FLOBEL ADVISOR NOELLE DAMON & EDMR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Hudson Valley based FLOBEL Advisor Noëlle Damon, LCSW-R, DAAETS, is a psychotherapist in private practice who provides treatment, supervision, consultation, and presentations in the areas of traumatic stress, anxiety, stress reduction and restorative meditation practices with all ages. She is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress in collaboration with the National Center for Crisis Management, a certified EMDR practitioner (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a teacher of iRest (Integrative Restoration/Yoga Nidra) and Breath~Body~Mind, stress reduction practices. Noëlle is presently on the Board of Directors of Trauma Recovery, EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs and sits on the International Committee and the Trauma Recovery Networks Committee.
Damon’s psychotherapeutic approach is a holistic and dynamic combination of strength-based modalities including EMDR, Sandplay, Solution-Focused, and Body-Centered Therapies. Involving the mind, body, and spirit, she encourages her clients to discover and explore their own inner wisdom to heal and resolve old traumas and disabling core beliefs. Nectar News sat down with Noëlle Damon to learn more about her work on the Board of Directors of EDMR Humanitarian Assistance Programs, a non profit organization committed to relieving human suffering and breaking the cycle of violence. In this special Nectar News interview, Damon tells us that EDMR Humanitarian Assistance Programs also seeks to increase the capacity for effective treatment of psychological trauma in underserved communities all over the world.
NN: What is EMDR and tell us how it is used as a healing tool for traumatic grief?
ND: EMDR is a mind-body modality of psychotherapy that has the capacity to provide lifelong resolution to disturbing experiences. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a cost-effective, non-invasive, evidence-based method of psychotherapy that was developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD in the late 1980’s initially as a treatment of PTSD for Viet Nam Vets. It is an eight-phase treatment which comprehensively identifies and addresses experiences that have overwhelmed the brain’s natural resilience or coping capacity, and have thereby generated traumatic symptoms and/or harmful coping strategies. Through EMDR therapy, patients are able to reprocess traumatic information until it is no longer psychologically disruptive. It surpasses regular talk therapy because its whole brain approach accesses areas in the brain where memory can be held without our conscious awareness. It utilizes a bilateral stimulation process that activates both hemispheres of the brain, so that conscious and unconscious regions of the brain can be freed of the emotional disturbances connected with memories. Most therapies can provide some level of relief or insight, but neither of those are enough to remove the disturbance connected to the events. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, you can easily see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the “everyday” memories that cause people to have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness and the myriad problems that bring them in for therapy.
NN: What inspired you to serve those who are struggling with traumatic experiences?
ND: Throughout my years in the helping professions, it became more and more apparent to me how the disturbances for which people are being treated were often times the result of unresolved, if not early, small or big traumas. I saw how those experiences limited their functioning, and how they are handled by the medical field, which is systematically pathologizing and medicating rather than seeking the root cause of the symptomatology. Concurrently, I was following the atrocities of the genocide in Ruwanda, as we were reading about it through the letters from the only surgeon who was there in the field. I knew I wanted to help but was uncertain as to how I could. At the time, Doctors Without Borders was only calling for medical staff and had not yet started using mental health staff. But the writing was on the wall. The horrors that these populations would have to live with for the rest of their lives would remain in their psyches,and I felt called to offer them relief from their suffering.
I began studying the work of leaders in the field of trauma treatment and trained in EMDR about 16 years ago. I have been using it in my practice with great success ever since. Initially, I used it just in private practice, and eventually in the field while responding to the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in NYC. As the ad hoc clinical director for that response, our trauma recovery network from NYC assisted members of the communities who had lost their loved ones, their homes and their communities. Over the years I have become a seasoned traumatologist and as a citizen of the world, equipped with the best trauma treatment available, I have become interested in providing this treatment to as many communities as possible. This is why I joined the Board of Directors of Trauma Recovery, EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Program. I am interested in providing direct services, outreach, training, and research to teach the world about this treatment.
NN: How has your post secondary education encouraged you to navigate the professional industry or industries you currently participate in?
