Reexamining the Dominant Paradigm for Working with Self-states in EMDR

Ego state therapies can help us know enough about a client&s;s self-system to determine readiness and obtain multifaceted consent for any form of resourcing and memory processing. Over the past 20 years, there has been an undeniable gravitational pull in the EMDR therapy field toward Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) and other, IFS-inflected approaches. IFS, which is usually paired with the Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality, has become the ego state therapy of choice among EMDR practitioners working with dissociative clients. This chapter critically examines the basic concepts of the IFS model; discusses the sociopolitics and therapist-specific factors that may lead EMDR practitioners to gravitate toward or away from certain practice approaches; and considers the Watkinses’ Ego State Therapy (EST). With its integration of clinical hypnosis and psychodynamic principles, EST offers practitioners greater flexibility in conceptualizing and treating dissociation. A case example will illustrate the expanded palette of treatment possibilities offered by integrating EMDR and EST.