Laurel Parnell (Part 3) – The Remarkable Transformative Power of EMDR Therapy: A Revolution in Trauma Treatment & Gateway to Transpersonal Openings

Ep. 132 (Part 3 of 3) | World renowned EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) therapy pioneer and trainer Dr. Laurel Parnell has used EMDR therapy with clients for decades with truly remarkable success. Laurel relates how EMDR therapy dissolves blocks caused by trauma, freeing clients from negative constructs so they can develop their own felt sense of truth, and express from and know their own true nature. After EMDR, she says, “singers sing, writers write, dancers dance.” Not only are clients freed, but the endpoint of EMDR therapy quite often rests in a transpersonal space that is invariably characterized by an upwelling of self-love and compassion for others, an opening to mystery and boundless possibility. Interestingly, because of the resonant field between therapist and client (interpersonal neurobiology), the therapist experiences the transpersonal opening when it happens as well. More often than not, Laurel tells us, the way the session unfolds is a surprise to both client and therapist, with long forgotten little “t” traumas turning out to be responsible for the client’s blocks rather than the expected major life traumas. 

Laurel makes it clear that the goal of EMDR is to empower the client; the therapist must allow the wisdom to reside in the client rather than in their own interpretation of what unfolds, and adhere strictly to a process of open inquiry. She describes how the therapist’s beliefs can limit the outcome and outlines the advantages of a therapist who has a spiritual practice and transpersonal awareness. Laurel’s leading edge at this point involves Multidimensional Integrative Healing, an evolution from her longtime experience with EMDR, where further dimensions of reality have so often emerged in her work, and her own spiritual journey. It is fascinating to hear her describe how we can not only install helpful inner resources for ourselves, but also counter intergenerational trauma by calling forward ancestral wisdom. A deeply intriguing, eye opening, and impactful conversation with a very wise, enthusiastic, far thinking trailblazer of a teacher. Recorded April 15, 2024.

“The consciousness that illumines everything illumines everything on all dimensions.”

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 3

• Normalizing living in the nondual space with Suzanne Segal (00:56)
• Laurel’s son’s horrific death, the sense of feeling held, and working with a spirit worker afterwards (03:42)
• Laurel’s further healing on her own with EMDR (08:51)
• The onset of working with multiple dimensions of reality: working with energetic attachments, ancestral/intergenerational trauma, energetic sovereignty (09:53)
• Not everything we experience is ours, and should not be integrated (11:20)
• This way of working is all about empowering the individual, cultivating & developing the very powerful resource deities within us and in other dimensions (15:20)
• Using Tibetan technology & developing skillful means (16:48)
• Energetic sovereignty and working with energy bubbles: how to help others without merging with them (20:22)
• Healing intergenerational trauma: resourcing positive, wholesome, healthy ancestry and bringing it forward (21:59) 
• The bridging technique: reprocessing past life trauma of the client or even of another energetic being (25:49)
• Staying open to the multiplicity of possibilities of what could be going on (28:14)
• What the original pioneering psychedelic therapists discovered about the psyche (29:13)
• Laurel’s healing journey in the Amazon and recognizing that ancient ways of healing are still important (31:03)
• Consciousness is so vast, everything is there—grief too (34:48)
• Primordial purity: everything is an expression of consciousness; nothing needs to be condemned (35:19)
• There is cross-generational transmission of limiting beliefs, traumas, etc., but also of virtues: bringing forward ancestral wisdom to heal current traumas (37:28)
• The importance of service, setting good boundaries, and practicing good ethics on the part of the shaman or therapist (42:45)

Resources & References – Part 3

• Suzanne Segal, Collision with the Infinite: A Life Beyond the Personal Self*
• Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman*, Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality*
• Zen Master Seung Sahn, The Compass of Zen*, Only Don’t Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn*
• The Pachamama Alliance
• Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration*
• Dr. Laurel Parnell, Executive Director, The Parnell Institute, a major provider of EMDR training and educational programs, and leading authority on Attachment-Focused EMDR
• Find an EMDR Therapist at Parnell Institute
• Laurel Parnell, Transforming Trauma: EMDR: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Freeing the Mind, Clearing the Body, and Opening the Heart*
• Laurel Parnell, Rewiring the Addicted Brain: An EMDR-Based Treatment Model for Overcoming Addictive Disorders*
• Laurel Parnell, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma*
• Laurel Parnell, Tapping In: A Step-by-Step Guide to Activating Your Healing Resources Through Bilateral Stimulation*

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

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Live Online Training at the Parnell Institute 

• June 7-8, 2024: Discover the Power of Multidimensional Integrative Healing and EMDR with Laurel Parnell

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Laurel Parnell, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Parnell Institute and developer of Attachment-Focused EMDR and Multidimensional Integrative Healing. She is a clinical psychologist, author of several books, and leading expert on Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Since 1995 she has trained thousands of clinicians in EMDR both nationally and internationally. A meditation practitioner since 1973, she brings a transpersonal orientation to her teaching as well as to her clinical work.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell