History
The EMDRAC Decade: a somewhat personal history.
Santa Monica in June, 1995
was especially warm and exotic for this fugitive from Newfoundland. Despite the beach attractions,
the excitement focus was the International EMDR Conference. Avid for clinical
skills and insight and thoroughly enjoying collegial stimulation, a dedicated
group invited international members to discuss a new creation: the founding of
the EMDR International Association. Two Canadians were present: the other chap
offered some comments and I followed later to convey my belief that Canadian
clinicians would be keen participants. Later during the conference Marilyn
Luber asked me to initiate a Canadian branch of EMDRIA. With Marilyn’s
brilliant smile etched in my memory when I returned to St. John’s plus the list of Canadian EMDR
clinicians provided by the EMDR Institute, I wrote to all Level II’s inviting
expressions of interest in membership. From the 27 who responded I selected one
from each province having anyone qualified. The result: an Executive consisting
of Bill de Bosch Kemper (BC), Maria Eriksen,
(Alberta), Dennis Coates (Saskatchewan), Jim Lichti (Ontario), and
Maurice Boulay (New Brunswick). Bill agreed to be Treasurer, Dennis the
Secretary, and Maria undertook to get a lawyer friend to arrange our
incorporation.
Denver
in 1996 was the first EMDRIA conference. Following the part of the Board
meeting which I attended, I composed a set of articles of affiliation which
were subsequently approved (only to be lost when EMDRIA’s incorporation had to
be reconstituted). The following year in San Francisco, our first face-to-face
Executive meeting, Maria, Jim and I agonized over the lawyer’s draft of EMDRAC
bylaws within the articles of incorporation, most of which subsequently dissolved
in legalize but fortunately left us with adequate room to maneuver. Maria
shepherded completion of our legal status: official on 29 January, 1998. Our
bylaws have since been graced with several revisions and additions to provide
for wide membership participation and asserting the necessary standard of
professional status for admission.
The initial EMDRIA Board was exceptionally committed and
warm to international as well as national development. Two of them risked the
future of the association by nominating me for the position of Treasurer, but I
served more suitably as a member of the International Committee.
Our EMDRAC/EMDRIA newsletter appeared as Volume 1 No. 1 in
1997, actually circulating simultaneously as the first EMDRIA did. In
subsequently years we produced four numbers annually – “we” consisted of me
until Jan Taylor brought her fine talent to the task in 2000. Our first
Directory was completed in that year and continued until my efforts were
overtaken by the advantages of our web site. The fortunate steady growth of our
association has led to greater sophistication so that you will be unlikely to
again have one editor of all three media. Membership was 57 when we
incorporated.
Vancouver
1998 initiated our EMDRAC conferences. We simultaneously hosted the Pacific
North West Regional EMDR event and enjoyed our first AGM. Toronto in 2000 saw us sharing our AGM with
the EMDRIA Conference. Wonderful early years!
- David Hart
June 2006