ND: With an undergraduate degree in Sociology and a dual masters degree in Sociology and Social Work, I was assisted in viewing the conditions for which individuals seek treatment as symptomatic of problems and conditions in the larger contexts of their lives. My graduate program at the University of Albany in NY encouraged us not to “blame the victim”, but to understand the ecological framework that caused their problems to emerge. We see the importance of this while addressing sexual assaults, racial targeting, and sexual discrimination, socioeconomic inequality, and the immense powerlessness that many sectors of society face as the country becomes more divided. Disasters often hit the most underserved communities the hardest, so they are doubly jeopardized in this changing world. I was fortunate to find a program that resonated with my values and believes strongly in self determination and respect of individuals, along with the betterment of humanity. My post graduate studies meanwhile, assisted me in analyzing the strengths and needs of individuals and communities. Subsequently, I have gained great insight and skills in an effective treatment to help people overcome and surpass their disabling experiences and beliefs so they can attempt to fulfill their own potential. 
NN: How do you hope to grow in this field of work and what do you believe Trauma Recovery EDMR Humanitarian Assistance Programs offers to clients that is unique in comparison to competing programs?
ND: Everyday I see clients, I witness the effectiveness and speed with which our treatment works, and our research studies support that. It is my hope and interest to continue to provide treatment through private practice, to provide presentations to organizations on all aspects of traumatic stress, and to continue to do outreach, to disseminate information about the way in which EMDR can assist organizations to better serve their clients. While on the international committee of our Humanitarian Assistance Program I hope to assist in the creation of partnerships with other NGOs so we can collaboratively approach and address the continuously growing need for trauma treatment here and overseas. Our mission is to increase the capacity for effective treatment of psychological trauma in underserved communities anywhere in the world. What our organization offers is two-fold, unlike any other organization. First, we have volunteer Trauma Recovery Networks around the country, at present we have over 50, up from 3, in 2010. These networks are equipped to provide immediate response post disaster, whether natural or man-made, with an adapted form of EMDR that addresses the traumatic stress BEFORE it becomes PTSD! Understanding that traumatic experiences, if left unprocessed will turn into PTSD in a significant number of the population, we do our best to provide treatment so the community can return to optimal functioning in order to address the challenges of putting the rest of their lives back together. Secondly, we provide training to organizations, ie: community mental health clinics at a low cost fee so they have the most effective treatment to address the emerging mental health issues that will show up at their clinics in the following years
NN: What is a common misconception about people who have experienced traumatic stress and seek help from programs like Trauma Recovery?
ND: The most common misconception is that time heals all wounds. I compare trauma to a broken limb – certainly, with time it will heal, yet if not set properly, we know it may be permanently damaged. Our work is about resetting the psyche so that it can heal itself in the most healthy way possible. PTSD is a hidden injury, and it can show up in many different ways – perpetual illness, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, aggression, self-harming behaviors, lost productivity on the job – they can all be symptoms of unresolved traumatic experiences. It is important to know that PTSD takes 12-18 months to emerge – essentially, at the time that most people expect to be feeling better. Given the exponentially growing number of disasters over the last 5 years, our work has become imperative to the well-being of the world at large.
The following is a list of some of the places and events that Trauma Recovery EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs have responded to in the last 10 years.
1999 Marmara, Turkey Earthquake
1999 Columbine, Colorado Shooting
2001 9/11
2004 Chennai, India Tsunami
2004 Thailand Tsunami
2005, 2012, 2013, 2014 Sri Lanka
2005 Hurricane Katrina
2010 Haiti Earthquake
2011 Tuscaloosa, AL / Joplin, MO Tornadoes
2012 Hurricane Sandy
2012 Sandy Hook
2013 Boston Marathon
2013 Prescott, AZ Wildfire
2013 Oklahoma Tornado
2013 Philippines Typhoon
2014 Oso, Washington – Mudslide
2016 Nepal, Earthquake
2016 Orlando Massacre
EMDR therapy has over 2000 volunteer clinicians and is now recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense as a treatment of choice for addressing PTSD. The Humanitarian Assistance Program was granted consulting status by the United Nations as a result of the international work that they have conducted in the past 10 years. Donate to Trauma Recovery by visiting the link below and learn more about the company by visiting its website and social media pages.
