanding, and holistic well-being for all.
Sarah Osborne (she/her), LPC, LADC, NCC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor and EMDRIA Approved Consultant who specializes in the treatment of addiction, complex trauma and dissociation. She has experience working in community mental health settings and private addiction treatment centers. Sarah is actively involved with integrating EMDR therapy into a number of addiction facilities across the levels of care. She is dedicated to promoting space for healing and wellness across diverse populations in her private EMDR focused practice, the work she does with first responders and as a co-owner of a perinatal group practice. She provides on-going individual and group consultation to all levels of EMDR professionals and consultants-in-training.
Grace Chen (she/her), PhD, LMFT, is an EMDRIA-certified EMDR Therapist and Approved Consultant with a background in counseling and family therapy. She started her career in Taiwan, working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse and victims of partner violence. Recognizing the importance of the family system and cultural influences, she pursued further training in Couple and Family Therapy in the US. She earned her PhD from Michigan State University, specializing in Couples and Family Therapy. Grace has extensive experience in community mental health settings and established her private practice in Andover in 2015, where she focuses on EMDR therapy to treat clients with Complex PTSD and Relational Trauma.
Ross Hackerson (he/him), MA is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Northampton, MA. As a Certified EMDRIA Consultant, he has been practicing EMDR working with trauma and addictions since 2002. His present practice is almost entirely Intensive based: he works with one client, couple or family for six hours a day, three to five days. He says, “I love this format. Send me your dysregulated, stuck or out of control individual, couple or family and I’ll send you back someone regulated, focused, trauma in-formed, ready to do even deeper work and saying, “Thank you for sending me.”