Dr. Jamie Marich: Blog

I am proud to let you know that a couple of new videos are up on YouTube connected to the release of my book, and some of my public speaking activities. To check out an excerpt of an interview I did with trauma expert Linda Curran (which will be a part of an exciting documentary on trauma that's coming out soon), check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7VpGAjqbMQ


To listen to a lecture clip in which I define "trauma-sensitive treatment," please visit here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eHyWRu9AWg

I have to admit, I'm a terrible blogger...obviously, look at the last time that I've been on here. Maybe now that I am a soon-to-be published author (I don't count the academic publication of my dissertation in Germany), it will inspire me to take a more active role in the blogosphere. Especially since it is likely that my opinionated voice will likely be under some attack when the book goes public. "EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client" is just what the main title suggests...a book that cuts through the lofty language of protocol and theory to give clinicians the basic understanding and tools that they need to be able to use this powerful modality of treatment. I was inspired to write this book mostly by my consultees, people who assured me that I had something to say because of my ability to simplify the complex...I do hope that my ability to do this offers a contribution to the field in some small way. As I post these blogs, please make sure to visit the matching video content! --Jamie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZOcZDTrD8

Hey there! I'm excited to announce that I now have a separate website dedicated to my training and consulting business at www.drjamiemarich.com. I'd be honored if you'd check it out. I feel very passionate about being able to offer affordable EMDR consultation for folks. I cringe to hear that some people are being asked to pay upwards of $150 and hour for EMDR consultation. Don't get me wrong...although some consultation may be worth this, at this point in my career, I cannot endorse such elitist positions. I feel so passionately about the professional capacities of EMDR to help people...it's a gift that should not be kept from professionals. Please check out my new site...professionals, I'm here for you.

Well, it's official...I'm the worlds newest Ph.D.! I successfully defended my dissertation on 5/13/09; it was a phenomenological study on how women who received EMDR as part of their continuing care experienced their addiction recovery. Completing the dissertation with the partnering facility in Columbus was a fantastic, humblinb experience, and it helped to instill even more faith in me about the work that I do. I am so honored to be a part of the healing arts.

My degree was conferred on 5/31/09, and I have to say, it's a bit anti-climatic for me now that it's official. Maybe it's because I see life as being about so much more than being a Ph.D....I don't know. But for whatever reason, I've been grateful for the journey, and I owe my heart-felt thanks to everyone- friends, family, and co-workers, who helped me along the way.

Namaste... Jamie :-)

I was born into the role of diplomat. My mother was a highly educated Democratic Catholic, and my father was a blue-collar Republican Evangelical. For those of you football fans who get the reference, Mom was a Steelers fan and Dad was a Browns fan. I share this anecdote about the small-t trauma of my upbringing to better illustrate the diplomatic spirit with which I write this commentary on EMDRIA’s current concerns about PESI and their EMDR programming.

My position is a unique one. I am an EMDRIA member, Certified Therapist, Consultant-in Training, and Regional Coordinator. I am also a supporter of PESI, having attended several of their workshops. Last year, aware of my experience as a continuing education facilitator, PESI offered to sponsor my course Demystifying EMDR, a psychoeducational, “try before you buy” seminar (I know that opinions on such seminars are mixed but I personally think they are valuable…another subject for another blog), and I accepted. Because of my dedication to EMDRIA, I declined to do EMDR training for PESI. However, I do not feel that we should immediately write them off or dismiss them as dangerous because they do not adhere to our way of doing things. Clinicians and clinical support systems out there have a genuine interest in EMDR, but their interests differ from those of us who support EMDRIA. PESI saw this, and as business people, responded to the consumer demand. Not every clinician out there can afford EMDRIA-approved training, even with HAP discount rates being offered for non-profits. Moreover, not every clinician is interested in spending the bulk of their time working with trauma…does this mean that they should be cut off from learning the parts of EMDR that may be relevant to them?

If we are going to view EMDR as an approach to psychotherapy, then we need to spend more time examining why people are interested in EMDR but not necessarily interested in doing things “our way.” Yes, I understand that there is a need for standards. But the natural diplomat in me asks, whose standards? What has informed our community’s model of what we see as good training other than Dr. Shapiro and the collective experiences of other trainers? In my research reviews, I have found no systematized research about the effectiveness of EMDR training models. This research needs to take place. I would challenge that we need to research the approved model and research what PESI or others may be doing with EMDR training. I think we naturally assume that because their training is only a two-day format, that it is inferior. This may be the case, I admit that. However, let us not condemn it until we investigate it objectively and see how those who are being trained through PESI are using it with their clients.

I was very moved when I saw this year’s Academy Award winner for best film, “Slumdog Millionaire.” I was blown away by the triumph of integrity in the film through its main character, Jamal Malik. Jamal strived to be honest and pure in corrupt surroundings, and in the end, by doing the right thing- the honest , pure, and loving thing- he was victorious in his pursuit of the prize, and of the girl. Jamal Malik, to me, represented integrity, and it was so refreshing to see this highlighted in a blockbuster film.

I recently had the experience of beholding the display of integrity in a young person who is not a movie character; in fact, she is a young person who I am very proud to know. Her name is Lilia, and I should probably start this tribute to her by explaining how I know her. I have coached competitive high school speech intermittently for the last 12 years at four different high schools. Prior to coaching, I was very active in speech when I was a high schooler. I was very competitive, having been a national qualifier and the assistant coach of my own high school team when I was a senior. During my first two episodes of coaching speech, my emphasis was more on the winning element than on creating a positive experience for my students. Fortunately, during my third and now my fourth episodes, I have been able to focus on the awesome privilege of working with high schoolers whose talent and skill astound me. What’s funny is that after episode three, I never thought I’d be coaching high school speech again, especially because my career as a counselor, professor, and professional trainer seemed to take over my life. Yet in the Fall of 2008, despite being very busy, something called me back. Actually, that something came in the form of my good friend, Thom, who asked me to be an assistant on his team. The time commitment was minimal, and I had missed the activity in the two years that I had been away. Though I have been blessed tremendously in coaching again, meeting a fantastic group of kids in my new hometown of Howland, I can now see that the primary reason that God called me back into competitive speech was so that I could meet Lilia…and learn a very big lesson from her.

Lilia is a sophomore…she is a beautiful young lady who is both feisty and sweet, and she’s the kind of student that I think should be bringing home more trophies than she actually does. I just was not able to put my finger on it this season as to why the judges at our speech tournaments were not seeing the awesome talent that I saw developing before my eyes. Now, over the years in speech, I’ve coached kids who I know will win, kids who have bad attitudes and I kind of hope will get knocked around a little by the judges so as to deflate their egos, and kids who I so desperately want to have win because, in my eyes anyway, they are simply fantastic. From the moment I started working with her last year, Lilia was one of the kids I desperately wanted to win.

After a hard season of really developing and improving, Lilia performed very well at our state qualifying tournament at the end of January. However, she fell just short of a berth on the state team, tying for the alternate’s spot with a student from another school. Although I was frustrated that all of her hard work wasn’t ultimately rewarded, I really was very glad that she came that close. The long-standing competitor in me was hoping that maybe some circumstance would prevail and Lilia would be able to take a spot to the state tournament. Well sadly, a circumstance did prevail, and it was something that blew away any adult who works with high school students. Another student in Lilia’s speech category passed away in a tragic accident. When Lilia told me about it, she approached me not as a bratty competitor, but as a peer of the deceased student who was genuinely concerned. Even at that point, though I felt an immense sense of sympathy for the family of the girl who died and her entire speech team, the competitor in me was glad that my student may now have a chance. What happened next truly amazed me, probably because I have always defined myself as a competitor, a competitor who would take any chance I could get. In normal circumstances, when two students are tied for an alternate spot, they must “run off” in a special competitive round with a set of five judges from neutral schools. However, the student who Lilia was tied with was from the same school as the girl who died in the accident…and Lilia let her have the spot, forfeiting her right to a run off. Now, this may not seem too out of the ordinary to some of you, or it may just seem like a nice thing to others, but to me, who has spent more than half my life around the strain of competition (in some form or another) and the egos that go with it, I was blown away. When Lilia told me her intentions, I was overwhelmed with the most tremendous sense of pride. I though that coaching a state champion a few years back was the pinnacle of success that defined my involvement in competitive speech, but I was wrong. Getting to know Lilia has replaced that.

High school kids get a lot of flack these days. However, Lilia’s actions show that there are many really good kids of integrity among us. When a student can teach her coach a lesson about putting human feelings and decency above competition, that is a true gem of a student indeed. Even though I have worked through a lot of my issues with overfocusing on competition, this recent incident and Lilia’s demonstration of integrity has challenged me to look even deeper, and I am so grateful to her for that. I know that many people who read my website are teachers or professionals who work with clients, and I encourage you to be open to the lessons that your students and your clients can teach you. That is the main reason that I have chosen to share Lilia’s story on this blog. Also, I feel that she deserves a little public recognition for playing a winning role in life, which is more important than any competition.

Hello all! I was HONORED beyond belief to win the 1st place poster award at this years EMDRIA Conference in Phoenix, AZ. My research poster was a case study on using EMDR in the continuing care process with a recovering female. Using EMDR in continuing care is near and dear to my heart, and it was so cool to get the attention that recovery got as the result of me winning the award. If you would like to receive a copy of the poster, drop me a line and I'll be happy to send it.

It's been a while since I've updated the blog. I confess, I've been very busy lately. It's been a good kind of busy. I'm working hard on my dissertation, and I will feel that I've crossed over a big mountain once that's done. I've been very excited about the doors that have been opening up, for instance, getting to speak with CMI. I also could not be more delighted with transitioning my clinical work to PsyCare earlier this year. It has really afforded me the opportunities to be flexible with my teaching and my own school work. Looking forward to hearing from some of you over the summer! Peace and love, Jamie :-)

I am so delighted that 48 participants were trained in EMDR last week in Youngstown! After being trained myself in the therapy in 2006, it became my dream to get more clinicians in my hometown trained in this breakthrough therapy. My first step was to raise awareness, and it soon became apparent that enough clinicians were willing to get together for a formal training. I initially thought that we would have between 15-20 participants, but to have near 50 was such a pleasant surprise! Running logistics at the recent training allowed me to talk to many of our participants, and it seemed as though we had many talented clinicians in attendance who are looking for newer, more profound ways to reach their clients. I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank the team from EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs- headed by Mr. Roy Kiessling and organized by Ms. Hope Payson- for coming to Youngstown and training our clinicians. I would also like to applaud the clinicians who took the step and engaged in this training...I am here for you if you need any help with getting your new therapeutic endeavors off the ground. I have the follow-up consultation groups posted on the website; feel free to contact me in the meantime if I can be of any assistance.

I spent the last two days in Washington, D.C. with my brother and two of his dear friends as we made a pilgrimage to see Pope Benedict XVI. My brother is entering the Dominician religious order in the Summer, and I saw this trip as a very special time for us. My brother has been an instrumental force in my own life and healing, embodying the essence of a true Catholic-Christian through his goodness and kindness. When he enters the order in the Summer, I will not be able to spend the time with him that I have over these last several years, and I must admit that it will be somewhat emotional for me. Even though Paul is much more of a devout Catholic than I, we share a bond based on our trials and tribulations growing up in an interfaith household where God was something you fought over.
During our two days in Washington, I was encountered with some ugly reminders of the spiritual abuse that I endured as a child and teenager growing up around fierce “Evangelical Christianity.” Say what you will about the Catholic Church and its misgivings- God knows I have not been thrilled with the way that the sexual abuse scandals have been handled over the years- but this time with Pope Benedict XVI in the U.S. was a time for people of Catholic heritage and faith to celebrate. Needless to say, I was very upset when, on Wednesday night after the Pope’s appearance at the National Shrine and on Thursday afternoon following the Mass, I, and the other faithful, were bombarded by zealot Evangelical picketers condemning us for our faith. Very large signs were hoisted containing messages such as, “Roman Catholicism is of the Devil and it Will Send You to Hell.” Outside of the Mass at National Stadium, one such protester was dressed in a fireman’s outfit, accompanied by a Dalmatian dog holding such a sign. Probably the ugliest insult I heard yelled was one protester who firmly declared to the Catholic faithful, “Mother Teresa is burning in hell.” What?! What arrogance, pride, and downright hatred it takes to make such a blanket, ignorant statement! What also amazed me were the bullying tactics that these protesters used, literally blockading the sidewalks and streets to the Washington Metro to spew out their messages of hate and judgment.
Now, I am not going to use this blog as an apologetics platform- I leave that to my brother and to many other beautiful Catholic Christians who have written on the topic. But as a counselor, I do have to make a comment about the spiritual abuse that we being so publicly displayed. Being condemned to hell is not a job that belongs to human beings- only God can do that, and even then, I’m not sure that any human being can conceive of the depth of his mercy. A major feature of spiritual abuse is when people hungry for power and a distorted sense of control and ego inflation use the scare tactic of “burning in hell” to try to either, a.) put your down, or b.) convert you to their way of worshiping God. There is no way that a true, loving relationship with a Higher Power can be forged through scare tactics. For me personally, I am a witness to that as my main motivation during the years I a child I spent in an Evangelical Church was to stay out of hell. Then, while sitting in the seats of an Evangelical Church, I became addicted to drugs and alcohol and my own hell was forged here on earth. It was only a genuine desire to pursue a loving relationship with a God who wanted to help me that “saved” me, and today I live a life free of irrational fear because of this loving relationship. I want to be a good person today not out of fear of going to hell, but to honor the Triune God in whom I so fervently believe.
The signs and the insults that I absorbed over the last two days were nothing new- God knows I heard them in abundance in my house growing up with one Catholic parent and one Evangelical parent. Even though I have experienced so much of my own healing from spiritual abuse, what I saw and heard this week affected me…probably because I am still so incensed that people can hate so deeply so as to condemn others to hell. Don’t get me wrong, I know that some extreme Catholics can be guilty of this as well…I recognize that fully. But this is where people get hurt…when extremists threaten others with hell. And I do not buy the excuse that such extremists do it out of “love” for those they are trying to sway. It’s a control issue, it’s a power issue. True Evangelicals are those who carry Christ’s Gospel of Love through their daily life and actions…true Evangelicals are those who put 1 Corinthians 13 into action. I didn’t see any of that from these ignorant protesters in Washington.
Spiritual abuse is a real form of abuse that can have lasting, damaging effects on a person. I urge you to check out the links that I have on the topic, and feel free to email me at any time with questions you may have about it.

Bruce and I are at the American Society of Addiction Medicine convention this weekend in Toronto. I am most impressed with the wide spectrum of attention that is being given to behavioral addictions at this conference, reaffirming my long-held belief that addiction is addiction is addiction. The chemical or behavioral manifestation is merely a symptom of a larger biopsychosocial-spiritual problem that needs to be addressed. It is always a treat to be able to network with people as well, and I've certainly done my share of that this weekend. I've been able to have some excellent discussions, here in Toronto, with colleagues and friends from the Cleveland area...imagine that. I also heard an excellent quote at one of the sessions this morning, in which a Canadian doctor shared his belief that, regarding the concurrence of abuse and addiction, "Trauma is the trigger, addiction is the trap." This entire weekend has really reminded me why I love what I do!

The director of my dance studio gently suggested tonight that I put up a new blog entry...I guess I've been a little delinquent. I'm officially seeing clients at PsyCare now, and I am really grateful for the opportunity of that arrangement. It has been my dream for quite some time to work in a practice where I can specialize in traumatic stress and addiction. I'm also going to begin my teaching gig with the University of Phoenix in a few weeks. On the self care front, I'm getting ready for a ballroom dance competition that I'm doing April 6th in Columbus. Jay and I will be doing the three dance closed bronze championship in smooth dancing, (Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango) plus Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. Maybe the new season of DWTS will inspire me :-) It's been pretty fun getting ready to do a competition myself again...the mental and physical challenge has been good for me. Something I learned in my graduate school training is to never ask a client to do something that you're not willing to do yourself. I've always taken this direction to heart, and I feel it's kept my skills sharp. Believe it or not, dancing has been the mental challenge I've needed. To all my clients out there, don't worry, I'm not gonna make you ballroom dance as part of your treatment plan. But the whole idea of getting out there and training, working on something outside of your comfort zone is a big part of the healing process, whether you're dancing on a hardwood floor or in life.

I received some excellent news yesterday... I have been asked to come aboard with PsyCare, a reputable agency here in the Youngstown-Warren area and surrounding region. I will be working as an independent practitioner focusing on PTSD/trauma/EMDR, and I am being afforded a great opportunity to develop the program. More details will follow on the site, but all I can say is that I am very excited that I will be able to house the in-person component of my practice with PsyCare. Right now, I am slated to be working out of the Liberty, OH office on Belmont Ave.

I'm really excited that Jim will be able to join me for the February 9th show at the Mastropietro Winery. He's been very busy with his band, so it's a privilege that my good ol' acoustic partner and I will be able to join forces again for the evening. I haven't played out in a while (with the exception of church), so this will be a treat for me. I hope to see as many of you as possible there.

The local EMDR HAP training will take place from Tuesday-Thursday, May 13-14-15. We are still trying to nail down a definitive location, but once we know it and the full details are available, they will be posted on this site.

One of my dreams that is several years in the making looks like it's coming to fruition...organizing an EMDR HAP training here in Mahoning and Trumbull County. Lauren Thorp from Trumbull Lifelines has been very instrumental in working with me to make this training a reality, and right now it looks like we can get it offered some time in May...we are just waiting for a confirmed set of trainers from HAP. I am so excited about this possibility, and I encourage any clinicians in are area who are interested in getting trained in this cutting-edge therapy to contact me...I would be happy to answer any of your questions, and please, stay tuned for more details!
Jamie :-)

Well, jamiemarich.com is back up and running after some down time. In its first inception, the site was dedicated largely to my music. Though that is still a large part of my life, I have had some amazing professional developments happen since this site was last up, and I have decided to use this site to bring you everything that I offer, not only as a musician, but as a counselor and instructor as well. Stay tuned...there will be much more to come on this page.